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posted by mrpg on Friday January 18 2019, @01:30PM   Printer-friendly
from the don't-lose-hope-humans! dept.

First green leaf on moon dies as temperatures plummet

The appearance of a single green leaf hinted at a future in which astronauts would grow their own food in space, potentially setting up residence at outposts on the moon or other planets. Now, barely after it had sprouted, the cotton plant onboard China’s lunar rover has died.

The plant relied on sunlight at the moon’s surface, but as night arrived at the lunar far side and temperatures plunged as low as -170C, its short life came to an end.

Prof Xie Gengxin of Chongqing University, who led the design of the experiment, said its short lifespan had been anticipated. “Life in the canister would not survive the lunar night,” Xie said.


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  • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday January 18 2019, @06:36PM (3 children)

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Friday January 18 2019, @06:36PM (#788349) Journal

    It's a shame that so many folks on this site hate/misunderstand science as evidence by this thread. I thought we were supposed to be a bunch of nerds....

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 18 2019, @09:55PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 18 2019, @09:55PM (#788427)

    Some of us, evidently, are racists. ChiComs, doncha know!

  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday January 19 2019, @05:19AM

    by Gaaark (41) on Saturday January 19 2019, @05:19AM (#788561) Journal

    The only science I know is from Trump tweets!

    Mmmmmmm, hungry....gonna get me a hamberder.

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
  • (Score: 2) by acid andy on Saturday January 19 2019, @04:06PM

    by acid andy (1683) on Saturday January 19 2019, @04:06PM (#788670) Homepage Journal

    Oh really now? Care to explain the "science" behind the inclusion of the silk worms in this experiment then? PR stunts masquerading as science are what I don't like. There may well be some legitimate experiments buried beneath it, but still, the way the whole thing is presented is sloppy and anti-science.

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