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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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First Green Leaf on Moon Dies as Temperatures Plummet
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Beware of a tall black man with one blond shoe.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Immerman on Friday January 18 2019, @06:32PM
Oh, we probably have more than a few decades before we start seriously building eco-domes on Earth - though we'll probably start wishing we had them. If we wait to develop the technology until we need it on Earth, then we're faced with developing large-scale infrastructure from alpha-stage technology. Having an immediate and extreme small-scale need for such technology gives it a chance to develop and mature before we need to start deploying it on a large scale.