Four kinds of vegetables were grown in an 'ecological life support system', a 300 cubic metre cabin which will allow astronauts to develop their own stocks of air, water and food while on space missions, Xinhua news agency said.
The system, which relies on plants and algae, is 'expected to be used in extra-terrestrial bases on the moon or Mars', the report said.
Chinese researchers have completed the
country's first test of a self contained system that could grow
vegetables on the moon or Mars. The system was able to grow four types
of vegetable.
The Asian superpower has been ramping up its manned space activities as the United States, long the leader in the field, has scaled back some of its programmes, such as retiring its iconic space shuttle fleet.
Mount Sharp on Mars, where scientists plan to
send Curiosity. Chinese researchers believe they have found a way to
grow vegetables on the Red Planet inside sealed 'plant ecosystems'
In its last white paper on space, China said it was working towards landing a man on the moon -- a feat so far only achieved by the United States, most recently in 1972 -- although it did not give a time frame.
China's first astronaut Yang Liwei said last month that Chinese astronauts may start a branch of China's ruling Communist Party in space, state media reported.
'If we establish a party branch in space, it would also be the 'highest' of its kind in the world,' Xinhua quoted Yang as saying.
The astronaut was launched into space and orbited the earth aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft in 2003.
US Researchers working on a potential 'space
farm'. Chinese officials say they have developed a 300m cabin capable
of growing vegetables on the moon or Mars
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