The experiment, ran by the Chinese Space Program, involved growing the plant in an container which was able to mimic the Earth’s environment. The plant still had to deal with space radiation and reducted gravity.
This was the first instance of a plant being grown on the moon.
The plant died after two weeks, when area the plant inhabited was plunged into darkness and temperatures plummetted.
The Chinese team hopes to be able to send animals next, to see if the specimens can survive in these unique conditions.
This reminds me of Andy Weir’s blockbuster novel, The Martian. In it the protag was able to grow potatoes using his own feces as manure. While this is a little more controlled, and at a far less dramatic scale, it’s these types of challenges that will have to be faced once humans become a space-faring race. Do the same ethical rules exist in space? Would it be ok to slaughter an animal if the long, cold night would kill them anyways?
Of course, this would make for some great details in the creation of a sci-fi story set in space. Maybe one where the first farmer is tasked with going to the moon? The rest of the world thinks it's a great honor and he does it because of his apathetic nature. Then, it can chronicle his descent into madness from such severe isolation. A lonely man on a lonely planet.
