Cotton growing on the Moon

[KSK]

Title says it all. Article is a bit short on detail and a bit long on speculation but it’s still an interesting result I think.

[Mr. Peabody]

Hail King Cotton.

[SuperFastJellyfish]

Is this the beginning stage of China's version of terraforming? 

(not my drawing)

Edited January 16, 2019 by SuperFastJellyfish
500 posts!

[sh1pman]

Going to be a rough time for that cotton plant, with 2 week long nights.

[YNM]

2 minutes ago, SuperFastJellyfish said:

Is this the beginning stage of China's version of terraforming?

Just so you know, China has repeatedly made the idea of a far-side moon base - they say "for astronomy". And to the best of my knowledge they've gained more traction than the western side do.

 

Although, still one question to ask :

It is one thing to see something grow - it is another to see something harvested and used.

Onto the harvesting mission !

[cubinator]

38 minutes ago, sh1pman said:

Going to be a rough time for that cotton plant, with 2 week long nights.

Pretty sure the artificial lights will take care of that.

================================

This environment apparently contains fruit fly eggs too, and they intended it to be self-sustaining, like those bottled gardens sometimes made on Earth. Depending on how well things go, it may be able to last a very long time, a tiny ecosystem out of sight of its origin planet.

[kerbiloid]

Spoiler

Somebody should keep an eye on this cotton and get a callname Cotton-Eye Joe.

 

Edited January 16, 2019 by kerbiloid

[sh1pman]

Aaaaand it’s dead. RIP.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/moon-plants-dead-china-probe-chang-e-4-organic-life-a8730816.html

I was right about the night thing. Looks like someone forgot to turn on the heating.

Edited January 16, 2019 by sh1pman

[Nuke]

did the fruit flys ever hatch?

[Scotius]

If temperature dropped low enough so early, eggs became unviable before plants died. Fruit flies breed quickly, but they're not the hardest of species.

[lajoswinkler]

What annoys me is the stupid secrecy CNSA perpetuates. Just say the truth, geez. Was it supposed to die, or not? Yes, no? Big deal. 

Edited January 17, 2019 by lajoswinkler

[SuperFastJellyfish]

https://www.iflscience.com/space/we-have-some-terrible-news-about-the-seedling-that-sprouted-on-the-moon/

Quote

By the sounds of things, this was anticipated by the researchers on the project. 

 

"Life in the canister would not survive the lunar night," chief scientist of the experiment Professor Xie Gengxin of Chongqing University told Xinhua Chinese state media.

 

Edited January 17, 2019 by SuperFastJellyfish
Not sure how reputable this website is. My sister linked this to me.

[KSK]

17 hours ago, lajoswinkler said:

What annoys me is the stupid secrecy CNSA perpetuates. Just say the truth, geez. Was it supposed to die, or not? Yes, no? Big deal. 

Given that it was supposed to be a mini-ecosystem and that they spent about a million dollars on it (I think), I'm going with no. Also, whilst they were happy to announce their success, they weren't exactly slow to announce their failure a few days later. That doesn't seem particularly secretive to me.

As to what caused the failure - we'll probably never know. Heck - they might never know. 

 

[kerbiloid]

So, they are going to build a space elevator from the low-gravity end.

Spoiler

 

[johnmorris]

I actually didn't get it. Did they start to grow cotton on the Moon surface or inside the spacecraft?

[HebaruSan]

3 hours ago, johnmorris said:

I actually didn't get it. Did they start to grow cotton on the Moon surface or inside the spacecraft?

In this box:

[LordFerret]

They need a better gardener. #silentrunning

[55delta]

Okay...note to self...

…When intending to grow anything on the Moon, bring a very good heater and a really, really good (and full) battery.

[wumpus]

15 hours ago, 55delta said:

Okay...note to self...

…When intending to grow anything on the Moon, bring a very good heater and a really, really good (and full) battery.

A full battery helps, but you need one that can provide enough electricity through the lunar night and be fully charged with whatever isn't needed during the lunar day.  With a month-long "day", that is a lot of battery capacity (mostly thanks to the heaters, but perhaps enough insulation will be enough).

[kerbiloid]

Spoiler

So, the lunar colonists will be wearing cotton coats.

 

[Scotius]

They are called "kufajka" or "fufajka" in Polish. And i can confirm such jacket is surprisingly effective cold weather attire for workers.

[johnmorris]

On 1/18/2019 at 6:29 PM, HebaruSan said:

In this box:

And this box was located on a spacecraft? Not on Moon surface, right?

[Kerwood Floyd]

3 hours ago, johnmorris said:

And this box was located on a spacecraft? Not on Moon surface, right?

I'm pretty sure the box is in a spacecraft and the spacecraft is on the Moon''s surface. I'm also pretty sure the box was sealed so that there was air in the box. What the box didn't have were reliable sources of heat and light.

[johnmorris]

On 1/21/2019 at 4:12 PM, Kerwood Floyd said:

I'm pretty sure the box is in a spacecraft and the spacecraft is on the Moon''s surface. I'm also pretty sure the box was sealed so that there was air in the box. What the box didn't have were reliable sources of heat and light.

I see. Thanks for the explanation. It's a shame that it didn't make it. Nevertheless, it's a good start.