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Giant Leaf For Mankind? China Germinates First Seed on Moon (theguardian.com)
A small green shoot is growing on the moon after a cotton seed germinated onboard a Chinese lunar lander, scientists said. From a report: The sprout has emerged from a lattice-like structure inside a canister after the Chang'e 4 lander touched down earlier this month, according to a series of photos released by the Advanced Technology Research Institute at Chongqing University. "This is the first time humans have done biological growth experiments on the lunar surface," said Xie Gengxin, who led the design of the experiment, on Tuesday. Plants have been grown previously on the International Space Station, but this is the first time a seed has sprouted on the moon. The ability to grow plants in space is seen as crucial for long-term space missions and establishing human outposts elsewhere in the solar system, such as Mars.
I'm really not sure what this is supposed to prove. Has anybody ever suggested, or is there any reason to believe, that seeds would not sprout on the moon?
I'm surprised that a scientific endeavor would allow for the potential of contaminating the surface with live biological samples.
Regardless if there ever were anything on the moon, this makes studying that harder by its very existence.
Also, we've already done zero-g growth experiments, what value did this add? It's not like the lander sourced soil and water for this.
oh dont be so dramatic the solar radiation will sterilize it again in a reasonable amount of time.
Chia seeds will grow on terracotta pottery and water.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
It appears it's Earth soil. I found nothing in the article to suggest it's using lunar soil here, which would be the real test. The article should have pointed that out; it's not a trivial admission.
Table-ized A.I.
Thanks, China, for destroying lunar science by ...
- Moon is lifeless, there is no need to worry about contamination (it's not Mars) - really
- the seeds are in a sealed container, even if breached it will be sterilized by the solar radiation
- germinating seeds is an important experiment for potential human settlements on the Moon - shoulv'e been done long time ago
Much of China's industry is highly capitalistic. I'm not defending communism here at all, but to say alleged intellectual property theft or "copying" is caused by their "communism" is silly.
By the way, many who have lived in China recently say they have some of the best smart-phone apps there are. Many there rely purely on their phone for just about every Internet service and financial transaction. PC's never really caught on there as a consumer item, so phones have taken their place and they are taken phone apps to new heights.
Table-ized A.I.
A semi-caveat is some believe their gov't assists with industrial espionage. Even if true, that's not inherently a "communist" function. US gov't does similar for military technology, handing off discovered secrets to military contractors. Does that make us more "commie"?
Table-ized A.I.
This is a middle school philosophy based argument. The moon has vacuum and radiation that will sterilize all. It has no 'ecology'.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
"- Moon is lifeless"
That's what they said about Ceti Alpha V, and look where that got Captain Terrell..
Theft of I.P is not, "capitalism".
It's theft.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
> In the US you have the people who contribute nothing but carbon dioxide to the country while expecting handouts on the premise that they "deserve" to take a piece of what others have earned.
Every western nation with strong social programs have over all better quality of life for their citizens than the US. You're a fucking idiot.
I've been to some of those countries. You're the fucking idiot.
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
I've been to ALL of those countries. YOU are the idiot, the poster is exactly right - the more authoritarian a country is, the worse the environment will be, in all sorts of ways (including just overall litter, never mind worse pollution).
East and West Germany was the best example of this profound and endlessly repeated truth - Venezuela being the most recent example of how Communism can turn even the most beautiful verdant land into a swirling cesspit of pollution and filth.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I was going to correct you, but honestly since every single point you list is wrong, I figure I would just let people Google your individual points to laugh at you rather than spend all that effort myself.
On a larger meta level, there is a pretty damn huge advantage in having large numbers of people living off planet, some further physically removed than even just the moon or orbit...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Information wants to be free.
Meh. Don't anthropomorphize information. It hates that.
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Have you looked at the US Space Program? I don't mean looking at our historic achievements, I mean looking at where we are today. While we were celebrating our wins, we allowed our Aerospace Industry to drive the cost of space so high that it strangled our ability to explore. Here's a news flash; Apollo 11's landing was 49.5 years ago. Most people who saw the it are retired or getting ready to retire.
It's worse. Most NASA badges are currently drawing unemployment, and the few that are showing up to work aren't getting paid. We haven't had manned spaceflight capability in almost a decade, and the only reason we're on the ISS is because the Russians choose to let us ride along. With the current electile dysfunction there is a good chance we miss the window for the 2020 rover launch too.
There are times for swinging your "My country is better than yours!" stick around; this isn't one.
NASA in 2013 had planned to launch pretty much this same exact experiment by 2015: http://blogs.discovermagazine....
NASA's version was far more of a publicity stunt, since it was all about involving kids in classrooms around the country. But apparently NASA didn't accomplish the mission. China did. Good for China.
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Doesn't sound so great actually. It would be more amazing if they learned to wean themselves off of the smart phones.
Both the article and the summary agree, the plant is still a small shoot, so no giant leaves for mankind. Sorry, just a few very small ones!
Are they growing this thing in the dark? Is this a separate landfall on the moon? Did they land on one side and travel to the other?
No, there is little doubt that china spies and steals. I've dealt with 1-2 spies ( 1 that FBI sent packing & the other was not certain ).
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.