China's First Batch of Space Rice Achieves a Bumper Harvest: A Major Breakthrough in Space Breeding Technology

China's First Batch of Space Rice Achieves a Bumper Harvest: A Major Breakthrough in Space Breeding TechnologyStrictly speaking, the space rice that has matured wasn't grown through its entire life cycle directly in space. It's the result of multi-generational breeding and improvement in space

China's First Batch of Space Rice Achieves a Bumper Harvest: A Major Breakthrough in Space Breeding Technology

Good news! China's first batch of third-generation "space rice" cultivated in the space station has matured, bringing us closer to enjoying "space rice"! This achievement has not only sparked heated discussions domestically but also attracted international media attention, with the Russian media outlet Svpressa describing the new rice as "sweeter and more nutritious." But how was this breakthrough achieved, and what significance does it hold for future food production and space exploration? Let's delve deeper.

Strictly speaking, the space rice that has matured wasn't grown through its entire life cycle directly in space. It's the result of multi-generational breeding and improvement in space. Its origins trace back to 2020, when 40 grams of carefully selected "Hangju Xiang Simiao" rice seeds were sent into space aboard the Chang'e 5 lunar probe. After undergoing 23 days of cosmic ray irradiation, they returned to Earth, becoming China's first batch of rice seeds to enter space. These seeds then spent a year in a greenhouse at South China Agricultural University, where they were carefully cultivated to produce a second generation of space rice.

In 2022, the second-generation space rice seeds were sent back into space for a 120-day experiment cultivating the entire life cycle of rice. This marked the first time in human history that rice has been grown from seed to maturity in space. Previously, astronauts had primarily conducted space cultivation experiments with vegetables like rapeseed and peas, and a few grains like Arabidopsis and wheat. A full life cycle cultivation of rice, a staple crop, was unprecedented.

A full life cycle cultivation of rice refers to the entire process from seed germination, growth, flowering, and ultimately to fruiting. On Earth, this is relatively simple, requiring only sufficient water, nutrients, and sunlight. However, in the microgravity environment of space, without natural sunlight and air, getting a seed to germinate, grow, flower, and bear fruit is incredibly challenging.

But China's astronauts, after extensive ground simulation training and utilizing advanced technology, successfully completed the full life cycle cultivation of rice in a microgravity environment with artificial oxygen and simulated sunlight. During this process, they closely monitored various indicators, including the growth rate, water requirements, light response, flowering time, and seed development of rice in microgravity, providing invaluable data for researchers. These space rice seeds eventually returned to Earth with the astronauts.

Researchers then conducted multiple rounds of research and breeding on these seeds, ultimately harvesting the third-generation space rice now mature in the fields. Analysis shows that the starch content of space rice is essentially the same as that of ordinary rice, but there are significant differences in starch composition, protein, and sugar content. Space rice has 5 to 6 times the glucose and fructose content of ordinary rice, and also a higher protein content, resulting in a sweeter taste this is the basis for the Russian media's assessment of it being "sweeter and more nutritious."

So, what is the significance of researching space rice? First, space breeding can cultivate rice varieties with higher yields and stronger disease resistance, contributing to global food security. Second, by cultivating rice in the space station, researchers found that space rice plants have significantly more tillers than terrestrial rice, and changes in leaf shape, leaf angle, and husk morphology show better adaptation to the microgravity environment. These findings are not only breakthroughs in rice biotechnology but also provide valuable experience for space breeding of other crops.

More importantly, the successful cultivation of space rice provides crucial food security for future human space colonization. While cultivating food in space is currently far more difficult than on Earth, requiring significant energy consumption to provide artificial air, water, and light, China's ongoing advancements in space building materials and lunar water resource utilization technology make the prospect of establishing long-term habitable bases on the moon or other planets, and using space rice for food supply, increasingly feasible.

"Food is the most important thing for the people," and technological progress continues to "create the heavens." Space rice has demonstrated strong reproductive capacity and high yield potential. It's believed that in the near future, ordinary people will be able to enjoy this "sweeter and more fragrant" space rice, a vivid example of technological progress benefiting the people.

References:

[1] "Russian Media: China's 'Space Rice' Sweeter, More Nutritious," Global Times (translated)

[2] "Bumper Harvest! Multiple Regions Across China Celebrate Abundant Space Rice Harvest," China Youth Daily (translated)

[3] "China's Space Rice Cultivation Shows Reproductive Capacity; Third Generation 'Space Rice' from China Space Station Reaps a Bumper Harvest," China National Radio (translated)

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