THE Arabidopsis thaliana plant boarding on China’s Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship has begun growing, the China Science and Technology Daily reported yesterday.

The Shenzhou-15 spaceship was launched at 11:08 p.m. Nov. 29. About 20 hours later, Chinese astronauts placed the Arabidopsis thaliana in a biological incubator in the life and ecological experiment cabinet inside the Wentian lab module of China’s space station.

“We are using the Arabidopsis thaliana grown in microgravity to explore how the space microgravity environment regulates plant cell structure and function,” said Cai Weiming, a researcher with the Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The researchers made preparations on Earth for more than six years, and are hoping that the in-orbit experiment will promote the improvement of crop plant shape and help to increase crop yield.

(Xinhua)