BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) — In a novel fusion of spaceflight and agriculture, a batch of precious rose seeds from Henan Province in central China has returned from a journey to the edge of space, marking a fresh advance in the country’s space breeding program.
The seeds, from the famed rose-growing region of Nanyang, were transported on the return capsule of the Lihong-1 Y1 suborbital vehicle, a commercial recoverable spacecraft designed for space tourism, according to a report by China Media Group on Friday.
This vehicle, developed by commercial Chinese aerospace enterprise CAS Space, successfully completed its inaugural test flight from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Jan. 12. The capsule was later safely recovered having used a parachute, while its biological payload was formally delivered on Friday.
The flower seeds spent 300 seconds in space, where they were exposed to cosmic radiation that can induce gene mutations, said Shi Xiaoning, chief designer and project commander of Lihong-1 Y1.
Carefully selected and artificially crossbred by a coalition of institutions including Nanyang Vocational College of Agriculture, Nanyang Academy of Forestry and Henan Agricultural University, these seeds represent a reservoir of premium genetic material, according to the report.
Their brief exposure to the intense cosmic radiation and microgravity environment beyond the Karman line, at an altitude of about 120 kilometers, was designed to induce valuable genetic mutations.
Researchers aim to cultivate new rose varieties featuring enhanced disease resistance, extended flowering periods and unique colors, the report noted.
Space mutagenesis breeding, which acts as a bridge between space technology and modern agriculture, offers advantages such as a higher mutation rate and a potentially shorter breeding cycle.
The successful recovery of these Nanyang rose seeds provides a replicable model for similar experiments on flowers, grains and vegetables, thereby contributing to national seed security and agricultural modernization, the report revealed.
The “space seeds” have now been sent to the national rose germplasm bank in Nanyang for systematic cultivation, selection and observation. Their growth will be closely monitored, as scientists work to unlock genetic potential imprinted via the stars.
Lihong-1 Y1 was designed to serve as a low-cost, flexible suborbital lab, capable of providing over 300 seconds of exposure to a stable, high-quality microgravity environment for scientific payloads.
In addition to the rose seeds, the onboard payload also included microgravity laser additive manufacturing equipment developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Mechanics.
The spacecraft will be developed for multiple reuse purposes. Its deputy chief designer, Wang Yingcheng, said that extensive tests are now underway to add crew-life-support and high-reliability escape technologies, which will boost low-cost suborbital scientific experiment capabilities and commercial space tourism possibilities. ■
