<p class="title">A cotton seedling that sprouted on the moon has been left to die as China's historic lunar lander continues a freezing night-time nap that will last as long as two earth weeks, scientists said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Chinese space agency announced earlier this week that the seed had germinated inside a special canister aboard the Chang'e-4 probe, after the spacecraft on January 3 made the first-ever landing on the far side of the moon.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The mini biosphere -- which operated for over 212 hours -- was shut down as planned on Saturday, said Chongqing University, which designed the experiment.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The lander also carried potato and arabidopsis seeds -- a plant of the mustard family -- as well as fruit fly eggs and yeast.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Temperatures inside the ecosystem were expected to plunge below minus 52 degrees Celsius (minus 61.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and the organisms will be "in a frozen state", the university said in a statement on Tuesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The experiment ended hours before Chang'e-4 entered "sleep mode" on Sunday as the first lunar night fell since the probe's landing. Temperatures plummet to about minus 170 degrees Celsius (minus 274 degrees Fahrenheit).</p>.<p class="bodytext">A lunar night lasts for about two earth weeks, after which the probe is expected to wake up, the statement said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Life in the canister would not survive the lunar night," Xie Gengxin, who led the design of the experiment, told the official Xinhua news agency.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Once the temperatures start to rise next month, the organisms will be allowed to "slowly decompose" in the permanently sealed canister.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Chang'e-4 is also equipped with instruments developed by scientists from Sweden, Germany and China to study the lunar environment, cosmic radiation and the interaction between solar wind and the moon's surface.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The lander released a rover, dubbed Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit), that will perform experiments in the Von Karman Crater.</p>.<p class="bodytext">China's space agency said it is planning four more lunar missions, confirming the launch of a probe by the end of the year to bring back samples from the moon.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Beijing wants to establish a lunar research base one day, possibly using 3D printing technology to build facilities, the agency said Monday.</p>
<p class="title">A cotton seedling that sprouted on the moon has been left to die as China's historic lunar lander continues a freezing night-time nap that will last as long as two earth weeks, scientists said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Chinese space agency announced earlier this week that the seed had germinated inside a special canister aboard the Chang'e-4 probe, after the spacecraft on January 3 made the first-ever landing on the far side of the moon.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The mini biosphere -- which operated for over 212 hours -- was shut down as planned on Saturday, said Chongqing University, which designed the experiment.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The lander also carried potato and arabidopsis seeds -- a plant of the mustard family -- as well as fruit fly eggs and yeast.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Temperatures inside the ecosystem were expected to plunge below minus 52 degrees Celsius (minus 61.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and the organisms will be "in a frozen state", the university said in a statement on Tuesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The experiment ended hours before Chang'e-4 entered "sleep mode" on Sunday as the first lunar night fell since the probe's landing. Temperatures plummet to about minus 170 degrees Celsius (minus 274 degrees Fahrenheit).</p>.<p class="bodytext">A lunar night lasts for about two earth weeks, after which the probe is expected to wake up, the statement said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Life in the canister would not survive the lunar night," Xie Gengxin, who led the design of the experiment, told the official Xinhua news agency.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Once the temperatures start to rise next month, the organisms will be allowed to "slowly decompose" in the permanently sealed canister.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Chang'e-4 is also equipped with instruments developed by scientists from Sweden, Germany and China to study the lunar environment, cosmic radiation and the interaction between solar wind and the moon's surface.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The lander released a rover, dubbed Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit), that will perform experiments in the Von Karman Crater.</p>.<p class="bodytext">China's space agency said it is planning four more lunar missions, confirming the launch of a probe by the end of the year to bring back samples from the moon.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Beijing wants to establish a lunar research base one day, possibly using 3D printing technology to build facilities, the agency said Monday.</p>