China Getting Ready to Cultivate On Dark Side of the Moon

China is getting ready to cultivate on the dark side of the moon.

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In a series of lunar launches this new year, China wants to be the first Earthly nation to land on the moon’s dark side.

The missions, known as Chang'e 4, or C4, mark a string of Chinese space exploration firsts the country has developed over the past several years. The first mission, set to take place in June, will station a 425-kilogram relay satellite about 60,000 km behind the moon, to provide a communications link between Earth and the lunar far side.

China will then launch a lander and rover to the far side of the moon, guided by the newly situated satellite. This second mission will also carry aluminium alloy containers of seeds and insects from our planet. Chinese researchers hope to determine the growing process of plants and animals on the moon.

"The container will send potatoes, arabidopsis seeds and silkworm eggs to the surface of the moon. The eggs will hatch into silkworms, which can produce carbon dioxide, while the potatoes and seeds emit oxygen through photosynthesis. Together, they can establish a simple ecosystem on the moon," says Zhang Yuanxun, chief designer of the container.

The containers will be insulated to protect the earth life the moon’s comparatively extreme temperatures. The aluminium containers will also be lit to mimic the natural habitat of the seeds and animals they house. High-energy batteries will maintain the light energy.

Since 2013 the Chinese government has been ramping up its space exploration initiatives that lulled since 1976. Five years ago China landed the Jade Rabbit rover on the moon.

Already in the works is the country’s Chang'e 5 mission meant to bring back samples from the moon to Chinese research labs. Experts say this is a response to U.S. President Donald Trump's saying he wants to revive the country's space exploration.

"China has always made a big play about wanting to do international collaboration," Brian Harvey, space exploration analyst and author of “China in Space: The Great Leap Forward”, tells The Guardian. "I think there may be an element of wanting to do it to show the US that they have an international reach, despite the American effort to stop them."

Harvey even says that at this rate China will be able to send humans to the moon in the 2030s, placing it ahead of the U.S. in galactic research.

"Trump's directive was very vague," Harvey said. "We're still no more definite about when the Americans will set foot back on the moon."