Chinese scientists plan to begin studying the process of dividing stem cells and forming an embryo under conditions of weightlessness.
“This is an important experiment, because we are taking the first step towards understanding how humanity will self-reproduce in the process of exploring the cosmos,” Professor Kyungui Keekui Ki from Malaysia, who is directly involved in the project, told reporters.
According to him, the Tianzhou 1 space truck had delivered the necessary biomaterial to orbit, which will study the influence of microgravity, space gravity and magnetic fields on the process of human reproduction. “Of all these factors, microgravity will present special difficulties,” the expert emphasized.
The experiment will last for 30 days. Remotely, Chinese experts are gathering from the Earth to control equipment that will support the process of converting human embryonic stem cells into embryonic stem cells.
Scientists in Russia, European countries and the United States have repeatedly conducted experiments to study the effect of microgravity on the musculature and bones of astronauts, but up to the present time the problem of childbearing in space has not received sufficient attention. Chinese experts hope that the current project will allow them to take a step in this direction.
