LUNAR LIFESTYLE

Volunteers wave inside a simulated space cabin, at Beihang University on May 10.

Eight volunteers, all civilians and elite postgraduate Beihang students, started a 365-day experiment in the cabin into bio-regenerative life-support systems (BLSS) that are critical to setting up a lunar base.

BLSS are systems where animals, plants and microorganisms coexist, and water and food are recycled, creating an Earth-like environment.

The experiment is vital to the future of China’s Moon and Mars missions and will be relied upon to help ensure the astronauts’ health and well-being.