---
title: "Bad News: That Moon Plant Everybody Was Talking About Is Dead"
description: "Science journalists were obsessed with a seedling sprouted by China's Moon lander. The only problem: the Moon plant is already dead."
date: "2019-01-16"
modified: "2019-01-16"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/moon-plant-dead"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Moon"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "chang'e 4"
  - "china"
  - "moon"
  - "the digest"
---

# Bad News: That Moon Plant Everybody Was Talking About Is Dead

![Science journalists were obsessed with a seedling sprouted by China's Moon lander. The only problem: the Moon plant is already dead.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/bad-news-moon-plant-dead.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Parker West/JB Pe/Tag Hartman-Simkins\</em\>*

## Moon Plant

An irresistible story swept the world of science and technology journalism Tuesday when China's space program said that its Moon lander had sprouted a cotton seedling inside a sealed grow container — the first plant ever grown on another world.

"China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout," [trumpeted the *BBC*](<https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-46873526>). "Cotton seed sprouts in China's lunar lander," [screamed *NPR*](<https://www.npr.org/2019/01/15/685449027/cotton-seeds-have-sprouted-in-chinas-lunar-lander>). Even Futurism got swept up in the hype, [writing that](<https://futurism.com/chinas-lander-sprouted-tiny-cotton-plants-moon>) "China’s lander just sprouted first-ever plants on the Moon."

Make no mistake: the seedling was a coup for lunar science. But all that present tense, it turns out, was misplaced — because the Moon plant is already dead.

## Lunar Night

That's according to Xie Gengxin, the lead scientist behind the lunar plant experiment, who [told the news service *Xinhua*](<http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/15/c_137745505.htm>) that the cotton sprouts would not survive sundown on the Moon, which caused the temperature of the container to fall as low as -170 degrees Celsius (-274 degrees Fahrenheit).

"Life in the canister would not survive the lunar night," Xie said.

Xie also clarified that other seeds in the grow container, including foodstuffs such as potatoes and a relative of the cabbage, had failed to sprout. Now that the experiment has ended, he said, the organic matter will decompose in its container.

**READ MORE:** [China Focus: Moon Sees First Cotton-Seed Sprout](<http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/15/c_137745505.htm>) \[*Xinhua*\]

***More on China’s Chang’e-4 lander: [See China’s Lunar Rover Set Off Across the Far Side of the Moon](<https://futurism.com/china-lunar-rover-change-4-far-side-moon-photos>)***

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)