The project has not formally started yet but preparations are under way, said Liu Luxiang, director of the Space Breeding Center under CAAS.

The satellite will have a slightly different design from ordinary satellites as less protection against space radiation will be needed for the seeds it carries to undergo mutation, Liu said.

Recoverable satellites were first used to carry plants or seeds in the late 1950s. Nearly 118 satellites were launched across the world for life sciences research between 1957 and 1998.

"It has been proven that outer space, with its radiation and weightlessness, has obvious impacts on plants and seeds, and leads to genetic mutations in plants," Liu said.

Research findings have been used to study the impact outer space has on humans and to develop plants that can grow outside the earth by many countries including the United States and Russia.

"China has an unique research perspective," Liu said, "We grow high-quality strains of plants by selecting seeds from those mutated after space journeys."

China has sent more than 70 strains of plants into outer space on recoverable satellites, unmanned spacecrafts and balloons since 1987. But no satellite especially designed for plant breeding has been launched yet.

"The exact factors that cause the genetic mutation in plant seeds and how the mutations form have not been identified yet, though we have managed to draw a general picture of the changes," Liu said, adding "we hope to collect more detailed information with this satellite."

(Xinhua 03/28/2001)