Shijian-8: China to launch a satellite for breeding plant seeds

Chinese government has announced their plans to launch their first satellite for breeding plant seeds in September this year.

This satellite would be launched from the Jiuquan satellite launch center. The satellite would make a 15-day space flight as per the information released by the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

The government also held a conference to mark the accomplishment of the building of the breeding satellite, which they have named Shijian-8.

They are planning to send over 2,000 shares of plant seeds in 9 categories and 180 groups through this satellite. This would include seeds of grains, cash crops, and forage plants in addition to seeds of fungi and molecular biomaterials that have been sequenced.