China's Chang'e-4 mission has successfully started growing plants on the moon.

Cotton seeds can be seen sprouting in a photo released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The mission took a variety of seeds to the moon as part of its biosphere experiment and this marks the first time ever that biological material has been cultivated on the lunar surface.

Other biological matter on the Chang'e-4 mission includes cotton, oilseed rape, potato, Arabidopsis, yeast and fruit flies.

More plants are expected to sprout in the next 100 days, the Chinese space agency claims.

Developing the ability to grow plants in space is an important step towards successful long duration space flight to Mars and beyond.

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Cotton seeds can be seen sprouting in a photo released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The mission took a variety of seeds to the moon as part of its biosphere experiment

The picture emerged after being released has come from Chongqing University and was published on the university's Weibo account.

It read: 'After experimenting under the moon's high vacuum, large temperature difference, strong radiation and harsh conditions, mankind has grown the first plant sprout, realising man's first moon-based biological growth experiment'.

Images sent back by the probe show the cotton sprout has grown well, but so far none of the other plants on-board have taken, the university said.

Fruit flies - also known as Drosophila - are a model organism widely used throughout science to understand how animals react in different environments.

Their short reproduction time is useful in allowing scientists to understand its genetic impact after several generations of reproduction.

Arabidopsis, a simple plant related to the mustard family, is the plant equivalent of Drosophila and also widely used by scientists.

The studies on these pioneering plants are being done in a specially designed biosphere on the Chang'e-4 lander and not on the mobile rover, Yutu-2.

It has greater temperature regulation and insulation which protects its experiments from the extreme temperatures on the moon.

A lack of atmosphere means the UV rays from the sun reach the surface of the moon unfiltered and unabated.

Temperatures fluctuate between highs of 127°C (261°F) and frigid lows of -173°C (-279°F).

The seeds and eggs are kept in a small cylindrical tin and are expected to grow inside the 0.8L container.

The 'lunar mini biosphere' is part of Beijing's biological studies in space as it plans to build a lunar base and eventually put people on the moon by 2036.

Researchers hope the potato and Arabidopsis seeds will grow to blossom on the moon in 100 days, with the process captured on camera and transmitted to Earth, according to a previous reports.

The mission took a variety of seeds to the moon as part of its biosphere experiment and this marks the first time ever that biological material has been cultivated on the lunar surface. This handout shows a cotton sprout growing in a lattice-structured container

The 0.8L cylindrical tin was designed by experts from south-west China's Chongqing University. It is equipped with insulating layers and a mini air-conditioning system

Scientists hope that the seeds will grow to blossom on the moon in 100 days and the silkworm eggs will hatch and grow into moths. The seeds and eggs are kept in a 'lunar mini biosphere'

WHAT IS THE LUNAR MINI BIOSPHERE ABOARD THE CHANG'E-4 PROBE? As well as radiation monitoring and mineralogical experiments, China's Chang'e-4 probe contains a 'lunar mini biosphere' to perform biological studies. It holds potato seeds and silkworm eggs, as well as arabidopsis seeds - plants related to cabbage and mustard that are commonly used by biologists as a model for how plants behave in different environments. Researchers hope the seeds will grow to blossom on the Moon, with the process captured on camera and transmitted to Earth. The 6.6lb (three kg) cylindrical tin is made from a specially developed aluminium alloy. It is seven inches (18 cm) tall, with a diameter of six inches (16 cm) and a net volume of 1.4 pints (0.8 litres). As well as seeds, it contains water, a nutrient solution, air and equipment including a small camera and data transmission system. It will use a tube to direct sunlight on the surface of the Moon into the tin to allow the plants to grow. Researchers from 28 Chinese Universities are behind the project, led by southwest China's Chongqing University. Astronauts have previously cultivated plants on the International Space Station. Rice and arabidopsis were also grown on China's Tiangong-2 space lab. Both of these experiments were conducted in low Earth orbit and under very different conditions. Experts hope that the new experiment will help accumulate knowledge for building a lunar base and long-term residence on the Moon. Advertisement

The 6.6lb (three kg) tin is made from a specially developed aluminium alloy. It is seven inches (18 cm) tall, with a diameter of six inches (16 cm) and a net volume of 1.4 pints (0.8 litres).

As well as seeds, it contains water, a nutrient solution, air and equipment including a small camera and data transmission system.

Researchers from 28 Chinese Universities are behind the project, led by southwest China's Chongqing University.

Astronauts have previously cultivated plants on the International Space Station. Rice and Arabidopsis were also grown on China's Tiangong-2 space lab.

Professor Christopher Conselice, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Nottingha, told MailOnline: 'China is doing experiments with seeds and worms to see how things form in space and there is relatively little information on this.

'That's a new ares of space exploration which we can learn about which was impossible before Chang'e-4.'

Yutu-2 has a host of instruments and will be powered by solar panels. Unlike the similar probe on-board the Chang'e-3 mission this rover has no robotic arm. It announced afterwards it will be taking a 'nap' to protect against the sun's immense heat on the moon

Speaking to Xinhua last year, the chief designer of the 'lunar mini biosphere' Xie Gengxin called the experiment 'significant'.

Xie said it could herald a breakthrough for them to understand how humans might be able to survive on an alien planet.

Zhang Yuanxun, a director from China's Deep-space Exploration Associated Research Centre, said the difficulties of the experiment was to control the temperatures and ensure energy supply for the 'lunar mini biosphere' in the 'complicated' environment on the moon.

The lunar day and night each lasts for 14 days, half of its orbit around Earth. The temperatures on its surface could range from the peak of 127°C (261°F) to lows of -173°C (-279°F).

To control the temperatures, scientists put insulating layers around the tin and built a mini air-conditioning system inside hoping it could provide a pleasant environment for the plants to grow.

To obtain energy, the tin will be powered by the solar panels on Chang'e-4 during the day and its internal batteries during the night.

CHINA STEPS UP PLANS TO BECOME SPACE SUPERPOWER WITH MARS AND MOON MISSIONS Officials from the Chinese space agency are working to become a space superpower alongside the US and Russia. They have already sent the first mission to the far side of the Moon - sharing photos from the part of our nearest neighbour we rarely see. Chang'e-6 will be the first mission to explore the south pole of the Moon and is expected to launch in 2023 or 2024. Chang'e-7 will study the land surface, composition, space environment in an overall mission, according to the Chinese space authority, while Chang'e-8 will focus on technical surface analysis. China is also reportedly working on building a lunar base using 3D printing technology. Mission number eight will likely lay the groundwork for this as it strives to verify the technology earmarked for the project and if it is viable as a scientific base. The CNSA is also building an Earth-orbiting space station where Chinese astronauts will conduct scientific experiments, similar to the crew of the ISS. The agency is also launching a mission to Mars in summer 2020 which will see them land a rover on the surface of the red planet. Advertisement

Chang'e-4 is also equipped with instruments developed by scientists from Sweden, Germany and China to study the lunar environment, cosmic radiation and the interaction between solar wind and the moon's surface.

China has revealed it wants to be the first country to establish a base on the moon and says it will build it using 3D printing technology.

Officials from the Chinese space agency also said the country will return to the moon by the end of the year with the Chang'e-5 mission.

Three successive missions will further explore the barren surface and the viability of building houses there.

China is swiftly establishing a reputation as one of the forerunners in the renaissance of the space race with its continued investment in both Martian and lunar missions.

After Chang'e-5 returns lunar rocks from the surface the next mission, Chang'e-6 will be the first mission to explore the south pole of the moon.

Chang'e-7 will study the land surface, composition and space environment in a comprehensive mission, it was claimed, while Chang'e-8 will focus on technical surface analysis.

Mission number eight will likely lay the groundwork for a potential lunar base as it strives to verify the technology earmarked for the ambitious project.

China National Space Administration (CNSA) said they also have plans to go to Mars in 2020, a timeline that would likely make them the first to do so, beating out the US, Russia and the plethora of private firms looking to colonise space.

There have been numerous landings on the moon as a result of the 20th century space race between the US and the USSR - including the famed Apollo 11 mission which saw Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans on the moon. After Luna 24 landed on August 18 the next lunar landing was the Chinese mission Chang'e-3 on December 14, 2013. Chang'e-4 is the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon

The rover is equipped with a variety of scientific instruments to help it analyse the surface of the moon, including a panoramic and infrared camera, ground-penetrating radar and a low-frequency radio spectrometer

China successfully achieved a global first with its trip to the far side of the moon when it landed in the Von Kármán crater on January 4.

The mission's scientific undertakings are now well underway on board both Yutu-2 and Chang'e-4.

Yutu-2, the Jade Rabbit rover, went into 'nap' mode shortly after landing on the surface of the far side of the moon and woke up after five days.

Since then it has sent back stunning panoramic images of the grey and pockmarked moonscape as well as video and images of both the rover and the lander.

Yutu-2 is designed to study the geology of the rocks in the Von Karman crater in the South Pole-Aitken basin - the largest known impact basin in the solar system.

The crater is believed to be composed of various chemical compounds, including thorium, iron oxide, and titanium dioxide.

It is also hoped that by judging this deep scar on the surface of the moon the scientists could find clues to piece together the origin of the lunar mantle.

China's space agency hopes that by exploring the huge 8-mile deep divot on the surface of the moon they may be able to shed some light on its history and geology by collecting rocks that have never been seen before.

Researchers hope the huge depth of the crater will allow them to study its mantle, the layer underneath the surface of the moon.