"Space Garden" Celebrates Harvest: LED Red, Blue, and White Tri-Color Light Powers Fruit and Vegetable Cultivation on Space Station

As late summer transitions into early autumn, the "Space Garden" aboard China's space station has welcomed a new round of fruit and vegetable harvest. Lush green lettuce and plump, red cherry tomatoes stretch and grow inside the Wentian lab module, bringing fresh flavors and psychological comfort to astronauts far from Earth. This vibrant scene is the achievement of the second-generation space plant cultivation apparatus developed by the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.

The apparatus adopts a modular, open structure and can automatically regulate light, water, and nutrients under on-orbit microgravity conditions. Among its features, the LED red, blue, and white tri-color light system is a core highlight: red light promotes photosynthesis and carbohydrate accumulation, blue light regulates plant morphogenesis and stomatal opening, and white light supplements the full spectrum to ensure healthy plant growth. The three spectra are proportioned as needed to simulate natural lighting conditions on the ground, enabling plants to efficiently complete their full life cycle even in a microgravity environment.

To date, the apparatus has successfully cultivated a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, including carrots and cherry tomatoes. In July 2026, it further achieved full life cycle cultivation of seven plant species, including lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and sweet potatoes, cumulatively providing 4.5 kilograms of fresh fruits and vegetables for astronauts. This not only enriches the space menu but also provides important life support for long-duration orbital stays.

The successful application of LED supplemental lighting technology on the space station has validated key technologies for a controlled ecological life support system, laying a solid technical foundation for future deep space exploration—such as food self-sufficiency and oxygen regeneration for crewed lunar and Mars missions.