Recently, the cells of young mango embryos, which were once launched into space by the Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft, have successfully survived and grown new tissues under meticulous care taken by Chinese researchers, according to CCTV.

This is the world’s first case of space breeding tests on mangoes.

Besides sending astronauts into the Tiangong-2 space laboratory, the Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft, which blasted off last October, also conducted lots of scientific experiments, among which was creating new breeds of mangoes utilizing the space environment.

These “extraterrestrials” are not normal mango seeds, but cells of embryonic mango carrying excellent genes. They have now survived in the nutrient medium.

Professor Wang Songbiao, head of the mango breeding program team, showed CCTV the green buds of the mutated breeds cultivated in the space environment, saying, “These are not mango seedlings. They can only be called somatic embryos now.”

Genes in these little buds may have changed after space travel. Researchers now need to find the hidden changes in them after they survive, and select varieties with higher quality to grow into future “space mangoes”.

Peng Longrong, head of mango space breeding program at Hainan State Farms Group said “space mangoes” are expected to be insect-resistant with higher quality and larger production, and also be safe to eat.