Four Chinese volunteers end 180-day stay in space capsule

Four Chinese volunteers, including a woman, today concluded their 180-day living experiment in a sealed space capsule in the southern city Shenzhen, to test technologies intended for deep-space exploration in the future. The project's technical chief Li Yinghui said the experiment was a complete success.

The volunteers grew 25 kinds of plants and tested 635 pieces of equipment in the



capsule. The test of the controlled ecological life support system has been inspired by technology currently used in China's Shenzhou spacecraft. 

One experiment recycled supply all of the oxygen and water in the capsule and part of the food for the four volunteers, while other tests with regard to nutrition, hygiene, work and rest in space have also been completed.