China’s new Moon mission could be one giant leap for . . . potatoes. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) will try to grow the starchy vegetable on the moon as part of its Chang’e 4 mission, set to launch next year. The unmanned spacecraft will attempt to land on the far side of the moon—the side that can’t be seen from Earth—something no country has done. (China, the U.S., and the former Soviet Union have, however, landed spacecraft on the near side of the moon, which faces Earth; and the U.S. was the first to send a human to the moon, in 1969.) Chang’e 4 will leave a mini ecosystem on the lunar surface. The container, made by scientists, will include potatoes, potato seedlings, and silkworm eggs. Once the eggs hatch into worms, they’ll provide carbon dioxide for the potatoes and seeds to grow. In turn, the potatoes will emit oxygen for the worms. The project may help scientists figure out how to grow food on the moon, which could allow humans to live there someday. Sending astronauts to the moon is something China hopes to achieve by 2036. The goal, says Wu Yanhua of CNSA, is for China to be “among the major space powers of the world.”