China launched a satellite last month carrying the largest payload of plant and fungi seeds ever, at 474 pounds. The satellite will orbit Earth and return in two weeks. Chinese officials say that seeds exposed to the conditions of space (radiation and microgravity) contain more vitamins and other crucial minerals. The purpose is to improve the quality and yield of terrestrial crops by using the space-exposed seeds.

Japan (JAXA) launched a spy satellite last month to help monitor North Korea. Japan can monitor all of Earth once a day. Japan’s Solar B observatory was launched last month to study the sun.