Behold the First Flower to Bloom in Space, a Cheerful Zinnia - Rawan For Media Artistic and Production
Scott
Kelly posted a lovely little close-up of a bright orange flower to his
Twitter feed on Saturday. This would be a perfectly normal and
unremarkable activity for just about anyone else on Twitter. But Kelly
is a NASA astronaut up on the International Space Station, and the photo
he shared shows the first flower ever grown in space.
The
chipper-looking bloom is a zinnia, a plant related to sunflowers and
daisies. It can come in many colors, but the one on the space station is
bright orange with a tinge of yellow. A small garden of the plants is
growing in the VEG-01 module, an experiment focused on raising edible
and ornamental plants in space.
The
ultimate goal of the VEG-01 (known more popularly as just "Veggie") is
to sort out how astronauts could grow food on long-range missions, such
as a mission to Mars. The ISS gets regular resupply runs from Earth, but
adventurers on the way to far-off areas of the solar system won't have
that luxury.
First ever flower grown in space makes its debut!#SpaceFlower#zinnia#YearInSpacepic.twitter.com/2uGYvwtLKr
The
plants have had some challenges when it comes to growing up in space.
Some of the leaves curled, an indication of stress. Kelly also noticed
mold growing on the leaves and had to prune off the damage. The
astronauts turned a fan on high to help dry out the growing module,
which had become too humid inside.
While
the Veggie ground team had created a detailed plan for caring for the
zinnias, they ended up handing over much of the decision-making duties
to Kelly, who could keep a closer eye on the plants and choose when to
water them. He became what NASA describes as an "autonomous gardener."
"Kelly's willingness to jump in and care for the plants independent of
the ground support team was key," NASA notes.
The
zinnia is just one step in a long-term plan for gardening in space.
NASA reports that future experiments will involve Chinese cabbage, red
romaine lettuce (a crop already successfully grown and eaten on the ISS)
and eventually dwarf tomato plants. Some day, astronauts may have
access to an entire salad bar in space.
By Sci-Tech, 13 hours 33 minutes ago
The
crew of the International Space Station welcomes spring in orbit as
experimental zinnia plants eke out a happy orange flower.
crew of the International Space Station welcomes spring in orbit as
experimental zinnia plants eke out a happy orange flower.
Enlarge Imag
The first flower to bloom in space is a beauty.
Scott
Kelly posted a lovely little close-up of a bright orange flower to his
Twitter feed on Saturday. This would be a perfectly normal and
unremarkable activity for just about anyone else on Twitter. But Kelly
is a NASA astronaut up on the International Space Station, and the photo
he shared shows the first flower ever grown in space.
The
chipper-looking bloom is a zinnia, a plant related to sunflowers and
daisies. It can come in many colors, but the one on the space station is
bright orange with a tinge of yellow. A small garden of the plants is
growing in the VEG-01 module, an experiment focused on raising edible
and ornamental plants in space.
The
ultimate goal of the VEG-01 (known more popularly as just "Veggie") is
to sort out how astronauts could grow food on long-range missions, such
as a mission to Mars. The ISS gets regular resupply runs from Earth, but
adventurers on the way to far-off areas of the solar system won't have
that luxury.
First ever flower grown in space makes its debut!#SpaceFlower#zinnia#YearInSpacepic.twitter.com/2uGYvwtLKr
The
plants have had some challenges when it comes to growing up in space.
Some of the leaves curled, an indication of stress. Kelly also noticed
mold growing on the leaves and had to prune off the damage. The
astronauts turned a fan on high to help dry out the growing module,
which had become too humid inside.
None of these obstacles stopped the first flower in space from blooming.
While
the Veggie ground team had created a detailed plan for caring for the
zinnias, they ended up handing over much of the decision-making duties
to Kelly, who could keep a closer eye on the plants and choose when to
water them. He became what NASA describes as an "autonomous gardener."
"Kelly's willingness to jump in and care for the plants independent of
the ground support team was key," NASA notes.
The
zinnia is just one step in a long-term plan for gardening in space.
NASA reports that future experiments will involve Chinese cabbage, red
romaine lettuce (a crop already successfully grown and eaten on the ISS)
and eventually dwarf tomato plants. Some day, astronauts may have
access to an entire salad bar in space.
By Sci-Tech, 13 hours 33 minutes ago
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