This orange flower symbolizes a noteworthy
moment in human history, because this is very first flower to bloom in space.
These beautiful photographs were in recent times tweeted by astronaut Scott
Kelly from aboard the International Space Station. Therefore the successful experiment
with plant growth in zero gravity is a big achievement. Scott Kelly and his
colleague Russian astronaut Mikhail Korniyenko, are aboard the station as part
of a year-long mission to study the effects of long-term stay in space. However,
their mission overlapped with a project recognized as Veggie, initiated by
NASA’s previous resident Kjell Lindgren who had created experimenting with
plant growth.
Previously, ISS astronauts have
harvested romaine lettuce, however flowering crops such as zinnias are much
more challenging to grow. Nevertheless the
bright orange flowers were sprouted from pods composed of fertilizer, seeds,
water, and clay, under a system of LED lights. The project optimisms to
continue generating nutritious fresh food for the crew, while also given that
morale-boosting plants that may support to enhance the isolating environment
the astronauts have to live in. Moreover,
NASA hopes to make use of same growth methods to sooner or later produce
tomatoes in space, bringing us one moving step closer to agriculture in space.