The flower grown in space is a Zinnia, which is a genus of plants in the sunflower tribe within the daisy family. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly has tweeted the image of this wonderful flower that has opened its eyes in the International Space Station. He had been working on the flowering experiment, called “Veggie“, since March 2015.
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The zinnia was selected as the next project for the Veggie system so the scientists could get an understanding of how microgravity affects plants as they flower and grow. On Saturday, American astronaut Scott Kelly announced on Twitter that a brightly colored Zinnia has blossomed at the space laboratory.
According to Kelly, as reported by The Christian Science Monitor, just less than a month ago the plants were still shriveled and moldy.
Crew on the ISS have already grown and eaten lettuce last year aboard the orbiting craft and hope to produce tomatoes by next year.
NASA’s astronauts have had difficulty growing the plants, including a documented case of mold and over-drying around Christmastime. The growing plants are lit by LED lights and fertilized by an automatic release.
“First ever flower grown in space makes its debut”, he tweeted. They were chosen because they can help scientists understand how plants flower and grow in microgravity.
The second crop of the same lettuce was activated in early July by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, and adjustments to watering and collecting imagery of the plants were made.
Veggie project manager Trent Smith said the zinnia flower is different because it is more sensitive to light and other environmental characteristics.
If Nasa is ever to undertake deeper space missions, this research could prove to be invaluable, allowing astronauts to use the Veggie system to grow food. They also take a long time to grow, roughly 60 to 80 days. Being able to grow food en route to Mars will make the crew more self-sufficient and lower the cost of a mission as less food needs to be launched into orbit.
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But flowering plants are a new chapter in space food, says NASA. As such, the agency believes the flowers are a key step toward growing tomatoes in space.
