bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Associated Press

The first flower grown in space has bloomed.
NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, International Space Station gardener, shared photos of the prized zinnias this weekend.
“Yes, there are other life forms in space,” Kelly said on Twitter.
The story of the delicate space flower is fraught with ups and downs, similar to gardens on Earth.
Just last month, the small crop wasn’t looking good. The leaves and buds were covered in mould because of a leak in the plant container.
“I’m going to have to channel my inner Mark Watney,” Kelly posted then, referencing the potato-growing skills of the astronaut in The Martian.
An unplanned spacewalk delayed fixing the problem in the space garden and by December 22 they were dying, said NASA’s Trent Smith. Kelly had to act quickly to cut away the mouldy leaves and dry the plant chamber.
By January 12 the plants were on the rebound and some buds had sprouted, Kelly said.
The bright zinnia is not the first crop of the Veggie experiment, but the lessons from their growing process could be applied to tomatoes, also a flowering planet, said Smith.
Red romaine lettuce was the first crop from the Veggie plant growth facility, installed in May 2014. Kelly and Astronaut Kjell Lindgren snacked on the second crop of lettuce in July 2015; the first crop was sent back to Earth for analysis. The third round of the experiments will include Chinese cabbage and more lettuce.


First flower in space blooms aboard International Space Station

Zinnia flowers on the International Space Station seen on Jan. 16, 2016, are the first flowers grown in space part of the Veggie facility and experiment. (Scott Kelly/NASA/TNS)

A zinnia flowers on the International Space Station on Saturday, becoming the first blossom grown in space. Photo: Tribune News Service

News

World