The space flower: the first flower grown in space

Can you believe it? There is already a space flower, a beautiful zinnia of striking orange petals.But despite its beauty, that was not the reason why they chose this type of flower.Here in Science Daily Online we tell you how and why.

The space flower: the first flower grown in space

In the International Space Station several lines of research are developed, as it is logical to assume given the immense economic investment and other resources.Alli, since May 2014, a plant growth module was installed, called Veggie , where astronauts have been experimenting with some vegetables-red romaine lettuce , to be precise–.

Planting red lettuce

The idea is to learn about crops, gardening, but not as a hobby to hang out there, but to study r the behavior of crops in space, facing an eventual trip to Mars.

The first space crop was lettuce , and had its problems.For example, some they occurred due to lack of irrigation, which was taken as a lesson learned for the next planting, where adjustments were made both in the irrigation and in the harvest.The success was indisputable, and the astronauts were able to savor in the space a plate of salad fresh.

The next thing they sowed was zinnia, a batch of this elegant plant from the asteraceae family, especially for its properties; The knowledge acquired by the Space Station astronauts is very important, as they could eventually help to successfully achieve fruit growth in plants in an environment completely alien to Earth's space and atmosphere.

The space flower: the first flower grown in space

Also, Zinnia is much more sensitive to characteristics of light and environmental variables than lettuce, and has a longer growth period-between 60 and 80 days-which means that is a plant more difficult to grow ; and getting the space flower to have blossomed is a breakthrough, making it the precursor of tomato.

However, our beautiful space flower has had its setbacks: its leaves got moldy due to high humidity, curling and leaning, and that is known as epistania , which is when the root of a plant is flooded.

The space flower: the first flower grown in space

Communication between the Station and the Earth facilitated the adjustment of water, and Scott Kelly, one of the astronauts, erected in the official gardener, has taken care of the planting and achieved a perfect recovery with the modification in the amount of air of the fan and the disinfection of the plants.

It was the who photographed the zinnia, proud of the first space flower, although it is necessary to say that and the Russians, in 1982, had made flourish a copy of arabidopsis , of beautiful white flowers.

The space flower: the first flower grown in space

Scott Kelly with the Russian Mikhail Kornienko, at the International Space Station

However, the zinnia, this last space flower, represents a step towards a future further and further away from science fiction and more close to reality: the moment when humanity has to leave Earth and make other planets their home.

What is your opinion about it? Do you think that we are in imminent danger and that we should use all our agricultural knowledge to survive elsewhere in the universe?

If you are interested in this article, you will surely like to read: Are we going to live in another planet?

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