Humans, on their future long-range trips to space like one on Mars, would be required to cultivate some of the crops, which makes it essential to understand how plants grow in space. 

In the wake of this growing need, NASA has been planting flower crops in space since 2015 when the Veggie system and its rooting “pillows”, which contained zinnia seeds, were activated by NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren.

NASA shares photo of bloom 

Now, NASA posted a photo of the flower that bloomed in the zinnia plant which was sowed and grown in the International Space Station.

Posting the image of the flower on social media platforms, the space agency NASA wrote, “This zinnia was grown in orbit as part of the veggie facility aboard the International Space Station. Scientists have been studying plants in space since the 1970s, but this particular experiment was started on the ISS in 2015 by NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren.”

NASA’s space garden

Emphasising the space garden’s importance, NASA stated, “Our space garden isn’t just for show: learning how plants develop in orbit will help us understand how to grow crops off the Earth, providing a valuable source of fresh food on long-term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. @NASAAstronauts have also grown lettuce, tomatoes, and chile peppers on the ISS, among other vegetables—with plenty more plants to come.”

A spectacular space garden has been developed by the ISS, which demonstrates the possibility of growing foods outside of the limits of Earth.

Lettuce, tomatoes, and chile peppers have earlier been grown by the NASA astronauts on the ISS, along with other vegetables as plenty more plants are set to come.

Growing plants in microgravity

As per NASA, the challenging procedure of blooming the zinnias gave an exceptional opportunity for scientists back on Earth to get a better understanding of how people can grow plants in microgravity. 

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It also helped astronauts to practise doing what these people will be asked to do on their deep space mission – autonomous gardening.

The photograph left many science aficionados excited and they responded in huge numbers in the comment section.

“Two special things that come together are flowers and space. Thank you, NASA,” stated a user.

“Unbelievable and beautiful,” commented another user.

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