Did scientists just grow the first-ever space flower 'Zinnia' aboard ISS?
Humans dream of traveling beyond Earth, even to Mars one day, so the ability to grow food in space will be an important factor as fresh vegetables could reduce the dependency on packaged meals, provide mental comfort to astronauts on long missions, and play a key role in recycling air and water.
Over the years, scientists and astronauts have tried to grow plants in orbit with mixed results. These efforts aren't just science experiments; they're a part of preparing for a future where long-duration missions will require sustainable life-support systems.
Growing flowers, especially, has a psychological benefit as it brings beauty and a sense of home into the cold, metallic confines of a spacecraft.
Did scientists grow the first-ever
space flower
?
One such memorable moment happened in 2016 when NASA astronaut Scott Kelly posted a photo of a blooming flower aboard the International Space Station (ISS), calling it the 'first ever flower grown in space.'
He also added, 'Yes, there are other life forms in space!' along with the hashtag #spaceflower.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Rent Luxury Vacation Homes
peoplediscovery
Learn More
Undo
However, Zinnias had faced a mold outbreak and was close to dying. But by using new care instructions from NASA botanists and by using Kelly's close attention, known as "green thumb", the plants recovered and eventually bloomed. The flowers were part of NASA's Veggie experiment, which aims to test food production in space.
Kelly's zinnias weren't actually the first flowers to bloom in space
According to Space.com, astronaut Don Pettit successfully grew a sunflower aboard the ISS in 2012 using plastic bags as makeshift pots.
He described its progress in a blog post titled Diary of a Space Zucchini, writing, 'Sunflower is going to seed! His blossom is wilted-brown and has a few lopsided packed seeds.'
Apart from that, cosmonauts on Russia's Mir space station in the 1990s grew dwarf wheat that flowered. And even earlier, in 1982, the Soviet crew aboard Salyut 7 grew Arabidopsis, a small flowering plant, which according to the Guinness Book of World Records, was the first to flower and produce seeds in space.
But perhaps the earliest attempt dates to 1966, during the uncrewed Soviet Cosmos 110 mission. As described by authors Brian Harvey and Olga Zakutnyaya in Russian Space Probes (Springer, 2011), some beans on board germinated and even flowered, and that too, twice as fast as their Earth-based counterparts.
What is the Veggie experiment?
Even though Kelly's zinnia wasn't the first flower in space, its bloom still marked a milestone. The Veggie experiment was developed to grow edible crops like lettuce, which Kelly and his crew tasted. NASA's goal is to eventually grow tomatoes and other produce for long missions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
NASA & ISRO's Earth observation satellite NISAR lifts off from Sriharikota. What happens now
It is the first satellite to be mounted with dual SARs—L and S bands—operating in different frequencies. NISAR, which took off at 5.40 pm from India's Sriharikota space port, will produce high-resolution images and data on various aspects of the planet, including key information for predicting disasters such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods and earthquakes. New Delhi: Post its launch Wednesday evening, the world's most expensive and powerful Earth observation satellite, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), will undergo a series of actions for nearly 90 days before it starts releasing its scientific observations. Aravind Ravichandran, Earth observation consultant and communicator, and founder and CEO of TerraWatch Space, an independent advisory and strategic communications firm, said in a statement that NISAR is the 'most important Earth observation (EO) satellite ever' because of the global impact it promises. 'NISAR will complement foundational EO missions like Sentinel-1 by offering consistent, freely available SAR data, which also becomes valuable for training foundation models. It will have a significant global impact, especially in the Global South, where persistent cloud cover and limited ground infrastructure have led to data gaps,' he said. Also Read: Lift the veil, abandon Soviet-era approach. Indian science community wants ISRO to up its PR game What will happen after launch? In a press conference announcing the launch of NISAR, scientists from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration had said that Indian Space Research Organisation's GSLV-F16 will place the 2.8-tonne satellite into a sun-synchronous polar orbit. The mission is carrying a 12-metre-wide reflector, which will serve as a radar antenna. Since such a large piece of equipment cannot be carried in its original form, it was folded up compactly during the launch, and once the satellite reaches its intended orbit, it will be opened up using a complex multi-stage boom system. This deployment process is expected to begin on the 10th day after the launch. Before the radar antenna is unfurled into its complete form, engineers will undertake pre-deployment checks. In its last leg of deployment, the satellite will perform a 'yaw manoeuvre' to precisely orient itself before beginning operations, according to NASA. In its mission handbook, NASA states that NISAR's global and rapid coverage will provide unprecedented opportunities for disaster response, providing data to assist in mitigating and assessing damage, with observations before and after disasters in short time frames. 'NISAR will also be capable of measuring changes in groundwater reserves across the land. Climate change, coupled with growing populations, is causing increasing stress on groundwater resources globally,' it adds. The US space agency, which is partnering with India's ISRO for the first time for a SAR satellite, said that by measuring changes in Earth's surface, the scientific community across the world will be able to understand processes occurring below the surface. 'Subsidence (downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface) is often the first indication of changes in reservoirs or over-exploitation of aquifers. Subsidence that continues for too long can lead to irreversible collapse of the aquifer system. Informed decisions allow us to make the most of our resources sustainably and economically,' it says. Experts also highlighted the scale of data that NISAR will be dealing with and how the mission places India as a trusted partner in the global space domain. Yashas Karanam, co-founder and COO of Bengaluru-based Bellatrix Aerospace, a space start-up, said the collaborative effort shown by ISRO in providing the launch service and the S-band SAR, and NASA providing the L-band SAR on this project, truly exemplified what global cooperation focused on the well-being of the planet should look like. 'What sets NISAR apart technically is its interferometric SAR (InSAR) capability, which will provide a meter-scale resolution. It marks a shift in our ability to model, mitigate, and adapt to climate change and natural disasters,' Karanam told ThePrint. 'In many ways, it stands as a civilisational asset, providing foresight and data necessary to potentially avert the impact of natural and anthropogenic threats,' he added. (Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui) Also Read: 'Today's the day!' $1.5 bn ISRO-NASA partnered NISAR satellite set for liftoff
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
Andhra CM, Jagan congratulate ISRO on NISAR satellite launch
'My congratulations to the scientists who successfully launched the NISAR satellite, a joint effort by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA, through the GSLV-F16 launch vehicle,' said Naidu in a post on X. The Chief Minister hailed the successful collaboration between ISRO and NASA for NISAR and the use of GSLV-F16 for this mission. Amaravati, Jul 30 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and opposition leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday congratulated ISRO on the successful launch of NISAR–NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite. The successful launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) in Tirupati district is a matter of pride for us as Telugu people, he said. This highly powerful earth observation satellite is immensely useful, said the CM, adding that the progress India is achieving in the fields of science and technology is a symbol of our self-confidence. Reddy also extended his congratulations to ISRO on the launch of GSLV-F16 for the flawless delivery of NISAR into orbit. 'Best wishes to all the scientists and teams involved in this remarkable achievement,' Reddy added. PTI STH ROH This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
ISRO-NASA launch NISAR to scan earth's surface twice every 12 days
In the works for over a decade, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched their first joint weather satellite on Wednesday at 5:40 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) will track movements in polar ice, forest biomass, wetlands, and changes in the earth's crust. The data generated from the satellite will be made freely available to researchers and governments worldwide, making it a global asset for climate research, disaster response, and natural resource management. This is the first such collaboration between the two space agencies. The NISAR satellite will orbit earth for at least three years, using its sophisticated radar systems to scan nearly all of the planet's land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days.'Separation confirmed. Each stage, precisely. Cryo ignition and Cryo stage performance flawless. GSLV-F16 delivered NISAR to orbit,' ISRO said in a statement post the satellite has been developed at $1.5 billion, making it one of the most expensive weather satellites and an Indo-US space collaboration. It is also the world's first radar imaging satellite to use both NASA-developed L-band and ISRO's S-band SAR technology, allowing for high-resolution monitoring of land and surface changes. 'It will support monitoring of infrastructure, such as dams, bridges, and roadways. The satellite's cloud-penetrating ability will help urgent-response communities during weather disasters such as hurricanes, storm surges, and floods,' NASA US agency has contributed the L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), a high-rate telecommunication subsystem, GPS receivers, and a deployable 12-metre unfurlable antenna. ISRO, on its part, has provided the S-band SAR payload, the spacecraft bus to accommodate both payloads, the GSLV-F16 launch vehicle, and all associated launch satellite's data will also be used for sea ice classification, ship detection, shoreline monitoring, storm tracking, crop mapping, and changes in soil moisture. NISAR will take about 90 days to start capturing data and sending it back to ground stations. 'While this mission was primarily led by national agencies, it paves the way for the dynamic Indian private space sector to actively contribute to such cutting-edge collaborations in the near future,' said Lt Gen AK Bhatt (retd), director general, Indian Space Association (ISpA). He added that this is a landmark mission in international cross-border space collaboration, showcasing the strength of ISRO and NASA's scientific partnership in advancing earth observation. Weighing 2,392 kg, NISAR features NASA's 12 m unfurlable mesh reflector antenna, integrated with ISRO's modified I3K satellite bus. Union science and technology minister Jitendra Singh said the satellite is a game-changer in the precise management of disasters like cyclones and floods. 'The inputs from NISAR will benefit the entire world community, in the true spirit of 'Vishwabandhu,' he wrote on X.
