Meet Zinnia - the first flower ever grown in space!

Space is a fascinating place to be at - with its eerie silence (at least to us, since we can't hear anything), the vast expanse of nothingness, and our earth visible like a football! However, as we all know, most of us will never have an opportunity to visit space in this lifetime at least, but that does not stop us from admiring its beauty from afar and reading up on all its exciting discoveries. Talking about life aboard the International Space Station (ISS), here is how Zinnia the flower bloomed in space, a first of its kind!

Going back in time
In 2016, a bright orange flower Zinnia became the first to bloom in space aboard the ISS. The experiment was part of NASA's "Veggie" plant growth experiment, that aimed to study plant growth in microgravity, and explore food production in space.

Where were the flowers grown?
The zinnia flowers were grown in the Veggie facility, a low-cost growth chamber that provides lighting and nutrient supply for plants on the ISS. Astronaut Scott Kelly shared a photograph of the blooming zinnia, marking the first time a flower had ever bloomed in space.

Did the experiment face challenges?
Growing a flower in anti-gravity did not come without challenges, as managing moisture and mold growth was an issue, but the astronauts were successful in caring for the flowers, and making them bloom. The experiment paved the way for future such endeavors to explore a self-contained life in space, someday.
More news on space
Talking about space, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams are all set to return to earth after an almost 10 month expedition that initially was supposed to last just over a week. However, even though the two could not have been more excited to return, will they miss space? In an earlier press conference from the space station, when Sunita Williams was asked about what she would miss the most about space, she said, “Everything.” She also added that living in space gave her and her colleague a 'unique' perspective. “Not just outside the window, obviously, but on how to solve problems.” She further added, “I don't want to lose that spark of inspiration and perspective when I leave so I am going to have to bottle it up, somehow.”

The astronaut also opened up about the challenges of being stranded in space for months. “It has been a rollercoaster for them [family and supporters], probably a little bit more than it has been for us. We are here, we have a mission. We do what we have to do every day. Every day is interesting because we are up in space, and it’s a lot of fun. The hardest part is having the folks on the ground and not knowing when we'd come back. All of that uncertainty has been the most difficult part," she said.