REAL LIFE NEWS: SPACE FLOWERS
by Hazed
Astronauts on the International Space Station have grown their first flowers. The space blooms are zinnia flowers, and they have taken two years to cultivate successfully.
US astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted a picture of one of the orange zinnia blooms last week, which you can see at the source link below.
It’s very pretty, but it has a purpose other than beauty, because zinnia flowers are edible. The ISS astronauts have been cultivating crops in the station’s Veggie plant system since mid-2014, and recently grew some lettuce.
The plants are grown aeroponically, in an air or mist environment with no soil. This means they require a lot less water and fertiliser, they don’t need pesticide, they’re less prone to disease, and they grow up to three times faster than soil-grown plants.
Being able to grow fresh vegetables will be vital to any long-term mission such as a trip to Mars.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/18/world/first-space-flower-iss/index.html
