‘Other life forms in space!’ 1st flower grown on International Space Station

Astronaut Scott Kelly has achieved a significant milestone by successfully growing the first flower in space. The orange zinnia, which can be found in the south west of the US, could be seen in full bloom aboard the International Space Station.
Kelly proudly took to Twitter to share his achievement, where he released pictures of the zinnia, along with the captions: “Yes, there are other life forms in space!” and “First ever flower grown in space makes its debut!”

Yes, there are other life forms in space! #SpaceFlower #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/BJFWvQXmBB

— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) 16 января 2016

The crew on board the International Space Station (ISS) has already managed to grow and eat lettuce. However, this is the first time a flower has been grown and has bloomed and this could have important consequences for the future of space travel.

First ever flower grown in space makes its debut! #SpaceFlower #zinnia #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/2uGYvwtLKr

— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) 16 января 2016

"The farther and longer humans go away from Earth, the greater the need to be able to grow plants for food, atmosphere recycling and psychological benefits," said Gioia Massa, NASA Kennedy Space Center payload scientist for Veggie in May, 2014. "I think that plant systems will become important components of any long-duration exploration scenario."