On the ISS in early 2016, flowers will bloom
Zinnia flower on Earth, in the sun
on November 16 at the ISS, the Veggie system, designed for growing plants, was activated. This system will now help astronauts grow zinnias , as well as make these plants bloom. Perhaps for the first time in the history of space exploration by humans, flowers will bloom outside the Earth. Let it not be the Moon or Mars, but the achievement is quite tangible.
Flowers will be grown not for their own pleasure (although, why not?), But as a scientific experiment. Scientists want to see how plants will bloom under zero gravity and in unusual conditions. Earlier, lettuce was grown on the ISS, but to grow flowers and make them bloom is a more difficult task.
According to one of the project participants, lighting and other environmental parameters play a huge role here. In order to still make zinnias bloom, the astronauts will turn on red, blue and green LEDs in the system, as well as activate the water supply and fertilizer system. Veggie is a rather complex system, among its other features - monitoring of growing plants. Zinnias enter the flowering phase approximately 2 months after the appearance of the first sprout. This is twice as long as the astronauts needed to grow lettuce on the ISS.
A day (on the ISS, day and night change is supported artificially) LEDs will work for 10 hours.
“Zinnia cultivation will help improve our knowledge of how plants feel in the Veggie system, and it will help us begin to grow fruiting plants, such as tomatoes, right in orbit,” said Trent Smith, head of the Veggie project.
Researchers are hoping to gather information on the pollination process under zero gravity conditions, while pollen can be a problem and affect the team’s health status. It is planned to start growing tomatoes in 2017.
The Veggie system was developed by Orbital Technologies Corp. (ORBITEC) in Madison, Wisconsin, and checked prior to flight. Veggie was delivered to the ISS with the seeds of some plants in April 2014, the third SpaceX flight.
Here's the process of growing lettuce in space: