Space, Editor’s Pick



The International Space Station is home to a new life form: a thriving zinnia with a beautiful orange-yellow bloom.

This image made available by NASA via Twitter posted on Jan. 17, 2016 by space station commander Scott Kelly, shows a zinnia flower out in the sun at the International Space Station.

This image made available by NASA via Twitter posted on Jan. 17, 2016 by space station commander Scott Kelly, shows a zinnia flower out in the sun at the International Space Station. Image by NASA/PA Wire

Space station commander Scott Kelly showed off his gardening results, posting photos of the flower on his Twitter account.

Last month, he had to fight off mould that threatened to kill all the flowers in the space station’s mini-greenhouse but he managed to save some of the crop. He said this type of autonomous gardening will be necessary during Mars expeditions.

U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly, Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Korniyenko, crew members of the mission to the International Space Station, ISS, gesture as they walk to a bus from a hotel prior the launch of Soyuz-FG rocket at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly, Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Korniyenko, crew members of the mission to the International Space Station, ISS, gesture as they walk to a bus from a hotel prior the launch of Soyuz-FG rocket at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Image by (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

The plant-growing experiment previously saw a crop of red romaine lettuce. The space station crew got to sample a few leaves.

The zinnias are not just for looks: Nasa said they are a good precursor to tomato plants.

(Press Association)