LED so magical? Chinese vegetables are expected to cultivate in the space station

The International Space Station botanical garden in the hundred day chrysanthemum flower. (photo from Kelly's Twitter)

Greenwich time on January 17th, in the human head 402 km international space station, out of a flower.

This is the United States astronaut Scott Kelly (Scott Kelly) in the ground science team to support the cultivation of a hundred days of chrysanthemum, she is the first in humans to cultivate the outer space. For the night to take care of her astronaut Kelly, she really like Antoine de San Eksuperi under the pen of the flower belongs to the little prince rose, the one and only, the beauty of this.

However, things are not so gorgeous. Like a beautiful woman, the twists and turns of life, I would like to share with you the wonderful story behind the flowers.

This is a wonderful picture, the background is the earth

Space a flower of the home space station plant laboratory LED light box

Kelly released the Zinnia pictures in full bloom on twitter, to see this "space a flower: flower and leaf green, yellow, orange, orange flowers into gradient state. Fresh fresh color and graceful shape, and Zinnia difference on earth is not too large.

However, because of the zero gravity of the space station, their petals are more open, as if they were doing their best to stretch in the lower back, almost lying on the back, not like the flowers on the earth. This hundred days of growth in the space of the place, is the international space station plant laboratory LED light box, which contains a red, blue and green LED lamp consisting of a set of training system.

Plant laboratory was established in May 2014, its function is not only to study the growth of plants in outer space, but also to explore how to make the astronauts can eat in the space to eat fresh vegetables.

So far, the lab has grown two crops of vegetables.

The first crop, red lettuce. "The first batch of planting vegetables in red, with two stem dead, so the astronauts will be careful with the next batch of vegetables. "Trent Smith, the Smith's project manager, said that when the second crop of sesame seeds was planted, the astronauts took special care to adjust the water supply," said Trent. Most of the vegetables grow. After 1 months of harvest, the flight crew ate their own sesame seeds grown in the space station.

Bright and easy to become a hundred days of flowering plants will be planted in space samples

Third crops, is a hundred days of chrysanthemum.

Zhejiang Academy of forestry, Dr. Yang Shaozong told reporters that the United States is one of the varieties of South America, very easy to blossom, colorful flowers, mainly as ornamental plants. She can also eat, usually used to make salad.

These days, however, are selected to grow outside the sky, not because of their color, but because they can help scientists better understand how plants bloom in microgravity. They are the first plants to grow in space.

"Hundred day chrysanthemum and red lettuce are very different. Smith said, "100 day chrysanthemum is very sensitive to environmental parameters, especially for the changes in light. Their growth cycle is longer than red lettuce, need 60~80 days.

"Hundred days chrysanthemum is very easy to blossom, if let her out of a flower in space, scientists can slowly explore a special environment, the conditions of flowering plants, then the results of the cultivation of food, it is relatively easy. Yang Shaozong guess, this is why the planting of the chrysanthemum hundred days of experience, will become the next battle tomato and other crops growth samples.

Space plants help people go further Chinese vegetables are expected to cultivate in the space station

"Plants do grow in isolation, confinement, and extreme environments, such as man-made environments. "NASA human research program scientist Alexandra Whitmyer (Alexandra Whitmire) said, next, the astronauts plan to plant a series of other vegetables in the space station, and is expected to cultivate a dwarf tomato in 2018.

NASA says that the cultivation of tomatoes is important for the Mars exploration program, because astronauts have to grow their own food without contact with the earth.

If humans are successful in growing plants in space, they can expand on Mars and the moon. "If the astronauts can grow their own food, so in the future space missions, astronauts will not rely too much on the earth's supply is not afraid of loneliness, outer space environment -- because there is such a biological company. "Maier said.

Magic space

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