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太空中开出了第一朵花儿
科学正在以前所未有的姿态绽放。
美国航天局(NASA)宇航员斯科特•凯利上周末在推特发了一张照片，展示了有史以来在太空中开放的首支花朵——一支橙色的百日菊。凯利培育了一个多月才得到它。
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted a photo over the weekend of the first flower to ever bloom in space. Kelly cared for the orange zinnia for over a month.
国际空间站的蔬菜培育实验室之所以选中百日菊，是因为它生长周期更长，宇航员和科学家因此能有更多时间观察植株在微重力状态下的生长情况。
The Veggie plant growth facility aboard the International Space Station chose the zinnia flower species because its longer growth cycle can help astronauts and scientists understand how plants grow in microgravity.
蔬菜实验室NASA科学小组组长吉欧雅•马萨在一份声明中表示：“虽然这些植株长得还不算完美，但我觉得我们已经得到了不少收获：我们了解了植物和液体在空间内的关系，也知道了空间站应该怎样与地面实验室协同运作。”
"While the plants haven't grown perfectly," Gioia Massa, NASA science team lead for Veggie, said in a statement. "I think we have gained a lot from this, and we are learning both more about plants and fluids and also how better to operate between ground and station."
不过，这并不是空间站首次尝试栽种百日菊。
This was not the first time attempt at growing zinnias, though.
国际空间站的其他宇航员去年就开始培育这种植物了，不过由于湿度大、空气流动不畅，百日菊的水分都从叶片流失了。霉菌也影响了植株生长。
Other astronauts aboard the ISS began growing the colorful flowers last year, but due to high humidity and low air flow, the plants leaked water out of the tips of their leaves. Mold was also affecting the growth.
后来凯利接手试验，他凭借在自家花园栽百日菊的经验培育它们，终获成功。2015年7月，国际空间站还成功培育出红生菜。凯利甚至尝了一口生菜，并把照片传到自己的推特页面。
Kelly then took over the operation and began tending to the plants as he would in his own garden. The ISS also successfully grew red romaine lettuce in July 2015. Kelly even took a bite of the harvested plants and posted the photo on his Twitter account.
NASA蔬菜培育系统的下一个栽培项目将于今年晚些时候启动。届时宇航员将尝试种植中国大白菜。
NASA's next experimental growth using the Veggie plant growth system will be later this year. Astronauts will attempt to grow Chinese cabbage.
NASA还计划于2018年尝试种植矮番茄。
来源：英语点津