Photographs of a Zinnia flower grown inside the Veggie facility onboard the International Space Station

Photograph of a Zinnia flower grown inside the Veggie facility onboard the International Space Station, taken on January 26, 2016, and released by NASA. The zinnias are part of the flowering crop experiment that began on Nov. 16, 2015, when NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren activated the Veggie system and its rooting "pillows" containing zinnia seeds. The challenging process of growing the zinnias provided an exceptional opportunity for scientists back on Earth to better understand how plants grow in microgravity, and for astronauts to practice doing what they'll be tasked with on a deep space mission: autonomous gardening. UPI