Introducing 'Zinnia': The first ever flower grown in space!

A flower has bloomed in the zero gravity of space for the first time ever!

New Delhi: This is one sweet piece of news! For the first time ever, a flower is happily blooming in the zero gravity of space. US astronaut Scott Kelly took to Twitter to announce this historic success and has shared incredible pictures of this orange, 13-petalled beauty.

While the crew of the ISS has grown edible plants before, such as romaine lettuce and arugula - the zinnias are the first flowering plants to be grown, paving the way to grow crops such as tomatoes.

The flower was grown as part of an experiment astronauts are conducting on how plants grow in microgravity.

First ever flower grown in space makes its debut! #SpaceFlower #zinnia #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/2uGYvwtLKr — Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) January 16, 2016

Yes, there are other life forms in space! #SpaceFlower #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/BJFWvQXmBB

— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) January 16, 2016