When most of us were celebrating the Valentine’s Day with our loved ones here on earth, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly aboard the International Space Station (ISS) harvested the first ever crop of Space Zinnias.

Growing flowers at the space station in the low earth orbit was an experiment to test whether zero gravity can sustain life. Scientists hope that such a successful experiment can one day help in establishing human colonies on Mars.

It was not the first time when an astronaut grew a plan on the ISS. In August last year, members of the space station dined on outredgeous red romaine lettuce. Although growing zinnias on the space station doesn’t mean life can be possible on other planets, it could encourage scientists to think about being Mark Watney of ‘The Martian’.

“We wanted to test something that they wouldn’t eat, but would still enjoy. Something that was longer duration [than the 33 days it took to grow lettuce]. And we wanted to test out flowering, since flowering is much more complicated than just leaves”, said Gioia Massa, team leader of NASA’s Veggie science.

Growing something eatable on space looks easy, but it a complicated process, Massa continued. In microgravity, air and water don’t mix well and these are the things that a plant need, the scientist added.

Why it is a difficult process? The problem is that at zero gravity, water doesn’t float in the areas where scientists want it to go. To solve the problem, scientists use ceramic tubes that bring much needed moisture for the plant’s root.

Now, scientists are planning to grow tomatoes and some other eatable vegetables in space, said Massa. NASA scientists have been working to prepare the best recipes for vegetable, Massa added.