Growing flowers in space is the challenge that Yves Tessier and her co-workers face Eclosion. This project was born on the heels of a competition that was organized CNES In 2019. The winning students, from Nantes and Toulouse, joined forces to fulfill their dream: to send a flower to space! And this dream will come true: on August 1, 2021, the Eklosion capsule Containing marigold seeds will take off in a supply cargo ship to the International Space Station to join Thomas Pesquet. The capsule, which is a transparent cylinder about forty centimeters high, will travel 400 kilometers and these marigold seeds will be the first flowers to grow in space.
This student supervised the entire biological portion of the project. To avoid wasting the astronauts’ time, the capsule works full autonomy. “Once plugged in, it will start the day and night cycle (turn off and turn on the led lights that illuminate the marigold) automatically. Thomas Pesquet will have to water the plant for the first time, then the capsule alone will guarantee two months of flower growth. The capsule will simply be plugged into a socket and will accompany the astronauts in their daily lives.
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