A Flower in Egonu

Spirit Has Flower Power

NASA satellite image acquired February 2, 2008. Outside the ground is frozen, quite possibly covered in snow and ice, and yet, stroll through a supermarket in North America or Europe in February, and you’ll be confronted with large displays of roses. We expect flowers in winter, and equatorial countries meet those expectations. A quarter of the cut flowers sold in Europe are grown in Kenya. Straddling the equator, Kenya gets steady sunlight dealt out in days that vary little in length. It’s the perfect climate for flowers year-round. The center of Kenya’s flower industry is Lake Naivasha, shown here. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) flying on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of Lake Naivasha on February 2, 2008. Bright white squares mix with fields of green, tan, and purple along the shores of the lake. Sunlight glints off the long rows of glass greenhouses, turning them silvery blue and white in this view from space. Fallow fields are tan and pink, while growing plants turn the ground bright green. Roses, lilies, and carnations are the most common flowers grown in the greenhouses and fields scattered around the lake. The large-scale industry shown here extends into small-scale rural farms elsewhere in Kenya, where smaller filler flowers are grown. The flowers provide an important source of income to Kenya, but the industry comes with a price. Flowers are not held to the same standards for chemical residues as food products, which are tightly regulated. Strong chemical pesticides can be used on the flowers to produce the perfect, pest-free bloom, and this could pose a health risk to workers and local wildlife, including hippos, environmental groups told the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2002. The chemicals may also have threatened the water quality of Lake Naivasha, one of Kenya’s few freshwater lakes. The Kenya Flower Council instituted a code of conduct establishing guidelines for pesticide that phases out the use of one of the most toxic pesticides. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. Caption by Holli Riebeek. Instrument: Terra - ASTER <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe.

Smaller than a penny, the flower-like rock artifact on the left was imaged by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on the end of its robotic arm. The image was taken on Feb. 24, 2022, the 3,396th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The "flower," along with the spherical rock artifacts seen to the right, were made in the ancient past when minerals carried by water cemented the rock. Figure 1 shows a tighter view of the flower-like feature. Curiosity has in the past discovered a diverse assortment of similar small features that formed when mineralizing fluids traveled through conduits in the rock. Images of such features are helping scientists understand more about the prolonged history of liquid water in Gale Crater. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25077

The Flower Moon lunar eclipse over NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans is shown from the initial partial eclipse to totality in a composite of seven images shot on Sunday, May 15, 2022. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

NASA Spitzer Space Telescope finds a delicate flower in the Ring Nebula, as shown in this image. The outer shell of this planetary nebula looks surprisingly similar to the delicate petals of a camellia blossom.

Flowering Crab Apple Tree in full Bloom in front of the Propulsion Systems Laboratory, PSL Cooling Tower #6 on a Foggy Day in Early Spring

View from a NASA aircraft, TG-14, over the Superbloom of yellow wildflowers and orange poppies from the Antelope Valley in Southern California. The poppy is the state flower.

iss046e017198 (1/22/2016) --- Close-up view of Zinnia grown as part of VEG-01 experiment in the Columbus module aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the composition of microbial flora on the plants and the facility. For this run, Zinnias were grown for 60 days and produced flowers.

Close-up view of Zinnia grown as part of VEG-01 experiment floating Columbus module. The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the composition of microbial flora on the plants and the facility. For this run, Zinnias will be grown for 60 days and are expected to produce flowers.

iss046e017204 (1/22/2016) --- Close-up view of Zinnia grown as part of VEG-01 experiment in the Columbus module aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the composition of microbial flora on the plants and the facility. For this run, Zinnias were grown for 60 days and produced flowers.

The eclipse of the Super Flower Blood Moon over Bayou Bienvenue with the skyline of the city of New Orleans in the distance early Wednesday morning, May 26, 2021. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

The beginning of the eclipse of the Super Flower Blood Moon over Bayou Bienvenue with the New Orleans Crescent City Connection in the distance early Wednesday morning, May 26, 2021. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

The eclipse of the Super Flower Blood Moon over Bayou Bienvenue with the New Orleans Crescent City Connection in the distance early Wednesday morning, May 26, 2021. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

A sliver of the Super Flower Blood Moon over Bayou Bienvenue in New Orleans during the eclipse early Wednesday morning, May 26, 2021. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

The fill material on the floor of this crater looks a bit like a flower

A close-up view of a zinnia flower grown in the Veggie Laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Nov. 27, 2018. Seeds from zinnias growing on the space station were returned to Earth. Researchers in the SSPF planted the seeds in the Veggie control unit and grew the colorful flowers.

Trent Smith, Veggie project manager, Exploration Research and Technology Programs, is in the Veggie Laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 27, 2018. Next to him are zinnia flowers grown from seeds germinated in the Veggie plant growth system on the International Space Station. The seeds were returned to Earth and researchers in the SSPF planted them in the Veggie control unit and grew the colorful flowers.

Desert flowers are seen as Russian support personnel work around the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft shortly after it landed n a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 64 crew members Kate Rubins of NASA, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, Saturday, April 17, 2021. Rubins, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov returned after 185 days in space having served as Expedition 63-64 crew members onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The grave marker of Roger Chaffee from Apollo 1, is seen after a wreath laying ceremony that was part of NASA's Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Wreaths and flowers were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

The grave marker of Virgil "Gus" Grissom from Apollo 1, is seen after a wreath laying ceremony that was part of NASA's Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Wreaths and flowers were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

This image from NASA Terra spacecraft shows an area outside of Bogota, Colombia, one of the country two major flower growing areas.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A great blue heron stands watch among a pond of water lilies on NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is one of 310 species of birds that inhabit the National Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, which shares a boundary with Kennedy. The marshes and open water of the refuge also provide wintering areas for 23 species of migratory waterfowl, as well as a year-round home for great blue herons, great egrets, wood storks, cormorants, brown pelicans and other species of marsh and shore birds. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On the grounds of Kennedy Space Center, a female Golden-Silk Spider repairs its web. The female can be identified by its brownish-green abdomen with a white spotted irregular pattern. The golden-silk spider repairs the webbing each day, replacing half but never the whole web at one time. Its web may measure two to three feet across. The center shares a boundary with the Merritt Island Wildlife Nature Refuge, consisting of 140,000 acres. The Refuge provides a wide variety of habitats: coastal dunes, saltwater estuaries and marshes, freshwater impoundments, scrub, pine flatwoods, and hardwood hammocks that provide habitat for more than 1,500 species of plants and animals. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A water lily stretches above the water in a canal on NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The center shares a boundary with the Merritt Island Wildlife Nature Refuge, consisting of 140,000 acres. The Refuge provides a wide variety of habitats: coastal dunes, saltwater estuaries and marshes, freshwater impoundments, scrub, pine flatwoods, and hardwood hammocks that provide habitat for more than 1,500 species of plants and animals. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

Expedition 64 NASA astronaut Kate Rubins smiles as Adviser to the Head of Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) Yuri Malenchenko gives her flowers and welcomes her home after she, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov landed there Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Saturday, April 17, 2021. Rubins, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov returned after 185 days in space having served as Expedition 63-64 crew members onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Flowers are seen at the grave markers of Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Roger Chaffee from Apollo 1 after NASA Administrator Bill Nelson placed them there during a ceremony that was part of NASA's Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Wreaths were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson lays flowers at the grave markers of Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Roger Chaffee from Apollo 1, during a ceremony that was part of NASA's Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Wreaths were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Lakesha Flowers, Human Resources representative, speaks to participants during an internal knowledge sharing program hosted by Launching Leaders at the Kennedy Learning Institute on May 2, 2023. Launching leaders is an employee resource group that works to identify opportunities to engage emerging professionals at Kennedy Space Center to stimulate the growth of leadership skills, increase overall employee satisfaction, and enhance retention.

The flowering tree was photographed in front of the 10x10 SWT Air Dryer Building. In Adobe Photoshop, the magenta flowers were selected and enhanced. All color was removed from the rest of the image to create an artistic effect.

Recruiting Brochure: Flower

Recruiting Brochure: Flower

Recruiting Brochure: Flower

Recruiting Brochure: Flower

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Roses and other flowers ring the base of the Astronaut Memorial Mirror at the KSC Visitor Complex following a memorial service held for the crew of Columbia on the anniversary of the tragic accident that took their lives Feb. 1, 2003.  The public was invited to the service and encouraged to place the flowers on the fence.  The service included comments by Center Director Jim Kennedy, Deputy Director Woodrow Whitlow Jr., Executive Director of Florida Space Authority Winston Scott, and Dr. Stephen Feldman, president of the Astronaut Memorial Foundation.  The black granite mirror honors astronauts, whose names are carved in the surface, who have given their lives for space exploration.

Swedish Delegation visited Goddard on May 3, 2017. Center Director Chris Scolese greets His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden at Bldg 28. Goddard Child Development Center was on hand with children bearing flags, flowers and a painting of Swedish Linnea flower as a gift.

Photographic documentation of VEG-01 flowers taken by the Expedition 46 crew. The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the composition of microbial flora on the plants and the facility. For this run, Zinnias will be grown for 60 days and are expected to produce flowers.

Swedish Delegation visited Goddard on May 3, 2017. Center Director Chris Scolese greets His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden at Bldg 28. For arrival children from the Goddard Child Development Center greeted him with flag, flowers and a painting of Swedish Linnea flower as a gift.

Photographic documentation of VEG-01 flowers taken by the Expedition 46 crew. The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the composition of microbial flora on the plants and the facility. For this run, Zinnias will be grown for 60 days and are expected to produce flowers.

Photographic documentation of VEG-01 flowers taken by the Expedition 46 crew. The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the composition of microbial flora on the plants and the facility. For this run, Zinnias will be grown for 60 days and are expected to produce flowers.

Photographic documentation of VEG-01 flowers taken by the Expedition 46 crew. The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the composition of microbial flora on the plants and the facility. For this run, Zinnias will be grown for 60 days and are expected to produce flowers.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The sand dunes facing the Atlantic Ocean near Launch Pad 39A (background) at KSC spill purple flowers down its banks. The beach is just south of the Canaveral National Seashore, managed by the National Wildlife Service.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Purple flowers flow across the sand from the dunes facing the Atlantic Ocean near Launch Pad 39A (background) at KSC. The beach is just south of the Canaveral National Seashore, which is managed by the National Wildlife Service.

jsc2017e136939 - At the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the Expedition 54-55 backup crewmembers take a stroll down the Walk of Cosmonauts Dec. 6 to lay flowers in traditional pre-launch ceremonies. From left to right are Jeanette Epp

jsc2017e136944 - In the town of Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 54-55 backup crewmembers Jeanette Epps of NASA, Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency lay flowers Dec. 6 at the sta

jsc2017e136942 - In the town of Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 54-55 backup crewmembers Jeanette Epps of NASA, Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency lay flowers Dec. 6 at the sta

Recruiting Brochure: Ames employee and amateur photographer John Wallace uses base flower gardens as subject of his interest.

Recruiting Brochure: Ames employee and amateur photographer John Wallace uses base flower gardens as subject of his interest.

Recruiting Brochure: Ames employee and amateur photographer John Wallace uses base flower gardens as subject of his interest.

Memorial services for Ames Security Guard Johnny Green. Ames staff members set up a flower memorials at the guard shacks Johnny staffed

jsc2021e029978 (1/6/2020) --- A Photo of the Marigold flower grown during lab test at Toulouse. The Eklosion investigation consist of a vase that is utilized by a crew member to grow a Marigold flower (Tagetes patula) aboard the ISS. The investigation takes place at the leisure of the crew member and helps to study the process of plant growth in space, as well as using a personally tended house plant in space to help establish a psychological link between the crew member aboard the ISS and Earth. Image courtesy of Eklo association.

Expedition 34 Russian Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin, left with flowers, Commander Kevin Ford of NASA, center with flowers, and Russian Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy are greeted at the Kustanay Airport a few hours after they landed near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan on Saturday, March 16, 2013. Ford, Novitskiy, and Tarelkin are returning from 142 days onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 33 and 34 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Internation Flavors and Fragrances Inc. proprietary research technology, Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME) utilizes a special fiber needle placed directly next to the bloom of the living flower to collect the fragrance molecules. SPME was used in the Space Flower experiment aboard STS-95 space shuttle mission, after which Dr. Braja Mookherjee (left) and Subha Patel of IFF will analyze the effects of gravity on the Overnight Scentsation rose plant.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the 2005 FIRST Robotics Regional Competition held at the University of Central Florida March 10-12, Center Director Jim Kennedy (right) autographs the shirt of Dr. Woodie Flowers, who is a national advisor and co-founder of FIRST. Dr. Flowers is the Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

At the Kremlin Wall in Moscow, Expedition 59 crewmember Nick Hague of NASA lays flowers where Russian space icons are interred in traditional ceremonies Feb. 21. Hague, Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos and Christina Koch of NASA will launch March 14, U.S. time, on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station. Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

At the Kremlin Wall in Moscow, Expedition 59 crewmember Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos lays flowers where Russian space icons are interred in traditional ceremonies Feb. 21. Ovchinin and Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA will launch March 14, U.S. time, on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station. Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

At the Kremlin Wall in Moscow, Expedition 59 crewmember Christina Koch of NASA lays flowers where Russian space icons are interred in traditional ceremonies Feb. 21. Koch, Nick Hague of NASA and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos will launch March 14, U.S. time, on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station. Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague of NASA (left), Christina Koch of NASA (center) and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos (right) walk along the Kremlin Wall in Moscow Feb. 21 as they prepare for the ceremonial laying of flowers as part of pre-launch activities. They will launch March 14, U.S. time, on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station. Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei places a flower at the Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial, Friday, June 15, 2018 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Following Kennedy Space Center's Day of Remembrance ceremony in the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy visitor complex, guests gathered to place flowers at the Space Mirror Memorial. Many of those in attendance were family members of the fallen astronauts.

Date: 11-23-11 Location: Bldg 30, FCR-1 Subject: Photograph flowers sent by Shelton/Murphy family in honor of the Expedition 29 flight control team for Thanksgiving Photographer: James Blair

Following Kennedy Space Center's Day of Remembrance ceremony in the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy visitor complex, guests gathered to place flowers at the Space Mirror Memorial. Many of those in attendance were family members of the fallen astronauts.

Goddard Center Director Chris Scolese greets His Majesty Carol XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden outside the Bldg 28 as children present him painting of Swedish Linnea flower as a gift May 3, 2017.

NASA astronaut Joe Acaba places a flower at the Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial, Friday, June 15, 2018 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Following Kennedy Space Center's Day of Remembrance ceremony in the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy visitor complex, guests gathered to place flowers at the Space Mirror Memorial. Many of those in attendance were family members of the fallen astronauts.

The Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial is seen just after NASA astronaut Joe Acaba placed a flower there, Friday, June 15, 2018 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Expedition 33/34 Flight Engineer Kevin Ford of NASA plants a flower at the Kremlin Wall in Moscow where Russian space icons are interred September 25, 2012 as he, Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin and Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy participated in traditional ceremonies leading to their launch to the International Space Station October 23 in the Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a five-month mission. In the background, the backup crew, Pavel Vinogradov, Chris Cassidy of NASA and Alexander Misurkin also planted flowers at the Wall, where Russian space icons are interred. NASA/Stephanie Stoll

A deployed half-scale starshade with four petals at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, in 2014. The flower-like petals of the starshade are designed to diffract bright starlight away from telescopes seeking the dim light of exoplanets. The starshade was re-designed from earlier models to allow these petals to furl, or wrap around the spacecraft, for launch into space. Each petal is covered in a high-performance plastic film that resembles gold foil. On a starshade ready for launch, the thermal gold foil will only cover the side of the petals facing away from the telescope, with black on the other, so as not to reflect other light sources such as the Earth into its camera. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20904

jsc2017e136060 - On a snowy night at Red Square in Moscow, Expedition 54-55 crewmember Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) lays flowers at the Kremlin Wall where Russian space icons are interred in traditional pre-launch ceremonies Nov. 30. Kanai, Scott Tingle of NASA and Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft Dec. 17 for a five-month mission on the International Space Station...Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

jsc2017e136058 - On a snowy night at Red Square in Moscow, Expedition 54-55 crewmember Scott Tingle of NASA lays flowers at the Kremlin Wall where Russian space icons are interred in traditional pre-launch ceremonies Nov. 30. Tingle, Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft Dec. 17 for a five-month mission on the International Space Station...Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

jsc2017e136054 - On a snowy night at Red Square in Moscow, Expedition 54-55 crewmember Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) lays flowers at the Kremlin Wall where Russian space icons are interred in traditional pre-launch ceremonies Nov. 30. Shkaplerov, Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Scott Tingle of NASA will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft Dec. 17 for a five-month mission on the International Space Station...Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

jsc2017e136055 - On a snowy night at Red Square in Moscow, Expedition 54-55 backup crewmember Jeanette Epps of NASA lays flowers at the Kremlin Wall where Russian space icons are interred in traditional pre-launch ceremonies Nov. 30. Looking on are backup crewmembers Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, left) and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency. They are backups to Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, Scott Tingle of NASA and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), who will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft Dec. 17 for a five-month mission on the International Space Station...Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

View from a NASA aircraft, TG-14, over the Superbloom of yellow wildflowers and orange poppies from the Antelope Valley in Southern California, Poppy Reserve and solar panels are in the background.

View from a NASA aircraft, TG-14, over the Superbloom of wildflowers and poppies from the Antelope Valley in Southern California and Poppy Reserve and solar panels in background

Image from a NASA aircraft, TG-14, over the Superbloom of wildflowers and poppies from the Antelope Valley in Southern California

Expedition 65 backup crew member Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Wednesday, March 24, 2021, at Red Square in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Expedition 64 prime crew member Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Irina Spector)

Expedition 65 prime crew member NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Wednesday, March 24, 2021, at Red Square in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Expedition 65 backup crew member Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Wednesday, March 24, 2021, at Red Square in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Expedition 64 prime crew member, Kate Rubins of NASA lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 at Red Square in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Irina Spector)

A bobcat resting leisurely on a retaining wall among the flowering bushes at Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The facility is home to a number of wild animals including the bobcats which are free to roam the more than 300,000 acres of Mojave Desert.

At the Kremlin Wall in Moscow March 11, 2011, Russian cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko lays flowers in honor of fallen icons as part of the ceremonial activities leading to the scheduled launch of Expedition 27 to the International Space Station, scheduled for March 30 (Kazakhstan time) in the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/Mark Polansky

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The calm blue ocean near the launch pads at KSC beckons. The sand dunes facing the Atlantic Ocean spill pink flowers down its banks. The vegetation helps prevent the dunes from eroding. The beach is part of the Canaveral National Seashore, managed by the National Wildlife Service.

Expedition 64 backup crew member, Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 at Red Square in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Irina Spector)

Expedition 64 backup crew member, Petr Dubrov of Roscosmos lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 at Red Square in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Irina Spector)

At the Kremlin Wall in Moscow March 11, 2011, NASA astronaut Ron Garan lays flowers in honor of fallen icons as part of the ceremonial activities leading to the scheduled launch of Expedition 27 to the International Space Station, scheduled for March 30 (Kazakhstan time) in the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/Mark Polansky

Expedition 64 backup crew member, Mark Vande Hei of NASA lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 at Red Square in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Irina Spector)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Near the Astronauts Memorial Space Mirror at the KSC Visitor Complex, guests leave flowers as a tribute to the fallen crew of Columbia. The Columbia and her crew of seven were lost on Feb. 1, 2003, over East Texas as they returned to Earth after a 16-day research mission, STS-107.

Expedition 64 prime crew member Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 at Red Square in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Irina Spector)

NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, left, and Mark Vande Hei, right, watch as Julie Vande Hei, wife of Mark, places a flower at the gravesite of former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn, Friday, June 15, 2018 at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Expedition 64 prime crew member Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 at Red Square in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Irina Spector)

Photographic documentation of VEG-01 taken by the Expedition 46 crew. The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the composition of microbial flora on the plants and the facility. For this run, Zinnias were grown for 60 days and produced these flowers.

At the Kremlin Wall in Moscow March 11, 2011, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev lays flowers in honor of fallen icons as part of the ceremonial activities leading to the scheduled launch of Expedition 27 to the International Space Station, scheduled for March 30 (Kazakhstan time) in the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/Mark Polansky

Photographic documentation of VEG-01 taken by the Expedition 46 crew. The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the composition of microbial flora on the plants and the facility. For this run, Zinnias were grown for 60 days and produced these flowers.

Lowell Grissom, brother of Apollo 1 astronaut Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, is joined by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson as he places flowers at the Apollo 1 monument during its dedication at Arlington National Cemetery, Thursday, June 2, 2022, in Arlington, Va. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At a site in the KSC Visitor Complex, flowers and mementos are left by guests as a memorial tribute to the fallen crew of Columbia. The Columbia and her crew of seven were lost on Feb. 1, 2003, over East Texas as they returned to Earth after a 16-day research mission, STS-107.

Following Kennedy Space Center's Day of Remembrance ceremony in the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy visitor complex, guests including astronauts Tom Stafford, left, and Buzz Aldrin, center, gathered to place flowers at the Space Mirror Memorial. Many of those in attendance were family members of the fallen astronauts.

Expedition 65 prime crew member Russian cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Wednesday, March 24, 2021, at Red Square in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At a site in the KSC Visitor Complex, flowers are left by guests as a memorial tribute to the fallen crew of Columbia. The Columbia and her crew of seven were lost on Feb. 1, 2003, over East Texas as they returned to Earth after a 16-day research mission, STS-107.

Expedition 65 prime crew member Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Wednesday, March 24, 2021, at Red Square in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)