[space-blogs] Letters to Earth (Astronaut Don Pettit): Diary of a Space Zucchini - Thu 26 Apr 2012 12:48:PM
A spacefaring zucchini aboard #ISS turns over a new leaf in @astro_Pettit's #spaceblog: bit.ly/Jqx1ez
March 26
I have new leaves! I am no longer naked to the cosmos. They are not as big as before however they are just as green. Broccoli and Sunflower have leaves as well and are vibrant. We all have happy roots. This is a hard to explain to a non-plant, but I am feeling very zucchini now.
March 27
We are all back in the space flight game. Tomorrow is a big day. An unplanted spacecraft is arriving with a cargo of much needed supplies. If the automatics fail, we as crew have to be prepared to take over in the final stages of docking. I am ready; it will not fail because of me.
March 28
The cargo spacecraft arrived and docked without any problems. We have had all this training, we have prepared with leaf and stem just in case things go wrong. There is a small voice inside that would like the chance to use this training, thus saving the day in the face of a malady. On the frontier of space, it is unwise to wish for malfunctions; you do not want to be a hero.
March 31
We had a long and tiring week. There was much activity that took us well into Friday evening. We were all looking forward to some off duty time. Gardener said he would treat us to some window time. There is nothing like catching a few rays to green up the foliage. Saturday morning, the big gardener that speaks from the wall told us the cargo vehicle had an electrical failure and might need to undergo a contingency undock in the next day or two. It was planned to stay docked for months where we could unpack the supplies in an orderly process over a three-week period. To save our precious supplies, we had one day to do three weeks of work. With all the large bags floating by, it was good to stay out of the way. Any one of them could have easily smash us into salad. Later that evening, Gardener came by and we presented him with our vibrant green and tickled his nose with our fresh aroma. When we saw a tired smile come to his face, we knew we had done our part in this contingency.
Don's blog also appears at airspacemag.com
March 26
I have new leaves! I am no longer naked to the cosmos. They are not as big as before however they are just as green. Broccoli and Sunflower have leaves as well and are vibrant. We all have happy roots. This is a hard to explain to a non-plant, but I am feeling very zucchini now.
March 27
We are all back in the space flight game. Tomorrow is a big day. An unplanted spacecraft is arriving with a cargo of much needed supplies. If the automatics fail, we as crew have to be prepared to take over in the final stages of docking. I am ready; it will not fail because of me.
March 28
The cargo spacecraft arrived and docked without any problems. We have had all this training, we have prepared with leaf and stem just in case things go wrong. There is a small voice inside that would like the chance to use this training, thus saving the day in the face of a malady. On the frontier of space, it is unwise to wish for malfunctions; you do not want to be a hero.
March 31
We had a long and tiring week. There was much activity that took us well into Friday evening. We were all looking forward to some off duty time. Gardener said he would treat us to some window time. There is nothing like catching a few rays to green up the foliage. Saturday morning, the big gardener that speaks from the wall told us the cargo vehicle had an electrical failure and might need to undergo a contingency undock in the next day or two. It was planned to stay docked for months where we could unpack the supplies in an orderly process over a three-week period. To save our precious supplies, we had one day to do three weeks of work. With all the large bags floating by, it was good to stay out of the way. Any one of them could have easily smash us into salad. Later that evening, Gardener came by and we presented him with our vibrant green and tickled his nose with our fresh aroma. When we saw a tired smile come to his face, we knew we had done our part in this contingency.
Don's blog also appears at airspacemag.com