Well, not a real gorilla, of course, but a man wearing a full-size gorilla suit. It would still be scary if that thing suddenly popped out of a bag and came running at you.
NASA's Scott Kelly, the commander of the current international mission at the ISS, published a video on his Twitter account, in which astronauts pranked their co-worker by putting a man wearing a full-size gorilla suit inside a bag.
The video shows the man trying to register the bag which came from Earth as part of cargo. In the middle of the process, his colleague, dressed in a gorilla suit [maybe Kelly?], comes out of the bag and starts chasing after the man.
Needed a little humor to lighten up a #YearInSpace. Go big, or go home. I think I'll do both. #SpaceApehttps://t.co/Ift8VdDR4C
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) February 23, 2016
It's funny to watch, but it might not have been all that amusing for the man who got pranked.
Kelly is certainly a fascinating man. Last week, he said his team managed to grow flowers on Valentine's Day in the Veggie plant growth system on the ISS.
Nursed the #SpaceFlowers all the way to today and now all that remains are memories. Happy #Valentines Day! pic.twitter.com/blJMoIOYEe
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) February 14, 2016
This experiment provides a great opportunity for scientists to study how plants, including vegetables, could be grown in space. As humans are planning longer space missions, astronomers will need to grow their own food.
The growth of zinnias was a test-run before NASA plans to grow tomatoes on the ISS in 2017. NASA is hoping that by learning how to grow vegetables in space, astronomers will be able to supplement their diets with fresh vegetables.
