Expedition 44 members became the first American astronauts to eat plants grown in space on 10 August 2015, when their crop of Red Romaine was harvested.[27] Since 2003 Russian cosmonauts have been eating half of their crop while the other half goes towards further research.[28] In 2012, a sunflower bloomed aboard the ISS under the care of NASA astronaut Donald Pettit.[29] In January 2016, US astronauts announced that a zinnia had blossomed aboard the ISS.[30]