Reconstruction symbol "Hamagiku" seeds Collection ceremony for space launch Iwate October 24, 19:17
Otsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture, the area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, will launch the Hamagiku seeds, a flower that has become a symbol of reconstruction, into space, and a ceremony was held on the 24th.
Next year, 10 years after the earthquake, Otsuchi is participating in a project to carry souvenirs from the disaster area to the International Space Station together with about 50 local governments as part of expressing gratitude for the support so far.
The souvenir of Otsuchi Town is the seed of "Hamagiku", which became a symbol of reconstruction with the flower word "to confront adversity". On the 24th, 20 people including local people and children participated in the seed. A collection ceremony was held.
At the ceremony, the children used scissors to cut the flowers and stems, then loosened the flowers by hand and collected 9 grams of seeds to carry into space.
The collected seeds, along with souvenirs from other local governments, were launched from Florida in the southern part of the United States in mid-May next year by the Falcon 9 rocket of the American space development venture company "SpaceX", about a month and a half. By going around the globe and returning to Otsuchi in July next year, the town wants to make use of it to revitalize the region.
Also, on March 11, next year, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi will send a message of appreciation for the 10 years of support that is being recruited from the disaster area along with the collection of souvenirs from space. about it.
A fourth grade girl who attended the ceremony said, "I'm really looking forward to the seeds I've collected going to space. I want to take good care of them when I come back."