Taking the quest for the finest floral to the outer limits, IFF (International Flavours & Fragrances) partnered with NASA to see if a rose would smell just as sweet in space as it does on Earth. In fact, they discovered, it’s even better. “The scent was lighter, more pleasant and like nothing I had smelled before,” says Subha Patel, director of nature-inspired fragrance technology for IFF. “It’s definitely otherworldly. We grew the same plant on Earth and compared them. There’s no doubt that the one from space smelled better and grew faster.”