Plant Experiments Take Root On Space Station To Inspire Students | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.22.24

Airborne-Unlimited-04.16.24

Airborne-FlightTraining-04.17.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers-04.18.24

Airborne-Unlimited-04.19.24

Join Us At 0900ET, Friday, 4/10, for the LIVE Morning Brief.
Watch It LIVE at
www.airborne-live.net

Sat, Oct 29, 2011

Plant Experiments Take Root On Space Station To Inspire Students

How Does Your Garden Grow ... In Microgravity?

A unique science project designed to sow the excitement of scientific discovery in students is sprouting this week aboard the International Space Station. The Plants in Space project will allow students and teachers to examine root growth in microgravity and compare the results with those from plants used in their own ground-based experiments.

NSRBI YouTube Frame Capture

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) is funding the project. It began Tuesday, Sept. 20, when space station astronauts planted Brassica rapa seeds during the first of four scheduled five-day trials. The project's primary scientific goal is to investigate the influence of light on root orientation. "More than 31 million students have participated in educational demonstrations on the space station, and more than a million students have done experiments linked to the space station," said NASA's International Space Station Program Scientist Julie Robinson. "It's a powerful force motivating young people to pursue careers that look to the future."

During the trials, astronauts plant seeds in a clear nutrient-filled gelatin. They will take daily photographs of root growth during each trial. Students will design and conduct their own experiments with the help of a teacher's guide developed by the NSBRI. Students will be able to compare observations and results of their investigations to the station experiments and the project's ground-based control. "An important aspect of the Plants in Space project is that it is not cookbook science" said Nancy P. Moreno, NSBRI education and outreach program principal investigator, professor of allied health sciences at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and senior associate director of its Center for Educational Outreach. "Unfortunately, too often in science class, kids follow a procedure, get a predetermined result and really don't experience the excitement of science and the whole process of discovery. We know that if we enable students to ask their own questions, design their own experiments and discover their own answers, they are more likely to develop a greater interest in science."

The Plants in Space project seeks to determine if white light, heavy in the blue spectrum, can influence the direction of root growth in microgravity. Previous research has shown that plant roots respond weakly to blue light. The project also will study the effects, if any, of seed orientation on the direction of root growth. The experiment design calls for mounting seeds in different orientations on a piece of balsawood, then placing them on top of the growth medium.

Data gained from the primary and secondary scientific investigations may help develop systems and techniques so future astronauts can grow their own food during extended spaceflights to destinations such as Mars.

FMI: www.nsbri.org/Plants-in-Space/, www.nasa.gov/station

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.17.24)

Aero Linx: Space Medicine Association (SMA) The Space Medicine Association of the Aerospace Medical Association is organized exclusively for charitable, educational, and scientific>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.17.24): Jamming

Jamming Denotes emissions that do not mimic Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals (e.g., GPS and WAAS), but rather interfere with the civil receiver's ability to acquir>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.18.24)

Aero Linx: Warbirds of America The EAA Warbirds of America, a division of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is a family of owners, pilots and enthusiasts>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.18.24)

"From New York to Paris, this life-size replica of the Webb Telescope inspired communities around the world and, in doing so, invited friends and families to explore the cosmos tog>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.18.24): Hold-In-Lieu Of Procedure Turn

Hold-In-Lieu Of Procedure Turn A hold-in-lieu of procedure turn shall be established over a final or intermediate fix when an approach can be made from a properly aligned holding p>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC