Plant Experiments Take Root On Space Station To Inspire Students

[NASA News <hqnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sep. 21, 2011

Joshua Buck 
Headquarters, Washington      
202-358-1100 
jbuck@xxxxxxxx 

Kelly Humphries 
Johnson Space Center, Houston 
281-483-5111 
kelly.o.humphries@xxxxxxxx 

Brad Thomas 
National Space Biomedical Research Institute, Houston 
713-798-7595 
rbthomas@xxxxxxx   


RELEASE: 11-319

PLANT EXPERIMENTS TAKE ROOT ON SPACE STATION TO INSPIRE STUDENTS

HOUSTON -- 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. 

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. 

NSBRI, funded by NASA, is a consortium of institutions studying the 
health risks related to long-duration spaceflight. The institute's 
science, technology and education projects take place at more than 60 
institutions across the United States. NSBRI is funding Plants in 
Space, conducted in cooperation with BCM, BioServe Space Technologies 
at the University of Colorado in Boulder and NASA. 

For the teacher's guide, project information, a "how-to" video and 
project imagery, visit: 


http://www.nsbri.org/Plants-in-Space/ 


For more information about the International Space Station, visit: 


http://www.nasa.gov/station   

	
-end-



To subscribe to the list, send a message to: 
hqnews-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To remove your address from the list, send a message to:
hqnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx