 | College students develop NASA experiment
~ NASA
Nov. 13, 2009 - When the Atlantis space shuttle blasts into space on Nov. 16, on board will be an experiment developed by college students to study how microbes grow in microgravity. |
| E. coli - colorized scanning electron micrograph | |
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THE STS-129 mission is now scheduled for launch at 2:28 p.m. EST from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA's Office of Education selected Texas Southern University as a 2008 University Research Center. The university established a Center for Bionanotechnology and Environmental Research where students developed the Microbial-1 experiment using the bacteria, E. coli and B. subtilis.
"I'm thrilled that giving students the chance to design and research an experiment to fly in space is one of the tools we have at NASA to engage them in science, technology, engineering and mathematics," NASA Deputy Administrator Lori B. Garver said." These young people are our future, and providing an opportunity to inspire them is a
major part of our mission at NASA."
Each component of the experiment is designed for easy reproduction in the classroom, providing a valuable experience to students.
"This is an amazing opportunity for our students, and it reflects the growing quality of our research programs at Texas Southern," John M. Rudley, president of Texas Southern University said. "We are excited our students have the opportunity to participate in such relevant research. We are also pleased that with our partnerships
with area school districts, we are able to take these projects beyond the university to the school classrooms to encourage more students to study science, math, and technology."
The unique experimental data will be used to develop grade-appropriate microbiology modules for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Data downloaded from NASA's Payload Operations and Control Center will be available on the research center's Web site. In addition, educators will receive a teacher's guidebook featuring
background information, lesson plans and student activities for conducting this project in their classrooms. BioServe Space Technologies at the University of Colorado is providing management support and hardware for the experiment.
