Community Medicine Book By Naveed Alaml
Irmgard Verzi
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program is proud to report that there were a total of 3,683 proposals submitted from student teams across the 38 communities participating in Mission 13 to ISS. Of those, 1,354 proposals were forwarded for review by Step 1 Review Boards in each of the communities. Each Step 1 Review Board selected up to three finalist proposals, which were submitted to the National SSEP Step 2 Review Board.
On November 29-30, 2018 the Step 2 Review Board met at the College Park Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Hyattsville, MD, reviewed all 121 finalist proposals, and selected one proposed experiment to fly for 36 communities, three proposed experiments for one community and two proposed experiments for another community, for a total of 41 flight experiments. By December 17, 2018, the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education formally notified each community of their selected flight experiments.
All 121 finalist experiment teams, along with descriptions of their proposed flight experiments, are provided below. You are also invited to meet the SSEP Step 2 Review Board members for Mission 13 to ISS.
Interplanetary Plantation: The Influence of Microgravity in Cactus Seeds During a Trip to Mars
Grades 5 and 8, Escola Bosque
Principal Investigator: Guilherme Wolter Schirato
Co-Investigators: Guilherme Estavarengo Bernardo, Isabela Issahak Anca, Guilherme Olegrio
Collaborator: Nbia Freire Delgado
Teacher Facilitator: Caroline Campos de Oliveira
Microgravity Fermentation
Grades 6 and 8, Instituto Alpha Lumen, So Jos dos Campos- SP- Brazil
Co-Principal Investigators: Letcia Rodrigues Lage, Vincius Augusto Landim Andrade, Ana Beatriz Ribeiro Bruno, Eduardo Simes de Mello, Joo Paulo Braga Correa
Teacher Facilitator: Juliana Alves Pires Biscuola
Proposal Summary:
Our team is sending Nasturtium Officinale (watercress) seeds to the International Space Station to test the effects of microgravity on germination. If germination is successful, the watercress plant would be considered a food source for astronauts in space. If watercress could be added to their daily diets, it would make a big difference in the health of astronauts. Watercress has more Vitamin C than other food nutrition sources such as oranges, provides more iron than spinach, and has more folate than bananas. It also contains calcium, which is essential for bone and tissue growth. In addition, watercress carries vitamins A, B6, B12, as well as magnesium and phosphorous. These nutrients are all required for a healthy body and will be beneficial to astronauts. According to a study done by the University of Ulster, watercress prevents various types of cancer, such as bowel and breast cancer, as well as cognitive disorders, and strokes. In contrast, watercress increases healthy brain activity, acts as an antidepressant, reduces the chances of developing chronic heart disease, reduces oxidative damage to blood cells, and it can help maintain good eye health. If watercress is successfully germinated in microgravity, we would be able to send seeds up to the ISS for astronauts to grow as a food and nutrition source. Another advantage of watercress is the speed of its growth: from seed to mature plant takes between seven to fourteen days, which makes it an excellent choice for missions in space.
Proposal Summary:
Our proposal is to see if microgravity will have an effect on the survival rate of INS-1 cells; cells responsible for insulin production. According to the 2013 study by Space Research Manager at the University of Waterloo, Danielle Greaves, after a long duration in space, Chris Hadfield and other astronauts experienced symptoms of Type 2 diabetes. It was caused by their sedentary lifestyle in microgravity (Ivan Semeniuk, 2018). This experiment has not been performed in microgravity, so our hope is that conducting this experiment will deepen our understanding of beta cell behaviour here on Earth and in a micro-gravitational environment. With the information we receive from the experiment, we can learn more about beta cell death. This knowledge may lead to new treatments for people with Type 2 diabetes on Earth and for future space travel. We predict that microgravity will cause the INS-1 cells to produce a lot of insulin causing many to burn out from exhaustion and die.
Proposal Summary:
Bacteria is a key factor to life on Earth. It is a primary decomposer as well as a prime recycler for chemical elements, including nitrogen and carbon. It is incredibly important to life on Earth and could lead to resolving issues aboard the ISS. The goal will be to send the bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, to the ISS to monitor how microgravity affects the growth rate and growth patterns of the bacteria. Bacillus subtilis was the perfect bacteria to send because it provides little risk to humans, is easily accessible and will be able to grow in an environment which the temperature is 23.9 Celsius, this is the same temperature as the ISS. The same experiment will be conducted on Earth and the results will be compared. If successful, other bacteria, such as Methanosarcina acetivorans, could be sent to the ISS in the future to help solve problems. Methanosarcina acetivorans, is a decomposer that produces a gas that is flammable (Science Direct, 2018). This could be used to resolve the problem of disposing of unwanted organic waste. Instead of sending it all the way back to Earth, it could be broken down on the ISS. It would help reduce the waste that would be sent down and the byproduct, methane, could be collected and used as a fuel source. However, before looking into these possibilities, Bacillus subtilis must be studied to determine whether the growth rate and growth patterns may change in a microgravity environment.
Will Mold Grow Differently on Bread in a Microgravity Zone?
Grades 5-6, Arrowview Elementary School, School District 69
Co-Principal Investigators: Emily Anderson, Avalon Carey, Liam Einarson, Ethan Gamble, Joshua Gauvin, Evin Izdebski, Novie Pratte, Damien Roberts, Karli Taylor, Jacob Waitson
Teacher Facilitator: Karen Tickell
Proposal Summary:
The question we are focusing on is whether mold will grow differently in a microgravity environment. Our group chose to do bread mold, because bread substances mold quickly. Mold cannot grow on oily substances. Some main types of mold are cladosporium, rhizopus stolonifera, and penicillin. Some are dangerous and some have healing abilities. Mold can be harmful to people, plants, and animals. In some cases mold can cause disorientation, sneezing, itchy eyes, nose, and throat, and postnasal drip. This can lead to unfortunate events, especially on a spacecraft. Our experiment will use one of the two FME 3 mini labs, one for on the space station and one for our control experiment here at our school. In our experiment, Volume 1 will have 0.5cm X 3.0cm of Dutch whole wheat bread. Volume 2 will be water 2 ml of tap water from the town of Qualicum water system with the PH measured prior to adding the sample to the control and ISS tubes. Volume 3 will be the fixative 10% neutral-buffered formalin. Once the experiment comes back to Earth, we will analyze the results with a camera, microscope, ruler, and centimeter grid.
Proposal Summary:
The recent discovery of water on Mars has opened a possibility of new ways that the life sustaining liquid can be obtained in space travel. This new method would rely on collecting water from space bodies that are not our own. The only problem with this method is determining if this water would be safe to drink. Our team is proposing to study if microgravity has any effect on the purification of water. We would collect water from a non-sterile source, like a pond and mix it with purification tablets. Next, we would test the water to see if anything harmful survived.
Can Aquatic Canna Seeds Germinate in Space?
Grade 7, Winfield Middle School, Winfield City Schools
Principal Investigator: Kaitlynn Lynn
Co-Investigators: Jeremiah Conner, Daisy Franks, Kylie Long, Alex Neels
Teacher Facilitator: Freda Curd
Will Honey Bees Larvae Successfully Grow in Microgravity?
Grade 6, Winfield Middle School, Winfield City Schools
Co-Principal Investigators: Charlee Kate Aldridge, Thomas Braxton Cunningham, Gracen Rooker Guin, Kennah Beth Lacy, Mason Rylie Aldridge Miller, Everett Bravell Tilley IV
Teacher Facilitator: Ashley Seals
Proposal Summary:
Our SSEP experiment is to send aloe vera seeds from MySeeds.Company, Arrowhead Spring Water from Walmart, isopropyl alcohol from Walmart, and potting soil from Walmart. Some reasons for this experiment is if an astronaut gets an injury the aloe vera will stop the injury from getting an infection. Aloe vera is a food source, so if it grows fast in space then it can be eaten. Aloe vera is healthy because it contains the vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B3, B6, and vitamin B12. The experiment contains potting soil, aloe vera seeds, Arrowhead Spring Water, and 91% isopropyl alcohol. We will use the type 3 FME. Step 1: 1 milliliter of potting soil, and 4-6 aloe vera seeds in volume 1. Step 2: 3 milliliters Arrowhead Spring Water in volume 2. Step 3: 4 milliliters of 91% isopropyl alcohol in volume 3. While our seeds are germinating in space, we will have seeds growing here on Earth.
Proposal Summary:
My project revolves around osmosis, which is a process by which molecules of a solvent tend to pass through a semipermeable membrane from a less concentrated solution into a more concentrated one. So this is how one mass is absorbed into another mass that only lets in, in this case, water to be absorbed. This project consists of observing a gummy bear and water to see how the gummy absorbs the water. I want to see how microgravity affects osmosis of the gummy bear. I want to see how much mass the gummy bear gets after it is exposed to the water. The FME that I would be using in my project would be a type 3 FME.