From small ideas, big possibilities emerge. 1816 students are applying what they’ve learned in school and robotics to solving real world problems. Josh C. fills us in:
During the first week of aerospace engineering class, we were told about the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP). We were challenged to design an experiment around microgravity with the chance of having our experiment launched into outer space and performed on the International Space Station. Our team chose to study “Bean Root Growth in Microgravity.”
In class, we were instructed to form groups with people we could work with, then design and write a proposal for SSEP. Our team, which consisted of robotics members Grayson I., me (Josh C.) and robotics alumni Colin S., first got our experiment idea from Biology class last year, where we learned about gravity’s influence on plant growth. This idea got developed further when we contacted our external advisor, Dr. Simon Gilroy, a professor of Botany at the University of Wisconsin Madison. We originally found Dr. Gilroy from an article about him doing an experiment with a plant in space. After reading that article we knew he would be a perfect advisor for us. We then sent him an email if he’d be willing to help. He then quickly responded and said he would happily help. After a short meeting with Dr. Gilroy, he gave us suggestions on how we could further design our experiment, including using CAD to design and 3d print a holder for the seed. This will help the seed stay in the proper orientation. In microgravity, there’s no way for the seed to know truly which direction is up or down, so we predict that the orientation of the seed in the holder will play a large part in the direction of the root growth. Dr. Gilroy also gave us suggestions on how to write a professional proposal and research paper. By November 1st (the same date as college application deadlines), we were able to write and submit a project proposal and experiment design.
180 experiment proposals were submitted by Edina School District students in grades 5-12. Three proposals were selected as finalists, and our group was named the winner in late December (see this story on local TV station, Fox9). As representatives of our school district, we are excited to begin the next steps in finalizing the experiment and preparing it for launch next spring. – By Josh C.