Microgravity has been determined to have a significant impact on liver function in mice after two weeks in space. This experiment will investigate whether microgravity has an immediate impact on the function of catalase enzymes in the liver, which are responsible for the neutralization of hydrogen peroxide toxin in our bloodstream. Reactants for this experiment will be 1 cc of food-grade, pureed calf liver and 1mL 3% over the counter Hydrogen peroxide.
Students will gain valuable experience in chemistry, anatomy, current space research topics, microgravity, engineering, experimental design, and critical thinking, even before viewing results from the actual flight.
These projects can be modified to suit any classroom.
- Teacher: Natalie Orrantia
- Teacher: Laura Tomlin
The National Space Society partners with Blue Origin's Club for the Future to promote the Postcards to Space Initiative!
The course will guide you in sending a postcard you create to space which will become A TRUE SPACE ARTIFACT!
This is a perfect opportunity for all ages to get involved in the space program. This course can be used and adapted to any level classroom or informal learning letting. The course discusses the path of your postcard and some information about the flight of the capsule and, with some imagination, you can fly alongside your postcard!
Ms. Werner, a band teacher at a small Catholic school in Dousman, Wi, moved out of her comfort zone and took advantage of a microgravity workshop. The outcome of the workshop was the possibility to take a 0-g flight and test her student designed experiments in various degrees of microgravity. After various iterations of student experimental designs, proposals and flight plans, Ms. Werner and her fellow 0-g flight teachers and their experiments each experienced 11 minutes of weightlessness during a series of two-hour flights aboard the ZERO-G G-Force One Aircraft. They floated in free-fall as 30 parabolas were executed during the flight with each parabola lasting about 22 to 24 seconds. The experiments were tested during the 22-24 second intervals.
Her excitement stirred a whole-school multi-disciplined event that spanned several months in planning for the school event, designing experiments, meeting with colleagues in other disciplines and finally analyzing the experiment designs. A fascinating outcome was using the data to pull from a similar experiment conducted by Mozart and resulted in a composition that was performed during the May 2022 school music concert. Follow along on her amazing journey!
- Teacher: Alicia Chun
- Teacher: Sydney Simon
- Teacher: Lisa Werner
