Students in space

On Sept. 18, 2013, at 10:58 a.m. ET, Grade 5 and 6 students from Manitoba’s Interlake School Division cheered as Mission 3 of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) lifted off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia. Five days later, on Sept. 23, it successfully berthed at the International Space Station (ISS). On board Mission 3 were two patches commemorating the winning space experiment designed by students from the Interlake School Division – an experiment that could ultimately influence the future of cancer treatment. The Canadian students’ experiment is the first from an elementary school, and the first from outside the United States, to be accepted into the SSEP. 

The Interlake School Division, which is headquartered in Stonewall, Man., about 25 kilometres north of Winnipeg, is one of 17 school districts participating in Mission 3, with their experiment scheduled to be performed in mid-December. The program competition, conducted over the fall of 2012, had two components: the design of a scientific experiment to be performed on the International Space Station, and the design of two mission patches to travel with that experiment. Four hundred and fifty Grade 5 and 6 students from the Interlake School Division researched and developed experiments. 

Sponsoring the work of these next-generation scientists, engineers, researchers and astronauts were the Manitoba Aerospace Human Resources Council, the Manitoba Aerospace Association, the Manitoba provincial government, Bristol Aerospace, Boeing, StandardAero, CancerCare Manitoba, Magellan Aerospace, and many others in the Manitoba aerospace community. 

“We are thrilled to be a part of this historical moment in space education and the spirit of international cooperation,” commented “Commander” Maria Nickel, who is Woodlands Elementary’s middle years science coordinator and SSEP community program director. 

“The program has meant a monumental shift in thinking about science and its future impact,” said Nickel. “Our kids have dreamt huge dreams of cures, treatments, and solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges. It has impacted the way they view science, engineering, technology and math in an exhilarating and captivating way. It has paired kids with each other to work towards a common goal: be the best real scientist you can be, and work hard to be better; challenge each other, cooperate together, be leaders and become leaders, strive for greatness and work as a team of cohesive learners and goal setters. The awe-inspiring emotion felt here is like the excitement felt when Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon in the Apollo mission. Simply put, it has been magical!” 

All Grade 5 and 6 science teachers in the Interlake School Division were trained on the SSEP, and all their students were assigned to teams. Each team submitted a formal research proposal for review, 16 of which were sent to a local Flight Experiment Design Competition Review Panel made up of high school science teachers with a specialty in space science, and a university professor of Kinesiology, Athletic Therapy and Biomechanics. Three finalists were then sent to the International Review Panel in the U.S., where one proposal, from Brant Argyle School, with a population of 36 full-time equivalent students, was selected for the flight to the ISS. 

The winning experiment, which could affect cancer treatments in the future, was designed by Ethan Enns, Avery Good, and Ryan Petricig, under teacher Leslie Fuerst. The experiment uses yeast cells to mimic cancer cells, in order to study how cosmic radiation affects DNA, and whether the natural antioxidant found in green tea can prevent radiation damage. 

The second place winners, Alex Chester, Grace Goodman, Laura Brad and Jordan Schott, have been part of Nickel’s “Space Knights” program for three years. Their experiment aimed to test the effects of microgravity on the nutritional elements of Raw Royal Jelly from honey bees to discover if it could be used as a nutritional supplement to help slow bone loss in astronauts in space as well as osteoporosis patients. Nickel started the “Space Knights” program after attending a Honeywell-sponsored Advanced Space Academy for educators. 

“Ms. Nickel is very good at doing cool things,” said student Jordan Schott. “She was my science teacher and I always loved what we did in her classes.” 

The third place winners were from Harold Enns’ class at Woodlands Elementary. Hailey Friesen and Jennifer Fossay’s experiment focused on using algae as a biofuel source to power spacecraft or future stations on the moon, Mars and beyond. 

All three finalists’ experiments have real world implications for current earthbound challenges.

Since the inception of the SSEP in June 2010, there have been six flight opportunities. To date, 60 communities have participated in the program, with more than 100,000 students across 540 schools taking part.