The team of four students from Valley View High School have completed their project that was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 12, in June. The project returned to earth earlier in August and was returned to the students for analysis.
The project, “Effect of Microgravity on Soybean Germination,” was developed by 2018 graduates Titan Lam and Semajj Martinez, and current 12th-grader Douglas McCormack and 11th-grader Roman Lara under the guidance of science teacher Stacy Katzenstein.
The project was integrated into the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket that launched from Space Launch Complex 39A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on an ISS resupply mission at the end of June. The Dragon cargo spacecraft returned by splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on August 3 and was retrieved and returned to the port of Los Angeles in San Pedro by a SpaceX recovery team.
The team concluded that the soybeans that travelled to space showed a “significant increase in girth and a slight increase in length when compared to the ground truth.”
“Our students were presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to conduct an experiment in space and we are so proud of them,” said Board Clerk Cleveland Johnson, “It was a huge learning experience that required professional level presentations and analysis.”