SpaceX Dragon to Carry 23 Student Experiments to Space Station

Oct. 03, 2012

Ann Marie Trotta
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1601
ann.marie.trotta@nasa.gov


RELEASE: 12-347

SPACEX DRAGON TO CARRY 23 STUDENT EXPERIMENTS TO SPACE STATION

WASHINGTON -- Twenty-three microgravity experiments designed by
participants of NASA's Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP)
will become part of space history Oct. 7. They will be launched to
the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Dragon, the first
commercially developed and built American spacecraft to fly a
resupply cargo resupply mission to the station.

Twelve of the SSEP experiments are getting a second flight
opportunity. They were delivered to the space station on a SpaceX
demonstration mission in May, but were not completed. The other 11
experiments are new.

Each experiment will study the effects of microgravity on physical,
chemical and biological systems. The students have been immersed in
every facet of research, from defining investigations to designing
experiments, writing proposals, and submitting to a formal NASA
review for selection of flight experiments. The 23 experiments
represent more than 7,000 students and almost 2,000 proposals.

"SSEP offers a unique flight opportunity that allows students to
experience both the excitement and the challenges inherent in
conducting research in a microgravity environment," said Roosevelt
Johnson, deputy associate administrator for education at NASA
Headquarters in Washington. "It really is STEM [science, technology,
engineering and mathematics] in action, using the International Space
Station -- which has America's only orbiting National Laboratory --
to host these students' science experiments."

SSEP began in June 2010 as a cooperative venture by the National
Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) and NanoRacks
LLC, a national STEM education initiative. The organizations work
together to give hundreds of students across a community the
opportunity to design and propose real experiments to fly in low
Earth orbit. Teams submit formal flight experiment proposals, and a
formal proposal review process selects the flight experiment for the
community. A suite of programs leverages the flight experiment design
competition to engage the entire community, including a mission patch
art and design competition.

SSEP payloads were flown in 2011 aboard space shuttles Endeavour and
Atlantis on their respective STS-134 and STS-135 missions. The third
round of experiments in May was the first to be conducted in orbit by
space station astronauts. Next week's Dragon launch is the fourth
flight opportunity. A fifth suite of experiments is scheduled for
spring 2013.

More than 100 SSEP students, teachers, and family members will travel
to Florida to attend the SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station.
SSEP is one of many programs that use NASA's science and exploration
missions to encourage students to pursue a STEM-centric school
curriculum. NASA's Office of Education is committed to inspiring and
developing the next generation of scientists and engineers through
experiential, hands-on learning.

To learn more about the SSEP, including future opportunities for
student participation, visit:


http://ssep.ncesse.org

To learn more about NASA's education program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

To learn more about the International Space Station, visit:


http://www.nasa.gov/station


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