NASA Selects Student Teams For Microgravity Research Flights

June 26, 2013

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

Megan Sumner
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
megan.c.sumner@nasa.gov


RELEASE: 13-198

NASA SELECTS STUDENT TEAMS FOR MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH FLIGHTS

HOUSTON -- NASA has selected 14 undergraduate student teams from
minority serving institutions across the United States to test
science experiments under microgravity conditions. The teams will fly
Nov. 1-8, as part of a collaborative effort between the agency's
Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) and the
Reduced Gravity Education Flight Project.

The teams design and build the experiments at their home campuses. The
experiments are then transported to NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston for tests aboard an aircraft modified that mimic a
reduced-gravity environment. The aircraft will fly approximately 30
parabolas with roller-coaster-like climbs and dips to produce periods
of weightlessness and hyper-gravity ranging from 0 to 2g's.

The experience includes scientific research, experimental design, test
operations and outreach activities. It supports NASA's strategic goal
of sharing the agency's missions and programs with the public,
educators, and students to provide opportunities to participate in
its mission and foster innovation.

The 2013 MUREP teams are from Alabama Agriculture and Mechanical
University, Huntsville, Ala.; California State Polytechnic
University, Pomona, Calif.; Gadsden State Community College, Gadsden,
Ala.; Howard University, Washington; Morehouse College, Atlanta;
Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas; San Antonio
College; San Antonio College (Hephaestus Engineering); San Jacinto
College North, Houston; Texas Southern University, Houston; Tuskegee
University in Alabama; University of Houston; University of Texas Pan
American in Edinburg, and University of Texas at El Paso.

NASA is committed to the recruitment of underrepresented and
underserved students in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) to sustain a diverse workforce. Participation in
NASA projects and research stimulates students to continue their
studies at all levels of the higher education continuum and earn
advanced degrees in these critical fields.

For more information about the Reduced Gravity Education Flight
Program, visit:

http://reducedgravity.jsc.nasa.gov

For more information about MUREP, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education/murep

For more information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education


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