Presented at the 2015 International Space Station Research and Development Conference.

1. STEM on the ISS: How the ISS National Lab is Influencing
Students and Teachers in the Area of STEM Education
MODERATOR: JEFF BENNETT, BIG KID SCIENCE / STORY TIME FROM SPACE
JEFF@BIGKIDSCIENCE.COM
STUDENT SPACEFLIGHT EXPERIMENTS PROGRAM
KELLYE VOIGT (TEACHER), JOSEPH GARVEY, RACHEL LINDBERGH
CASIS NATIONAL DESIGN CHALLENGE
KATHY DUQUESNAY (TEACHER), JULIA POWELL, EMMA RHODE
NASA HUNCH EXTREME SCIENCE
MATTHEW BROWN (TEACHER), TREVOR LUCERO, RYAN SPARKS
STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics

2. STEM AND THE ISS
• VISION: Use the ISS to inspire, excite, and
engage students and educators
• MISSION: Create STEM programs that
capitalize on the unique environment of the ISS
• GOALS:
 Increase STEM literacy for all students
 Support teachers in improving STEM education
 Advocate the ISS as a STEM learning platform
 Excite K-12 students about STEM careers
CASIS Education — VISION

3. STEM AND THE ISS
• Build programs to promote ISS as a STEM
learning platform
• Partner with education entities and associations
• Reach out to underrepresented/nontraditional
demographics
CASIS Education — PLAN

4. STEM AND THE ISS
• Education: Teach real science.
• Perspective: On ourselves, our planet, and our
place in the universe.
• Inspiration: For all of us to work together
in building a better future.
Education, Perspective, Inspiration

5. STEM AND THE ISS
IMAGINE astronauts reading stories from the ISS to children and
families around the world, in an exciting new program that combines
literature with science education...

6. STEM AND THE ISS
www.storytimefromspace.com

7. STEM AND THE ISS
SOFIA

8. STEM AND THE ISS
Please Join Us
• Students and teachers would love to talk to you!
• Public Talk: What is Relativity? (In honor of
general relativity’s 100th anniversary)
Tonight, 7:30pm, Hayden Planetarium, Boston
Museum of Science.

9. STEM on the ISS
DUCHESNE ACADEMY OF THE SACRED HEART, HOUSTON TX, CLASS OF 2018
MRS. KATHY DUQUESNAY,
MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER/PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
JULIA POWELL, STUDENT
EMMA RHODE, STUDENT
Effects of Microgravity and
Light Wavelength on Plant Growth

10. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT
• CASIS-funded student research competition
• Duchesne Academy was one of three Houston-area schools
selected
• Teams challenged to develop, design, and implement an ISS
research experiment within specified design parameters
 Experiment must fit within small box-shaped container (10 cm3)
 Minimal energy requirements
 Experiment must have a beneficial, real-life application
Overview of the NDC Pilot Program

11. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT
• Team agreed upon growing pea shoots using combinations of
red and blue light
• Used 1U Ardulab designed by Infinity Aerospace
 Students programmed the Ardulab
 Used tiny Adafruit cameras with limited field of view
 Started with a lucite box then later changed to an anodized aluminum
Original Experiment Design

12. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT
Antares Rocket Explosion (10/28/14)

13. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT
• Experiment design modifications:
 Switched to a 1 ½ U NanoLab with Nesi+
 Used one 3D printed piece for the inset instead of separate
pieces
 Larger cameras and lights placed at the corners (red and blue
lights)
 Modified design was custom built by Texas A&M students
The Second Attempt

14. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT
Ready to Launch

15. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT
Our Mission Patch

16. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT
• 56 eighth-grade students
• Students worked in teams on different areas of
the project including programming, lights,
cameras, growth media, plants, patch design,
communication, and purchasing
• Technical assistance provided by computer
teacher Livia Santos
• Technical assistance provided by Dr. Joe Morgan
and Texas A&M University students
• Mentored by Alli Westover, CASIS Project
Manager
• Scientific expertise provided by Dr. Brian
Stephens, plant physiologist, at Univ. of Houston
Clear Lake
Our Team

17. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT
• Great opportunity for our 8th grade students
• Our team welcomed the opportunity to benefit the
future of mankind
• We hope to supply food for future space colonies
in our lifetime
Moving Forward

18. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT
Emma Rhode
Julia Powell
STUDENT CLASS OF 2018

19. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT
• Became more interested in STEM
• Really enjoyed programming
• Would like to continue studying
science/engineering
• Eventually want to be a
pediatrician
Impact of Research Opportunity

20. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT
• This has opened my eyes to new
level of understanding on how
countries can interact together to
further the development of the
entire world
• Would like to study international
relations and then work in the
foreign service
Impact of Research Opportunity

21. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT

22. DUCHESNE ACADEMY PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT
• Kathy Duquesnay (Kathy.Duquesnay@duchesne.org)
• www.ndcpilot.weebly.com
Additional Information

23. The Hydrofuge Project
MATTHEW BROWN, INSTRUCTOR, WARREN TECH/LAKEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
TREVOR LUCERO, STUDENT
RYAN SPARKS, STUDENT
NASA HUNCH Hydrofuge Project
LAKEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

24. Matthew Brown
HUNCH ENGINEERING INSTRUCTOR
NASA HUNCH Hydrofuge Project

25. •The Hydrofuge Project
▪How did this start?
▪Passing the project on from year to year
▪Different iterations for each program year
•Collaboration
▪The opportunity to collaborate with other
students and professionals
•Business Partnerships
▪Stratasys, Colorado Aquaponics, NanoRacks
Impacts on the Program
NASA HUNCH Hydrofuge Project

26. •Problem Based Learning/Buy In
▪ Every day brings a whole new set of problems
▪ It’s all on them, consequences are real
▪ Students use knowledge gained in academics daily
•Demystifies STEM Fields
▪ Am I smart enough to be an engineer?
▪ Confidence builder
•Students switching to Engineering
▪ As students build confidence, more of them opt to switch
Advancing STEM Education
NASA HUNCH Hydrofuge Project

27. NASA HUNCH Hydrofuge Project
Trevor Lucero & Ryan Sparks
LAKEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL HUNCH STUDENTS

28. • How did we get here?
▪ HUNCH Extreme Science
▪ Five years of development
• What does it do?
▪ Small, automated microgravity plant growth chamber
▪ One basil seedling, two basil seeds
• How does it work?
▪ A combination hydroponic and centrifuge system
▪ Removing water from the roots
The Hydrofuge Project
NASA HUNCH Hydrofuge Project

29. • Design
▪3D Printed
▪SolidWorks
▪Student designed
▪“Tear Drop” shape
▪80 degree angle
• Electronics
▪ Automated, timed system
▪ NanoRacks Embedded System Integration Board and Arduino
▪ Custom microcontroller boards
• Results
▪ Successful plant growth for 12 days
▪ Bearing failure
The Hydrofuge Project
NASA HUNCH Hydrofuge Project

30. pictures of electronics here?
NASA HUNCH Hydrofuge Project

31. NASA HUNCH Hydrofuge Project

32. NASA HUNCH Hydrofuge Project

33. • CASIS
• NASA HUNCH
• NanoRacks
• Jefferson County Schools
• Stratasys Corp.
A Special Thank You!
NASA HUNCH Hydrofuge Project

34. Student Spaceflight Experiments Program
Joseph Garvey, Rising High School Junior,
Palmetto Scholars Academy
Rachel Lindbergh, Rising College Freshman,
University of Chicago
Kellye Voigt, SSEP Community Program Director for North Charleston,
Palmetto Scholars Academy
• SSEP Community Team Reporting Today:
Dr. Jeff Goldstein
National Program Director, Student Spaceflight Experiments Program
Center Director, National Center for Earth and Space Science Education

35. The Tin Whisker Team

36. What is SSEP?
National
Partners
International
Partners

37. What is SSEP?

38. What is the process of SSEP?

39. Impressive Student Engagement with SSEP
● 49,260 students from grades 5-16
● 11,151 scientific proposals
● 153 proposals selected for spaceflight
● 113 experiments successfully flown to the
ISS and returned to Earth
● 25 M7 experiments lost on the SpaceX CRS-
7 launch failure in June 2015

40. Our Experiment
The Development and Detachment of
Tin Whiskers in Spaceflight Conditions
Joseph Garvey, Rising High School Junior,
Palmetto Scholars Academy
Rachel Lindbergh, Rising Freshman,
University of Chicago

41. Development and Detachment of Tin Whiskers
• Small, crystalline, electrically conductive structure
▪ Grow from the base and not the tip
▪ Tin, cadmium, zinc, gold, silver, nickel, lead, magnesium, palladium, platinum, indium,
aluminum, antimony, and iron can whisker
• Four types of failures associated with whiskers
▪ Permanent short circuits; transient short circuits; vapor arcing; detachment
•There is no confirmed growth mechanism theory
▪ No one is sure and has proven what causes the growth of whiskers
What are tin whiskers?

42. Development and Detachment of Tin Whiskers

43. Catastrophic Anomaly
Orb-3
28 October 2014

44. Development and Detachment of Tin Whiskers
▪Lyudmyla Panashchenko
▪Jay Brusse
▪Dr. Henning Leidecker
Our Partners- NASA GSFC

45. Development and Detachment of Tin Whiskers
•Copper-beryllium card guide from the Endeavour
•Cut in half by metal shears
•Bewhiskered sample
Our Current Experiment
Courtesy of NASA.gov Courtesy of L. Panashchenko

46. Development and Detachment of Tin Whiskers
•We expect to find similar growth rates among flight
and ground samples
•Our goal is to determine if the development rates
differed between ground and flight samples
•Our goal is to calculate a detachment for tin
whiskers under spaceflight conditions
Our Current Hypothesis

47. Impact of SSEP on our Community

48. Gabriel
Briefing at NASA Wallops
26 October 2014, Gabe, Joe, and Rachel

49. Joseph

50. Rachel