The background
NEISD officials said Jan. 3 that ISS Mission 18 will contain a number of experiments created by select student teams from around the nation.
One experiment was developed by a team from NEISD’s Space and Engineering Technologies Academy.
While the ISS mission takes place, SETA juniors and seniors Solongel Bass, Tina Tse, Amanda Brake and Bryan Godos will run a control experiment on Earth to determine how microgravity affects chia seed growth, according to NEISD officials. Simultaneously, astronauts aboard the ISS will test those effects with the experiment designed by the students. NEISD officials said Bass, Tse, Brake and Godos are responsible for assembling the experiment for the astronauts, following weight and size specifications.
Digging deeper
NEISD officials said judges selected the SETA students’ experiment following a nationwide experiment search as part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program.
SSEP is a collaboration between the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education.
This school year is the first year of classes at SETA, the result of a merger between two former NEISD magnet schools. NEISD officials said SETA offers classes for sixth through 12th graders interested in aerospace careers.
NEISD is only the second U.S. public school district to formally sign a Space Act Agreement with NASA, giving NEISD students access to a NASA-certified instructional coach, NEISD officials said.
One more thing
Applications for SETA and other NEISD magnet program courses in the 2024-2025 academic year are due by Feb. 5.
