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Cranbrook MSG Students Design Experiment for NASA’s “Cubes in Space” Program

5/13/2016

A team of 18 students from the Cranbrook Middle School for Girls submitted an experiment to the “Cubes in Space” program. The program is a STEAM-based global education program that provides 11 to 18 years old students a no-cost opportunity to design and compete to launch an experiment into space. The program works in collaboration with NASA’s Langley Research Center and the Colorado Space Grant Consortium. Students from around the world are able to propose and participate in experiments that will take place on a NASA sounding rocket or high-altitude scientific balloon mission.

Cranbrook’s involvement with this endeavor is an uncommon and very special one. 255 international proposals were submitted to “Cubes in Space” this years, but only 160 were selected for participation. Of that number, only 23 proposals were ultimately selected to launch in the sounding rocket and high-altitude balloon—and the GMS’ project was one of that number.

The girls designed an experiment for a 3D printed cube filled with super-absorbent polymers to be launched on a sounding rocket out of Wallops Island, Virginia next month, as well as from a high-altitude balloon from New Mexico this August. The students will compare the dehydrated polymers after their exposure to microgravity to the control set-up in their classroom, focusing mainly on the absorbency properties.

This initial project has given rise to a follow-up program called “The Tomatosphere Project”, which is sponsored by the Canadian Space Agency. This program allows for participating students to germinate tomato seeds that have gone to and returned from space.

For more information about Cubes in Space, please visit www.cubesinspace.com or at www.idoodlelearning.com.

Congratulations to the participating students for their hard work and this unique opportunity!

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