Hilbert Student Experiment to Fly on International Space Station

Can peppermint seeds germinate in space? The students from Redford Union School District’s Hilbert Middle School will find out later this Spring/Summer. The experiment, developed by a team of Hilbert students, was selected for testing on the International Space Station in this year’s Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 13 to the ISS. SSEP is a national STEM education initiative of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE). The experiment is expected to launch into space in the Spring or Summer of 2019. It is anticipated that the experiment will remain in space for 4-6 weeks before returning to Earth for further evaluation.

Nearly 300 Hilbert Middle School grades 6-8 students have participated in SSEP Mission 13 to the ISS. The students spent the last several months immersed in microgravity experiment design and proposal writing. Mission 13 is the first SSEP flight experience for the Redford Union School District community.

The SSEP is spearheaded by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education, a non- profit organization that inspires the next generation of scientists and engineers by engaging their natural human impulse to be curious and explore. “If we as a nation are to compete in the 21st century, we must begin to teach science as a process of discovery, like science itself,” said Center Director Dr. Jeff Goldstein, adding that the student competition follows the approach used by NASA to select research projects designed by professional scientists.

Dr. Sarena Shivers, Superintendent of The Redford Union School District stated, “This is one of the most phenomenal hands-on learning experiences I have had the pleasure of being a part of with students and teachers. Our students have learned the invaluable lessons that come along with teamwork, creativity, following proper procedures, rules, regulations and finding concrete, research-based ways to solve real-life problems. The day-to-day experience, teaching and learning was led by Mrs. Maureen Lemon. She is a patient, talented and dedicated educator that without hesitation, gave 110% to ensure Hilbert students would succeed. She is one of our best.”

The Winning Hilbert Team

8th grade Hilbert students, Ada Mahar, Dontez Robinson, Destinee Cobb, Ethan Cuevas-Martinez and Joseph Clark began the Hilbert SSEP program in September. They, with their fellow students, spent nine weeks learning about the microgravity environment on the ISS and researching different experiments performed in space. Through this research, they discovered the benefits of peppermint in treating nausea and depression. The group decided to move forward with their idea of testing the germination of peppermint in space. They worked incredibly hard to research and write a proposal that investigated peppermint germination in microgravity and they are excited to move forward with the investigation.

Thanks to Our Sponsors and Judges

Several individual and organizations donated to ensure this initiative could take place. The Redford Union School District and Hilbert Middle School want to thank everyone for all of the individual donations from educators, Redford alumni and community members. We are also VERY thankful to the Redford Youth and Community Foundation, Barrington Irving of Flying Classroom, the Elk Lodge and the Ford Foundation for their generous donations. Our next major funding opportunity will be to raise funds to take this amazing team of students and their teachers to Florida to witness the launch of their experiment at the NASA flight launch. Details are still forthcoming, but we hope to garner financial support from the community.

In early November we had a team of eight STEM (science, technology, engineer and mathematics) judges that gave up a day from their regular roles and responsibilities to participate in the initial phase 1 judging. These judges came from across SE Michigan and hold many prestigious roles in our community. The judges consisted of: Bob Wyatt, Program Manager at Roush; Greg Johnson, Director Wayne Regional STEM Network at Wayne RESA; Cindi Hopkins, Technology Teaching and Learning Consultant at All Covered; Megan Wetzel, Content Director at STEM Inc.; Koren Clinkscale, principal at Beech Elementary; Fredrick Crutcher, Lab IT Services Manager at Borgwarner ; Sana Haq, high school science educator at RUHS; Ravi Reveendra, Scientific Director at ESI Group and Pam Evans, high school science educator at RUHS. We are tremendously thankful for their service, dedication, diligent work and expertise!

The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP)

The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program [or SSEP] is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in the U.S. and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education internationally. It is enabled through a strategic partnership with DreamUp PBC and NanoRacks LLC, which are working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory.

SSEP is open to U.S. schools and school districts serving student in grades 5 through 12, and 2- and 4-year colleges and universities, informal science education organizations, and internationally through the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education. SSEP is designed to allow large groups of students to participate as community teams to design experiments across diverse fields, including seed germination, crystal growth, physiology and life cycles of microorganisms, cell biology and growth, food studies, and studies of micro-aquatic life. Experiments must be designed to meet the technology and engineering constraints imposed by the mini-laboratory aboard the ISS, and flight operations to and from low Earth orbit. SSEP Mission 13 to ISS includes an experiment design competition to be held September 4 through November 2, 2018. Flight experiments were selected by December 13, 2018, for a ferry flight to the ISS in Spring/Summer 2019.