There were more than 1,344 student team proposals  made nationwide from which just 15 were selected to go into space. The NanoRacks-National Center for Earth and Space Science-Charlie Brown, and the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP) came together for project which was set up to promote the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education initiative.

The experiments and proposals were of all kind. A set of girl scouts from Hawaii wanted to conduct a study to collect data on the viability of edible plants grown in microgravity. If crew members could grow edible plants in space they would have fresh food supply enabling them to maintain themselves independently. After going through a number of plants they picked arugula microgreens to grow hydroponically in water, rather than in soil.

They also designed an incubator where an LED would provide the microgreens with light and warmth required for growth.  Again after some debate a purple light frequency made up of red and blue was thought to be the best choice for the LED color. Then they wrote a computer program for the incubator and LED to function independently.

It was a great team effort that saw their science project being selected for launch into outer space. One can’t help but think what experiment would you pick to send to the International Space Station if you had the chance? Interesting thought, isn’t it?