With the recent desire for human expansion beyond the planet Earth, NASA has begun recruiting schools to conduct research that would ultimately contribute to the colonization of the universe.

“I’m a New York state master teacher, so I was at one of our gatherings and one of the teachers was going through one of the projects they had done in their classes and they mentioned this ‘Growing Beyond Earth’ and the Fairchild Foundation and they said if you’re interested, you can go on the website and apply for the program, and see if they have slots left for people to join, and that’s how it started,” said science teacher Ryan McGrath.

Several classes have been recruited to conduct this research, with students being the primary data collectors.

“I’m involved through my ‘Mysteries of the Universe’ class. The class has been heavily involved with the data collection aspect of the study as we take turns collecting data about the plant growth, given the specific circumstances,” said senior Kevin A.

The plants selected by NASA to be studied were chosen due to their reliability of being a sustainable source of food in  space.

“Misome and bok choy are plants that grow easily and could be used by astronauts, maybe taste good, and are used in lots of recipes,” said science teacher Nicole Fuchs.

Schools in particular were selected to conduct this experiment due to the vast amount of work that is required to generate positive results.

“There are a lot of programs that NASA runs that ask for citizen scientists where they ask citizens to collect data and share with them, with this being one example because they could be testing so many different species of vegetables that they’re now spreading out the work,” said Fuchs.

The protocols provided are unique to the experiment being conducted in the classroom.

“Our [experiments] are comparing how plants grow with plants of the same kind versus plants with other varieties,” said McGrath.

The experiment provided by NASA details how long they have until the experiment concludes.

“Our data will finish after four weeks of growing and we will send that to ‘Growing Beyond Earth’ for the first round,” said Fuchs. 

The protocols selected by the schools involve many stages and steps to be completed, which is why the results of the experiments that appear promising are extremely beneficial to NASA.

“The other plants grew very well. We had basil and some fennel, and what we were trying to do there was trying to choose varieties of edible plants that they could grow on the space station most successfully,” said McGrath.

Students who have contributed to this experiment are eager to await the results of their hard work and are optimistic about their involvement in this program.

“The current results of the experiment have been successful as all the plants have grown substantially since the beginning. We have collected accurate and precise data and followed all the steps thoroughly, creating a successful outcome of our experiment,” said Kevin A. 

The conclusion of the experiment will provide invaluable information to NASA, as well as interesting data for students to examine.

“They will then send us a seminar where they will teach us how to analyze the data, such as utilizing statistical methods to see if there is anything significant that we learned from these numbers,” said Fuchs.

With the conclusion of the experiment nearing quickly, the possibility for further experimentation is an option worth exploring.

“We have the option of doing a second round of data if the class wants to continue, and for the second round we get to make up our own protocols,” said Fuchs.

Students have expressed a desire to continue research like this in the future.

“I find it extremely interesting to have a role in any experiments involving astronomy and space travel. It’s also really cool knowing you had a little role in a huge NASA operation,” said Kevin A.

NASA is encouraging these young scientists to explore further and learn more about what their experiments have to offer.

“They encourage people to try different things, so […] they don’t really reject proposals; [it] sounds like ‘if you have an idea, try it,” said McGrath.

Teachers and students alike are already brainstorming the possibilities for future experimentation in the classroom. 

“I would like those best growing plants [from this experiment], and the best light data from the IA student, put those together, and see what we get,” said McGrath.

Organizations such as NASA are realizing that personal experimentation is the most effective manner of collecting meaningful and accurate data.

“There are two ideas here: we want to encourage and inspire the next generation of growers and experimenters, and we also want to get data that we can actually use. They sort of saw both of these things as folding in on each other because […] if they can get people directly involved in a real project, it’s much more meaningful,” said McGrath. 

This experiment has not only resulted in promising data for the future of space exploration, but also a future for those considering pursuing space exploration.

“It’s very educational for those interested in research and want to pursue their own research at a higher level. It’s also a fun activity for those interested in NASA and space, as a whole, as it gives them a sense of importance when conducting a NASA experiment or participating in a NASA mission,” said Kevin A.

Successful and useful data is rewarded, but participating in this experiment is all the recognition the participants desire.

“We do get stickers that say ‘Growing Beyond Earth,’ and you get the pride of knowing you contributed to something that’s out of this world,” said McGrath. 🔳