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2004 SLSTP Research
The following hyperlinks lead to descriptions of research conducted by undergraduate college students participating in NASA's Spaceflight and Life Sciences Training Program at Kennedy Space Center during the summer of 2004.
Plant Health Evaluation
Coastal Vegetation Dynamics
Bacterial Spore Survivability
Zooplankton Communities
Fixation Tube Biocompatibility
Interactive Plant Database
Nutrient Delivery Systems
Land Surface Model
Hypobaric Conditions
Burn Management
Life Support Salad Crops
Composting Space Refuse
Microbial Communities
VOC Production
Controlling Bacteria In Spac
Plant Outreach Database
Pathogen Testing
Florida Scrub-Jay
Evapotranspiration Rates
Growth Characteristics
Antimicrobial Treatment
Bacterial Dynamics
Sediment Concentrations
Reporter Gene Analyses
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Determination of Evapotranspiration Rates for Wheat in Flight Hardware
Mock-up Microclimate
This project tested the survivability of bacterial spores during the impact of a meteorite on a planet and ejection of part of the crust containing the organisms, simulated using the 2-stage gas gun at NASA’s Ames research center. A 1/4-inch aluminum sphere impacted a granite slab infused with Bacillus subtilis spores at 5.4 km/sec. The spalled pieces were collected in layers of polyurethane foam, which were then examined for the presence of viable B. subtilis spores.
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Above: Kimberly Beck, a 2004 SLSTP student, setting up the experiment in a reach-in growth chamber at the SLS lab. Photograph by Adam Santone.
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Colonies were subjected to molecular fingerprinting by RAPD-PCR analysis to confirm the identity of the spores. The results of this experiment indicate that the spores did survive the impact, and that those spores found were the ones placed on the granite, and not contamination.
Background
This experiment was part of ground research activity with the Water Offset Nutrient Delivery ExpeRiment (WONDER), a mid-deck Space Shuttle payload investigating crop production for fresh food and advanced life support. Evaporation and transpiration rates were measured for wheat grown in a flight hardware type substrate compartment and environment. Data about water use and growth rates will be used to develop irrigation control systems for the WONDER flight experiment.
Methods
• 15 wheat seedlings were planted in a substrate compartment (SC) with granular media and a porous tube for nutrient delivery
• SCs were placed in a mock-up flight hardware environment: 1) with plants (measuring evapotranspiration), 2) no plants (measuring evaporation) (figure 2)
• SC water balance measured evaporation, evapotranspiration, and irrigation rates; plant heights were measured to compare evapotranspiration rates with growth
Right: Experimental set-up of the flight hardware mock-up inside a reach-in growth chamber. Irrigation lines for the planted SC are the black tubing on the right. Photograph by Adam Santon.
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Results
Above: Progress of plant growth over time (day after planting (DAP)). Photographs by Jessica Prenger and Kim Beck.
Above: Transpiration increased over time, and the decrease in evaporation may be due to change in relative humidity levels.
Above: Transpiration rates were directly proportional to plant growth. A model of water use for the compartments will be developed from measurements of growth and microclimate.
Author: Kimberly Beck, SLSTP, Texas Woman’s University
Principal Investigator:
Howard Levine, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, NASA, Kennedy Space Center
Jessica Prenger, Dynamac Corporation
Donna Rouzan-Wheeldon, Dynamac Corporation
Click here to download a printable Microsoft PowerPoint version of this research.
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