Can Goodstreak wheat, a red winter wheat developed cooperatively by the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station and the USDA-ARS, be germinated in space?

 

Fifty-four Potter-Dix science students in grades 5-12, with help from science teacher Jo Wells, set out to answer this question. The class prepared wheat samples late last spring and sent their experiment onto NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) in July. A $20,000 grant from the Sherwood Foundation and the NASA Space Grant Program funded the project. Dr. David Baltensperger, Soil & Crop Sciences Department Head at Texas A & M University, and Potter resident Joe Larson, soil conservationist at Nebraska Natural Resources Conservation Science, provided in-kind consulting services.

 

The purpose of the Potter-Dix experiment was to determine if microgravity improves the germination rate, root development and shoot growth of Goodstreak wheat.

 

Potter-Dix was one of 11 school districts chosen across the United States in sending a student-designed experiment on the final flight of the U.S. Space Shuttle program that docked with the International Space Station. The experiment is part of a national science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) program called the Student Space Flight Experiments Program (SSEP).

 

Two years ago, Potter-Dix School Superintendent Kevin Thomas decided to take its science department in a different direction, Wells explained. “The school system's participation in this program aligns with STEM-related curriculum adopted by Potter-Dix schools, and encourages students in all grades to learn more about opportunities enriched with science and mathematics concepts,” Thomas said in a release on the school district's website.

 

The Potter-Dix science experiment focused on wheat due to the area's vast agricultural base. The Goodstreak wheat was donated by Larson. The goal of this experiment was to see if locally developed and grown wheat germinated in space could provide food in space.

 

Potter-Dix advanced chemistry student Taylor Holz explained that wheat samples were placed in tiny tubes of distilled water with cotton wrapped around the wheat to absorb the water. The science experiment spent nearly two weeks in space. When the results were shipped back to the school, students realized that the wheat did not germinate as anticipated. Possible reasons for this include too much water inside the wheat tubes combined with the high humidity at the Florida-based NASA center.

 

One question that arose is whether or not gravity is needed in order to germinate wheat in space. Another question is whether or not soil, which was not included in the initial experiment, is needed for space germination.

 

In addition to the wheat experiment on board Space Shuttle Atlantis, another school project from Potter-Dix was also on the flight. A patch design contest was held for Potter-Dix K-12 students that art teachers Beth Bogart and Jennifer Thomas oversaw. Winner of the contest, Potter-Dix High School Junior Devan Baker, designed a locally themed patch which accompanied the science experiment on board the flight. NASA will return the patch which will be on display at the high school.

 

SSEP is undertaken by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education, a project of the 501(c) (3) Tides Center, in partnership with NanoRacks, LLC. This on-orbit educational research opportunity is enabled through NanoRacks LLC, which is working in partnership with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory.