Student Spaceflight Experiments Program
| Founders | Jeff Goldstein, director, NCESSE |
|---|---|
| Established | June 2010 |
| Mission | STEM student outreach |
| Head | Jeff Goldstein |
| Key people | Stacy Hamel, National Program Manager Drew Roman, Technology Manager Harri Vanhala, Science Advisor Tim Livengood, Science Advisor Michael Hulslander, Education Advisor[1] |
| Website | http://ssep.ncesse.org/ |
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE), the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education, and the private space hardware company NanoRacks. The program was launched in June 2010, by the NCESSE in the U.S. and by the Clarke Institute internationally.[2] SSEP provides the opportunity for student groups from upper elementary school students through college undergraduates to design and fly microgravity experiments in low Earth orbit (LEO).[3]
Thus far, SSEP has sponsored eight missions to LEO – two on board the space shuttle, and six to the International Space Station (ISS), with a seventh mission to the ISS announced in April 2014, and expected to fly in the spring of 2015.[4][5]
The competition to select student projects for flight is designed to resemble the standard scientific proposal process. Interested groups must submit proposals in response to announced criteria; these proposals are then peer-reviewed against the criteria in a two-stage selection process, with the vast majority of proposals rejected.[6] In the first eight SSEP flight opportunities, 48,900 students in grades 5 through 15 (junior undergraduate in the U.S. higher education system) participated in experiment design and proposal writing. Of 7,922 proposals received, a total of 114 experiments were selected for flight, with one from each participating community.[7] Each experiment is provided with one mini-laboratory, which is flown on the ISS and then returned to Earth for analysis.[5]
Experiments selected for flight have included research into crystal growth, composting, cell division, seed germination, and calcium metabolism, among other topics.[8][9][10] Students have an opportunity to share their research at a national conference sponsored by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, NCESSE, and the Clarke Institute.[2] Students participating in the program were also given the chance to participate in a live video downlink conversation with space station astronauts.[11]
SSEP operates under a Space Act Agreement between the sponsoring organizations and NASA, allowing the ISS to be utilized as a national laboratory.[12]
References
- ^ "Key Individuals". ssep.ncesse.org. National Center for Earth and Space Science Education.
- ^ a b Gaskill, Melissa (August 6, 2014). "Student Scientists Present Unexpected Results from Space Station Research". Space Station: Research & Technology. NASA.
- ^ "Student Spaceflight Experiments Program". ncesse.org. National Center for Earth and Space Science Education. October 30, 2012.
- ^ "SSEP in the News". Student Spaceflight Experiments Program Community Network Hubsite. National Center for Earth and Space Science Education.
- ^ a b Goldstein, Jeff (April 21, 2014). "New Flight Opportunity for School Districts: Announcing Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 7 to the International Space Station for 2014-15 Academic Year". ncesse.org. National Center for Earth and Space Science Education.
- ^ "The Flight Experiment Design Competition". ncesse.org. National Center for Earth and Space Science Education.
- ^ "Experiments Selected for Flight". Student Spaceflight Experiments Program Community Network Hubsite. National Center for Earth and Space Science Education.
- ^ "Selected Experiments on SSEP Mission 4 to ISS". Student Spaceflight Experiments Program Community Network Hubsite. National Center for Earth and Space Science Education.
- ^ "Selected Experiments on SSEP Mission 5 to ISS". Student Spaceflight Experiments Program Community Network Hubsite. National Center for Earth and Space Science Education.
- ^ "Selected Experiments on SSEP Mission 6 to ISS". Student Spaceflight Experiments Program Community Network Hubsite. National Center for Earth and Space Science Education.
- ^ Grove, Tim (April 26, 2013). "An Out-of-This-World Program". nasm.si.edu. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
- ^ "Student Spaceflight Experiments Program – Mission 6 to the International Space Station". spaceref.com. SpaceRef Interactive Inc. October 30, 2013.