Midland "Space Farmers" Win Impressive Awards in Two NASA Competitions

For their fifth year since they started at Jefferson Middle School, the Midland Space Farmers -  consisting of Jefferson Middle School and H.H. Dow High School - impressed NASA scientists and engineers with their hard work and creative ideas. 

On April 29th, the Jefferson Space Farmers presented their space botany research project: “The Effects of Additional CO2 on Misome Plants” at the annual International Growing Beyond Earth (GBE) Student Research Symposium. 

While Jefferson is a team of 22 middle school students, Emerald Reynolds, Cathy Huang, Emma Huang, Aidan Johnson and Sanvi Patel represented the team at the Symposium. They were judged along with the high school teams in front of a panel of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists and collaborators.  Jefferson Middle School earned special merit recognition as the Engineering Creativity team. 

This year, they took a unique approach to growing Misome by adding CO2 pellets to the experimental plant group’s grow box. Students were surprised to learn that too high a CO2 level can actually inhibit photosynthesis (a plant’s process of converting sunlight into usable energy).

“There were many variables that we worked to control, yet the overall amount of CO2 that was absorbed by the plants would need further investigation,” stated Aidan Johnson. “Our experiment was unique in that none of the other teams were thinking about adding more CO2 to the box.”

The team’s goal is to help NASA design better conditions that conserve energy while growing fresh fruits and vegetables for astronauts during long-term space missions. During the Judge’s Q&A session, students and scientists worked together to generate some ideas why the results were not as expected. 

“This is the collaboration that students need to be included in as they develop their STEM skills for the future,” affirmed Christine Brillhart, Jefferson Space Farmers’ advisor. 

The Dow High Space Farmers took on two NASA Challenges this year: The Growing Beyond Earth Program (GBE) and High Schools United with NASA in Creating Hardware (HUNCH) Biomedical Science Division. 

Alongside Jefferson at the annual International GBE Student Research Symposium, Dow High Space Farmer representatives Margaret E. Hitt, Nimai Patel, Aaron Li, Sophie Cai, and Luvya Dhar presented “Optimization of White LED Grow Light for Misome Plant Growth and Development in Simulated NASA Growth Chambers”. The Dow High Space Farmers were mentored by Lisa. S. Tsay.

NASA judges commented on their comprehensive, well-rounded experiment and prepared answers during the Judge’s Q&A. 58 schools participated in the GBE Symposium (more than 350 participating schools) from across the nation and three countries (Canada, South Africa, and Trinidad). The Dow High Space Farmers took home First Place. 

The team also took on a new challenge this year: NASA HUNCH. Margaret E. Hitt, Morgan Polansky, Riley Polansky, Sophie Cai, Meha Shivakumar, Luvya Dhar, and Ashwin Vemury explored how to help astronauts’ Mental Health on the International Space Station (ISS). Their teamwork and determination led them to Finals, where they presented their solution to NASA scientists and engineers at Johnson Space Center this past April.  There were more than 300 teams from all over the states.  The team was interviewed by various NASA administrators and scientists, including Dr. Antony R. Jeevarajan, Deputy Division Chair, Biomedical Research and Environmental Sciences Division, Johnson Space Center (JSC), Jorge Sotomayor, research portfolio manager leading the STEM Client Sphere within the Research Integration Office, JSC, Alli Westover, NASA HUNCH Biomedical & Health Sciences Program Lead, Bob Zeek, NASA HUNCH MSFC Project Resource Manage and Co-Founder, Nancy Hall, NASA GRC project manager.

A Cortisol Biosensor Sweatband may help, according to the team. Astronauts would wear a sweatband that measures the amount of Cortisol, a biomarker for stress, in sweat. This would provide an objective way to test emotional stress levels and eliminate the need for invasive testing. “The great thing is that our prototype won’t affect the astronauts’ busy schedule,” said Margaret, the project lead, “astronauts exercise up to two hours daily, which will allow for consistent stress level testing.”

The team talked about their project to Artemis II Astronaut Victor J. Glover at Johnson Space Center. He connected with the project because of his love of exercising. “No matter what happens today, I get my workout in,” he said, “This is a great project. I love it.”

NASA HUNCH was a great learning experience for the team. “We kept on getting better ideas and continued to make more refined prototypes.” said Luvya Dhar, a former Jefferson Space Farmer, “I got to see the diverse perspectives of my group mates.” 

Morgan Polansky, a new member, found that she could achieve the impossible. “When I think about amazing things like presenting to NASA, I don’t expect them to happen to me, but our team showed up to the challenge, and it made us improve along the way.”

The team thanks their sponsors for their generosity and aid, as it opened the door to connect to various scientists and industries. “I felt empowered that companies and professional researchers supported our high school project”, said Margaret, “we were able to use professional-grade equipment and chemicals that we would have otherwise not been able to afford.” The team had sponsors both locally and internationally: MSU St. Andrews STEM Center, Midland Amature Radio Club, Pickering Labs, IO Rodeo, The Nickless Charitable Foundation, and Pine Research. 

The team was invited to continue refining their Cortisol Biosensor Sweatband for the coming year. “I look forward to advancing our prototype and gaining new insights,” said Meha, another newcomer to the Dow Space Farmers.