SSEP FILMS CANADA PRESENTS – The Next Generation of Cancer Researchers – A Mission 3b to ISS Highlight

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THE MISSION:
One of 12 SSEP Mission 3b to ISS experiments, Falcon II Payload, Launching on Orb-1, December 2013

THE COMMUNITY:
Stonewall, Manitoba, Canada

THE SSEP COMMUNITY PROGRAM DIRECTOR:
Maria Nickel
Middle Years Science Coordinator, Woodlands Elementary School
marianickel@shaw.ca

THE SCHOOL WITH THE SELECTED FLIGHT EXPERIMENT:
Grade 5, Brant Argyle School, Interlake School Division

THE TEAM:
Principal Investigator: Ethan Enns
Co-Investigators: Avery Good and Ryan Petricig

THE TEACHER FACILITATOR:
Leslie Nesbitt Fuerst

THE EXPERIMENT:
Will cosmic radiation increase the rate of mutations in yeast’s DNA? Will an antioxidant from green tea decrease the rate of mutations in DNA?

Proposal Summary: We want to know if astronauts can decrease their risk of cancer by taking an antioxidant supplement. Therefore, the question to be addressed by the experiment is:

Will cosmic radiation increase the rate of mutations in yeast’s DNA? Will an antioxidant from green tea decrease the rate of mutations in DNA?

We are using yeast because originally we wanted to test human cells in space but we found out that they would die before they got into space. The cells would not survive for several reasons: there is not enough oxygen, there would be no way to eliminate waste, there would not be enough nutrients, and it would not be warm enough. We will be using yeast as a model for human cells because they are very similar and easy to work with.

We will be testing yeast in saline and yeast in saline with an antioxidant from green tea to see if the antioxidant will protect the yeast from the cosmic radiation experienced in microgravity. On Earth we will have a control consisting of the exact same experiment. This will show us if there is an increased rate of damage to the yeast’s cells from the radiation and if the antioxidant will decrease the damage to the cells.

We hypothesize that the radiation will increase the rate of mutations in yeast’s DNA in space compared to the mutation rate on Earth. We also hypothesize that the antioxidant from green tea will decrease the mutations to yeast’s DNA.

THE LOCAL PARTNERS THAT MADE THIS POSSIBLE:
Interlake School Division

Government of Manitoba
Manitoba Aerospace Association
Manitoba Aerospace Human Resources Council
Aerotech Herman Nelson International
Bristol Aerospace (a division of Magellan Aerospace)
Boeing
StandardAero
Acsion Industries
Acetek Composites
Manitoba Hydro
Allied Wings, Canada Wings
Mr. Alfonz Koncan
Canadian Space Agency
Oak Hammock Marsh
Fort Whyte Center
Central and Arctic Region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Bedford Institute of Oceanography
Kinesiology and Applied Health, The University of Winnipeg
Pembina Trails School Division
Seven Oaks School Division
Mr. Orville Procter
Good Turf Garden Centre
Ricard Farms, Ltd.
Cancer Care Manitoba
Shelmerdine
Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives
University of Manitoba Human Nutritional Sciences
University of Manitoba Food Science
Straight to the Point Community Acupuncture
Royal Bee Farm of Canada
Cornelia Bean

The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in the U.S., and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education internationally. It is enabled through a strategic partnership with NanoRacks LLC, working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory. SSEP is the first pre-college STEM education program that is both a U.S. national initiative and implemented as an on-orbit commercial space venture.

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), Carnegie Institution of Washington, NASA Nebraska Space Grant Consortium, and Subaru of America, Inc., are National Partners on the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program.