This Library provides SSEP participating communities all the documents necessary to conduct the SSEP. All documents referred to throughout this website, as well as additional resource documents, are found here. This Library serves as a single download point for all documents, and provides a description for each.
Most of these are password protected documents. Please see your SSEP Community Program Director for access, or Contact SSEP.
1. General Program Documents from NCESSE
At-A-Glance SSEP Program Overview
Two-page program overview of the SSEP for teachers, students, and stakeholders across your community. This is a MS Word document. If you open it on screen, all the links to relevant content on SSEP web pages will be active, and you can click on a link as needed to see the web content in the appropriate context.
Download: At-A-Glance SSEP Program Overview [updated for STS-135]
To Students—Getting Started With Experiment Design
This document provides a recipe for getting students thinking about the process of experiment design.
Download: To Students—Getting Started With Experiment Design 
[updated for STS-135]
To Teachers—Getting Started With Experiment Design
This document provides a recipe for getting you and your class moving on experiment design. It is a copy of the To Teachers—How to Move Forward web page at this website. It describes how teachers can get up to speed, and provides a recipe for activities in the classroom to get students moving on thinking about and designing their experiments. This is a MS Word document. If you open it on screen, all the links to relevant content across SSEP web pages will be active, and you can click on a link as needed to see the web content in the appropriate context.
Download: To Teachers—Getting Started With Experiment Design [updated for STS-135]
MDA Well Sizes—How Big are the Test Tubes?
This document provides graphics for the sizes of the wells in the MDA mini-lab’s Experiment Slots.
Download: MDA Well Sizes [updated for STS-135]
NEW: Specifications for the MDA Experiment Design and Ground Truth Block
This document provides an overview of the Block’s functions, together with a design drawing and photographs.
Download: Specifications for the MDA Experiment Design Block [updated for STS-135]
2. General Program Documents from the SSEP Community Network
SSEP is undertaken by Local Teams in all of the participating communities. Here we will post wonderful resource documents created by these teams so they can be leveraged across the entire SSEP Community Network.
SSEP Overview: A Power Point
Created by Tina Henckel, SSEP Community Program Director, Shelton, CT. This document is provided as a .ppt file so that you can change the Shelton-specific text and customize to your community.
Download: SSEP Overview: A Power Point
3. Student Proposers Resource Library
a. Master List of Experiment Samples Document
Student Teams proposing experiments MUST ONLY use samples (fluids and solids) listed on this Master List of Experiment Samples. This list includes samples that have previously flown in the MDA and other similar mini-labs designed, constructed, and operated by Instrumentation Technology Associates (ITA), and have therefore passed prior flight safety reviews. The Master List also contains additional non-toxic and low toxicity samples, including generic entries like “various vegetable seeds”.
The samples on the Master List are arranged by category of microgravity science experiment they address, e.g., protein crystal growth, inorganic crystal growth, bacterial studies, fish/aquatic life, food product studies, seeds and plants, fluid diffusion, cell biology, and micro-encapsulation.
Make sure to download the Master List for the correct flight opportunity (STS-134 or STS-135):
Download: STS-134 Master List of Experiment Samples
Download: STS-135 Master List of Experiment Samples [updated for STS-135]
b. Microgravity Science Background and Microgravity Experiment Case Studies Documents
APRIL 15, 2011: note that experiments requiring the addition of a third experiment sample, as described in these documents, are no longer possible for SSEP on STS-135. See this Blog Post.
These document are meant to provide a primer on the categories of science that might be undertaken in microgravity and why, and to provide inspiration and guidance for what kinds of experiments might be proposed.
The Microgravity Science Background document provides a basic overview of science relevant to microgravity studies. For each category of microgravity science experiment listed on the Master List of Experiment Samples, this document provides the science background, why research in this category is important, why gravity is thought to play a role, and why experiments with gravity ‘turned-off’ have been done. This document provides powerful insight into the experiments that naturally flow from the Master List of Experiment Samples.
The Microgravity Experiment Case Studies document provides an overview of select experiments flown on prior flights using the MDA apparatus, and experiments that one might imagine being suitable for an MDA.
Download: Microgravity Science Background [updated for STS-135]
Download: Microgravity Experiment Case Studies [updated for STS-135]
c. Fixatives and Growth Inhibitors Document
APRIL 15, 2011: Fixatives and Growth Inhibitors are no longer useable in experiments for SSEP on
STS-135. See this Blog Post.
This document provides an understanding of why and how student researchers can terminate a biological experiment before the Shuttle leaves orbit, by either introducing a “fixative” which kills and preserves the biology, or by introducing a growth inhibitor which dramatically slows biological activity.
Download: Fixatives and Growth Inhibitors [updated for STS-135]
d. Flight Experiment Proposal Guide, and Related Background Documents for Teachers and for Student Proposers
APRIL 15, 2011: note that experiments requiring the addition of a third experiment sample, as described in these documents, are no longer possible for SSEP on STS-135. See this Blog Post.
These documents provide the requirements for submission of a formal Flight Experiment Proposal.
The Flight Experiment Proposal Guide includes the required content and format for a proposal. Each proposal will be no more than 5 pages, and include: 1) a write-up of the question to be addressed by the proposed experiment, and how it derives from current scientific understanding, and 2) a write-up of the experimental design, including: how the experiment addresses the question posed, why the proposed experiment samples (fluids and/or solids) were chosen, the experimental procedure, and the proposed experimental analysis meant to reveal an answer to the question.
Background for Teachers provides an overview of how the experiment design competition works, requirements for a proposing student team, and requirements for proposal submission.
Background for Student Proposers provides an overview of how to think about the experiment design and proposal process, requirements for a proposing student team, and the proposal evaluation criteria.
Download: Flight Experiment Proposal Guide [updated for STS-135]
Download: Flight Experiment Proposal Guide: Background for Teachers [updated for STS-135]
Download: STS-135 Flight Experiment Proposal Guide: Background for Student Proposers [updated for STS-135]