Seeds blast into space

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Doug Boreham 2.jpg” caption=”Doug Boreham (centre) and the YES I Can! Science team at the US Endeavor launch pad. “]When it comes to getting kids interested in science, nothing beats a space shuttle. Last Wednesday, US Endeavor lifted off at the Kennedy Space Centre, and Doug Boreham was standing three miles from the launch pad to witness it as a guest of the Canada Space Agency.

“Three miles sounds like a long way, but when the thing took off I was glad for the distance,” said Boreham. “A shockwave hits you when the shuttle goes off, and it feels like you have been hit in the chest from the pressure of the explosion. It's very intense.”

As part of his VIP tour of the Space Centre, he was able to go inside the shuttle simulator. “You get the full effect of lift-off and you can really feel the power,” said Boreham.

Boreham's presence underscored a connection between the Endeavor shuttle and McMaster: As director of the YES I Can! Science Project, a web-based resource to help teachers educate students from kindergarten to Grade 12 about science, Boreham and the YES I Can! team were finalizing details on a research experiment involving the shuttle.

The experiment seeks to answer questions about how seeds react when exposed to the elements in space, in particular radiation. Will the plants germinate and will they survive?

“It's imperative to understand the effects of space on plants because if we plan to travel for long distances and for long periods of time in space we need to take plants along, they provide a vital source of nutrition, oxygen and provide psychological comfort,” states Boreham.

The Endeavor will deliver basil seeds to the International Space Station, where they will be stored as dry seeds for a number of years.

Space radiation is a unique form of radiation due to its many components. The radiation is difficult to replicate on Earth, making an experiment in space necessary for accuracy.

The project, known as the International Space Station 07 Project (ISS07), a collaborative venture between YES I Can! and NASA, will simulate the experiment here at McMaster for students in Canada and across the world to watch via live web cam. The seeds on Earth will radiate concurrently with the seeds in space, allowing students to pick out the seeds that are unsuccessful and those that survive the germination process.

In addition to creating excitement in learning, this experiment will further scientists' understanding of the effects of cosmic radiation and how these plants will react when planted on other planets.

“Researchers at McMaster ask questions about how low doses of radiation may or may not be causing diseases such as cancer,” says Boreham. “This experiment will help introduce to students what researchers actually do at McMaster.”

For more information on the ISS07 project and YES I Can! Science, please click here.