December 10, 2012

South MS students team up with NASA on unique Mars mission→

December 10, 2012/ Julie

By Trang Pham-Bui

LONG BEACH, MS (WLOX) - It's a mystery that NASA scientists haven't figured out yet: Can organisms from Earth survive on Mars? The answer could come from some South Mississippi students.

This year, students from Mississippi and Alabama are working with NASA on a unique mission. They'll conduct experiments to see if a certain type of algae could grow on Mars. On Monday, they gathered at the USM campus in Long Beach to begin their quest for answers.

NASA is turning to the young scientists for fresh, creative ideas on a new project. Eighty five science students from St. Stanislaus, Bay High, and two high schools in Mobile are participating in a first-of-its-kind study called "Pioneering Mars."

Pioneering Mars

This year, students at high schools in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama, will have the unprecedented opportunity to engage in hands-on research with a team of university and government scientists working on NASA’s Mission to Mars project. Students will use specially-designed incubators at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi to determine whether Antarctic algae could grow in a Martian environment. NASA astronauts will conduct parallel experiments simultaneously on the International Space Station (ISS).

This material is based upon work supported by NASA under grant or cooperative agreement award number NNX12AK94A. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Pioneering Mars

Pioneering Mars

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Pioneering Mars

Pioneering Mars