By A. Manderson, teacher of Science
Back in September 2015, Hodgson Academy embarked on an ‘out
of this world’ educational project. Along with half a million students from
around the UK, we are now carrying out an investigation which may help the UK
and European space agencies to determine whether life is sustainable on other
planets, through the production of our own food.
On September 2015, two kilograms of rocket seeds travelled
off of our planet and landed on the International Space Station, which orbits
the Earth. They travelled up in a Soyuz 44S rocket and were stored in
microgravity by British astronaut Tim Peake, before returning to earth in
spring of this year. On Monday 18th April, the seeds landed at
Hodgson academy and the fun began!
This week, students have taken on the role of space biologists
and have prepared identical growing trays for the seeds to help ensure a fair
test. They have sown the seeds and taken care of them. We are now waiting to
see how being away from the Earth’s protective atmosphere has affected the
seeds. We have no idea whether they will even germinate. The best part of
science is asking the ‘what if’ questions and our group of space biologists are
investigating one of the biggest current what if question of all…….. What if we
lived on Mars?
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