Beverley High School Get Involved With Rocket Science

 

Students at Beverley High School are taking part in an experiment to explore if space travel has an impact on how plants grow back on Earth.

Part of a project named Rocket Science students across the country have responded to calls from UK astronaut Tim Peake to plant Rocket Seeds that have been in orbit.

Head of Technology at Beverley High school Mrs. Colley said;

“On 2 September 2015, two kilos of rocket seed blasted off from Kazakhstan to the International Space Station.”

“The seeds have been stored in microgravity by Tim Peake and returned to Earth when the staff changed over.”

“These were packaged up and sent to schools who volunteered to take part in a massive growing experiment to see if gravity has affected the growth of the plants and the seed’s ability to germinate.”

“The seeds arrived Tuesday and we got busy planting them according to strict instructions from the RHS. Two packets of seeds arrived, one blue and one red.”

“We don’t know which one has been in space. The seeds will now be carefully looked after for the next 35 days, monitored and measured and the results sent off to the Royal Horticultural Society.”

Rocket is an easy-to-grow salad crop which adds a peppery flavour to salad. Younger leaves are milder, more tender and palatable.

Tim Peake says that the mass experiment is genuinely useful science that will help contribute to the understanding the science of how plants grow in space.

Results from the experiment will not be known for around six weeks and should help discover ways that humans can grow food in space making travelling to distant planets more achievable.

Science Minister Jo Johnson has also backed the project saying that he hopes that by taking part more young people will develop an interest in science.

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