WELLSVILLE, N.Y. — Four Wellsville High School sophomores are working on something out of this world.
They were voted one of the top teams in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. They got top honors in the Western New York region then went on to the national competition. Their science experiment was one of just 25 projects chosen to take flight — to the International Space Station!
The group is studying microgravity's effect on the resistance of Staphylococcus epidermidis to amoxicillin.
"It may sound complicated, but it's essentially just us testing the relationship between bacteria and an antibiotic when the factor of microgravity is introduced," said student Serena Boussa.
Thirty-five projects were submitted for initial review in the Western New York region. Eighteen were chosen to be judged by professionals and educators. Alfred University, Moog, and Corning Incorporated were partners. That group of 18 was then narrowed down to three — the Wellsville sophomores, a group of Wellsville seniors, and a student group from Lockport.
Those three regional teams' projects were then submitted for a step two review by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education. The sophomore group came out on top.
Their project is one of 25 from 23 different communities across the nation that's taking flight. There were even some international submissions.
The Wellsville students came up with the topic on their own, did all of the research, met all of their deadlines, and learned a lot in the process. They hope their work and findings will someday be used to keep astronauts and others safe, especially as interest in commercial space travel grows.
"We've done some other research on prior bacteria experiments that have gone on in space and in microgravity. We're hoping there's no grave change to the bacteria," said student Aidan Jadwin. "We're trying to figure out how it could get stronger or if it stays the same strength when affected by microgravity."
There's no grade attached to their research. They've worked on their project during study hall, after school, and on weekends.
"You just see the drive and determination of these four students to want to do this, to want to win this competition. It's just incredible," said Ross Munson, a teacher at Wellsville and teacher facilitator for the space project in Western New York.
The students are learning about much more than just bacteria and microgravity.
"I think it's giving me a taste of what working with a team is like. I know I was not good with working with a team before. I hope I am a little better now. [I've also learned to find] accurate results and going to the right places to get research," said student Eli Brophy.
"It's been really eye opening because it's helped me realize that I have a big interest in science," said student Ben Jordan.
The team will head to Washington, D.C. this summer to give a speech at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and they hope to be in Florida when their project is launched into space.
Their project will be on board the ISS for four to six weeks. Then it's back to Earth and back to work for these students who will analyze the results over summer break.
This isn't the first time a team from Wellsville has been chosen to send their project to outer space. The program started in 2018, and that year a project was chosen for flight.