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For the fourth year in a row, an experiment proposed by a team of eighth-grade scientists at William S. Hackett Middle School will travel to and be performed on the International Space Station.

Later this spring, astronauts on the space station will conduct research on “The effect of microgravity on mentha piperita” – the effect of weightlessness on the growth of peppermint seeds. The proposal was designed by Grace Fruehwirth, Simone Schou and Naomi Richards (pictured L-R), all students of Allison Sheehan.   

The trio was recognized Tuesday during class, when Middle School Science Supervisor Amanda Powers congratulated them and presented them with certificates.

Their efforts were part of the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP), an experiment-design competition involving students from around the world.

SSEP is part of the grade 8 science curriculum, and student scientists from the district’s three middle schools take part each year. They work in teams to design an experiment that tests the effects of microgravity – weightlessness – on a particular scientific variable. 

Two other groups of Hackett students were the district’s semifinalists in this year’s contest and also were recognized Tuesday. One team consisted of Sheehan students Danielle Abdul-Korah, Clara Baker, Caila Halladeen and Savanna Murphy for their experiment called “the impact of microgravity on epinephrine’s chemical composition.”

Students of Craig Ascher – Arianna Dempsey, Natalie Platania, Pranisha Puri and Juilliene Uy – were the other semifinalists for their proposal called, “The effect of microgravity on bacterial germination of listeria monocytogenes on pome fruits.”

A group of teachers and administrators from throughout the district judged all the experiments and forwarded the top three to SSEP, which selected the mentha piperita project.

Congratulations to the students and their guiding teachers!