Approximately 1,250 middle and high school students from 71 schools around the world joined Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens for a Growing Beyond the Earth (GBE) student talk with scientists, marking an inspiring milestone in the program's 10th anniversary year.
The live session, held in collaboration with NASA, connected classes directly with Dr. Gioia Massa and Trent M. Smith, senior leaders of the Space Cultures Production Group at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Students heard first-hand how their classroom experiments are helping NASA identify and grow the best crops for future astronauts on long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.
“Our students are contributing to real NASA science,” said one faculty member. “It’s incredibly motivating for them to know that their data could one day influence what astronauts eat in space.”
Growing Beyond Earthled by Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden in Miami, Florida, brings authentic NASA research into the classroom in a way that few science programs can. For more than a decade, the 83-acre botanical garden, known for its conservation, education and research programs, has worked hand-in-hand with NASA to improve understanding of food production in space.
Students use specially designed plant growth chambers to test how different crops perform in conditions that mimic those of a spacecraft. The data they collect is shared with NASA scientists, who use the findings to refine ongoing research into space crop production.
Since the program's launch, more than 120,000 students in more than 800 classes have tested more than 250 plant varieties, with five student-tested crops already grown aboard the International Space Station.
Growing Beyond Earth exemplifies the mission of NASA's Science Activating (SciAct) program, which connects NASA science with people of all ages and backgrounds in ways that energize minds and promote greater understanding of our world and beyond, with the ultimate goal of increasing students' active participation in the advancement of human knowledge. By engaging students as active participants in cutting-edge research, projects like GBE not only advance NASA's goals, but also develop curiosity, creativity, and confidence in the next generation of scientists and researchers. This year, the GBE Student Chat celebrated this impact by showing how student research conducted in classrooms around the world is contributing to the future of space exploration.
“When students see themselves as part of NASA's mission, they understand that science is not something distant, but something they can do,” Dr. Massa said. Teacher Espy Rodriguez from Hialeah Senior High School said, “It made them [her students] projects matter. I think it gave the kids a real sense of community. We are far away, but we are united.” By growing plants, analyzing data, and sharing results with NASA, these students are helping humanity prepare for life beyond Earth, proving that the seeds of future discovery are being sown in today's classrooms.
GBE is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement number 80NCCS2M0125 and is part of NASA's Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real-world content and experiences with community leaders to engage with science in ways that activate minds and promote greater understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/.
