PART 1: These messages explained
PART 2: The Great Plant Debate: details on the collaborative activity
PART 3: News from space: crew change and plant status
PART 4: Shannon comes home
PART 5: Life in space: jello and pink socks

Many folks have been confused about the recent S/MORE messages.
A recent note from Susan Herzog of the Harlem/Washington Heights
neighborhood of New York City succinctly sums up some problems:
 "My impression of the journal articles is that it is hard to understand
the context in which they are written.  For instance, who was the person
wandering around Moscow? Why were they there?  Also, what was the
beetle activity monitor monitoring? What beetle activity? What problem
is being investigated? Are these postings designed to be mysterious?"

Susan raises some good points.  And she goes on to make some concrete
suggestions about how to correct some of the problems. Thanks Susan!

It is certainly not our goal to be mysterious. The intent is to show a
diversity of real tasks. But in the future, I'll include a sentence or two
of background to help orient you towards the story which follows.  Also,
almost all authors have their biographies (with more background) on our
Web site.  I'll begin providing pointers to these bios to make it easier
to connect to the richer backgrounds.

But I'm not sure if there will ever be the full background that I think
folks are really looking for.  The info just doesn't exist.  I'll try to
share what we know about why these folks do what they do, but it
definitely won't always have a neat start, middle and end. That would be
great, but part of the cost of sharing the real world is that the real
world is messy and hard to describe.  Hopefully it will still be useful.

Please keep the constructive criticism coming.  Together we can grow
this project into something very valuable.

Yours, Marc

In the last S/MORE #2 message, we outlined the collaborative activity
in which classrooms around the world design plant-growing hardware,
debate the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches,
and then compare with NASA designs.  Here are some more details on Part 1.
Hopefully, the information will be enough to get you started.

Part 2 will involve growing actual plants, taking data about these plants,
sharing the data online and discussion to make sense of the various
results. This activity will take place beginning in November.

Overview of The Great Plant Debate
The goal of this activity is for students to have a classroom experience
that parallels the process used by US and Russian scientists as they
discuss, plan, and conduct joint science on the Russian Mir Space Station.
Through this collaborative activity we hope to:
- Encourage use of science skills (observation, data collection, comparing
  and contrasting, communication, reasoning and use of evidence, design of
  experiments)
- Increase understanding of plant growth concepts, and why we study
  plants in space
- Arouse enthusiasm, excitement, and interest in science, plants, and
space
- Facilitate cooperative learning in the classroom
- Involve students in critical thinking/problem solving scenarios.

Key Questions
- What is needed to keep plants alive and healthy in space?
- What system is best for growing plants in space?
- What are the primary uses of plants in space?
- What stressors effect plants in space?

Background
Plants are of great interest to space scientists because of their
potential role in yielding insight into new medicines, in keeping the
spacecraft air clean, in providing food and recycling wastes, and in
helping keep the astronauts happy and healthy!

Concepts
- Conditions necessary for plant growth
- The stages of the plant life cycle
- The steps in the scientific method

Time Frame
The complete set of activities can be spread out over 3 months, individual
elements that take 1-2 weeks can be done in a stand alone fashion.

PART 1:
Classrooms around the world discuss and design plant-growing hardware,
using the Internet to debate the strengths and weaknesses of various
approaches, and then compare with NASA designs and NASA expert guidelines.

Sep 22 - Oct 14:
Classroom exercise and discussion of growing conditions for plants on
Earth, then discussion and design of what is needed to grow plants in
space; at conclusion, classes share designs for posting online.
(Additional details about sharing the designs will be made available
shortly.)

Oct 14 - Nov 1:
Discuss various design ideas, debate good and bad points, try to reach
consensus.  (Additional details about participating in the debate will be
made available shortly.)

Nov 1 - Nov 15:
Get feedback from experts, some interactions to help students see how
their answers compared to NASA experts


Constraints and Microgravity Guidelines

Teachers - you do not have to build the hardware design in your classroom.
We are looking for you to come up with a list of what is required, with
reasons and justifications for each of the items.  We are encouraging
debate and discussion within the class originally, then with other classes
once we start putting results online.

Constraints

These are intended to get the discussion rolling.  Especially for younger
students, please don't let them get discouraged by what seems like very
restrictive requirements for spaceflight - let the kids come up with the
best they can at their level of understanding.

Size - all items must be contained within a 1 Cubic Meter Box (1m x 1mx
1m)

Weight -  less than 25 Kilograms (Hint:  tell students that recent
estimates show that it costs approximately $30,000 to launch 1 Kg to
orbit)

Crewtime  -  limited to 10 minutes per day to check up on your plant box;
remember the astronauts are extremely busy.

Power - 120 volts 10 amps available (not really what's available in space,
but we want to keep it to what kids are familiar with), extra points if
you devise innovative approach to producing your own power

Data/Computer Connection - standard serial port available for up and
downlink to your classroom on the ground ( for the technologically gifted)

Water - must be self contained, within your weight and size limitations,
extra points if you propose a system to utilize waste water from the crew

Air - drawn from the crew cabin, assume at 20 degrees centigrade, if you
want it warmer, you'll have to provide the heat source (don't forget the
heat from your lights)

Microgravity Guidelines (things to remind students)

Water - in space, free water forms a sphere, students can't just have the
astronaut stick his hand in and water the plants with a bucket

Soil or other media -  all items MUST BE CONTAINED in space, meaning that
the astronauts aren't going to be happy with bits of soil, dust, or
vermiculite floating around the cabin (in fact its strictly forbidden)

Convection currents - remind them there are none, so without a fan, or
some means to blow the air around, hot light bulbs tend to explode, and
plants tend to wilt in their own waste gases.

Day/Night -  in a typical orbit, sunrise comes every 90 minutes, use
sunlight in your proposed design if you wish, but remember that most of
the crews work area is not in direct sunlight, and a 90 minute day/night
cycle can wreck havoc with growth and flowering.

Pollination - though we have flown bees and other insects in space, for
this project, none will be allowed in the plant hardware

FURTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR THE INITIAL PHASE OF THE PROJECT (SEP 22 - OCT 14)

To better understand and compare growing conditions for plants on Earth
and in space, it works best to review what students know about how plants
grow on Earth.  Refer to these conditions as Earth-normal plant growth
requirements.

DIRECTIONS TO STUDENTS

Think about how all types of plants grow on Earth - whether growing
outdoors or in a specially controlled area such as a greenhouse.  List all
of the conditions you can think of that help keep plants healthy and that
help them grow to maturity.

Make a chart of three columns.  Label the first column "Condition", in
this column use one or two words to name the growing condition needed.
Label the second column "Source."  In this column name the source of that
condition.  For example, if light is named in the first column, you might
put "sun" or "flourescent lights" as a Source.  Label the third column
"How Helpful."  In this column, jot down a few words telling how or why
the condition helps the plant grow or remain healthy.

You will have 10 - 15  minutes to complete as much as you can on your own.
Then you will be share your thoughts with a small group.

TO THE TEACHER:

After 15 minutes, group students by 3's or 5's.  Instruct them to share
their ideas.  They should add to their individual lists the new ideas that
others in the group had listed.  Encourage students by suggesting that any
group who can list 9 or 10 conditions is exceptional.  Naming of 8 is good
and a listing of 6-7 is what most people would likely list.

Allow the groups about 5-8 minutes to share answers.  Then, using a large
sheet of butcher paper or a poster board entitled  "Earth-Normal Plant
Growth Requirements," develop a class poster that will be posted
throughout the remainder of all plant activities.

Possible answers:  Light, temperature, water for roots, humidity (water in
the air) for plant parts above ground, fertilizer, dirt, pesticides (good
time to introduce the concept of organic gardening), people caring for
plants (talking to and touching plants does make a difference??), carbon
dioxide, prepared soil areas (gardens, fields, flower pots, etc.), farm
equipment, gardening tools, power to run electrical equipment used in any
way to help plants grow, monitoring equipment (computers, light meters,
etc.)

TO THE TEACHER ON THE CONSTRAINTS AND GUIDELINES

Inside the space shuttle, in addition to serious concern for safety,
everything must adapt to microgravity.  The purpose of the constraints
section is to help students transfer their thinking from Earth Normal
growing conditions for plants, to what is normal in space flight, or Space
Normal growing conditions for plants.  Remember that the space shuttle and
space station environments are microgravity environments.  The moon does
have 1/6 gravity and Mars has 1/3 gravity.  Growing conditions for
habitats for moon and Mars would be somewhat different.  For this lesson,
we focus on shuttle and station "space normal" conditions.

Discuss with students the term "microgravity."  What are some of the
differences they know microgravity makes for the astronauts daily life in
space?  (Many have seen TV coverage of shuttle flights or TV programming
that demonstrates the weightlessness of microgravity.  Help them apply
those conditions to their own daily routine and what differences that
would make in common activities such as brushing their hair, drinking
water, etc.

Have students review the Earth Normal Growing Conditions list.  Through
small group work (use the same grouping that were assigned for Part One,
have students decide which requirements are affected by microgravity.
Have the groups discuss how and why they would be affected.  Have each
group select 2 of these conditions for explanation to the class.  Each
group should choose a spokesperson(s) for this oral reporting.  As each
group presents, discuss as is needed.

Related Activities/Discussions

How do different cultures negotiate working together in space?  For
example, how do you decide what language to use, what kind of food you
will eat, who's rules you will follow?

Resources

See STELLAR Experiments #1 (Wheat Germination) and #3 (Hydroponics)

See Frank Salisbury's journal and biography on the SMORE Team pages

See  Tana M. Hoban-Higgins, Ph.D. discussion of day/night cycles and
circadian rhythms

Discussion of Space Biology, and the SVET greenhouse on Mir

Astronaut Shannon Lucid returned from the Mir space station where she had
been performing various experiments for the past six months.  More about
her return is below.  During the same mission, astronaut John Blaha
started his mission; John is scheduled to stay onboard the Mir until
January 1997.

Meanwhile, here are some recent reports on the status of the space biology
experiments underway onboard Mir:

Sept. 6
Greenhouse operations are proceeding and the plants continue to grow.
Soil moisture probe (smp) data were called down last week. Reporting of
the smp
data and logbook notations will continue. Video footage was downlinked and
copied for use by the Russian investigators. Shannon Lucid reported the
number of plants in each row; this will aid the investigators in
determining when and how many plants to fix in the upcoming operations.

Aug. 30
The Greenhouse operations are proceeding. Soil moisture probe (smp) data
were called down daily last week. These reports of the smp data and
logbook
notations will continue. The principal investigators, Russian and
American, decided to eliminate the fixation scheduled for the first phase
of growth of the dwarf wheat. The second phase was sampled on Monday
Aug. 26. Eight plants were fixed, four from each couvette. Only chemical
fixation was performed, as per instructions from the principal
investigators. Video was also downlinked and copied for the Russian
investigators.

[Editor's note: It is big news around NASA that Shannon Lucid is finally
back from her experience.  In the next updates-sm message, we'll get back
to the stories of some of the people on the ground who make this science
possible.]

Astronaut Shannon Lucid returned to Earth today on the Space Shuttle
Atlantis "in great shape," eager to see her family, take a shower and feel
the sun and wind after a record six months in orbit. She had spent 188
days in space, mainly on the Russian space station Mir, performing various
science experiments. Her mission was the longest spaceflight by a woman
and an American.

NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin brought a gift for Lucid from
President Clinton: a huge box of m&m's wrapped in gold-colored foil and
embossed with the presidential seal. Lucid had craved the candy while in
space. The president also sent a letter of congratulations.

Goldin had this to say:
 "I had the privilege of spending just a few minutes with Shannon Lucid
after landing, and I'm happy to say she's in great shape.  Her spirits are
terrific.  It's always inspirational being with Shannon; she's such a
positive  person.  She's looking forward to getting together with her
husband and family [three children in their 20s].  She'll be doing that
very, very shortly.

  ...She asked to come out standing up, so she came out under her own
power. I went into the crew transport vehicle and there she was sitting
in a chair--just very, very comfortable, so she's in great shape.  She
has to have a number of physical tests--we'll leave that to the 'docs'
and Shannon--but her spiritual and emotional state is really terrific.

Doctors pronounced her in good health and said her rehabilitation from the
weakening effects of prolonged weightlessness was expected to go normally.

Shannon blasted off March 22 prepared for about 135 days in space. She was
supposed to return to Earth in early August, but equipment trouble and two
hurricanes delayed the shuttle's launch, leaving her in orbit an extra
seven weeks.

The mission to retrieve Shannon took off on Sept. 16, and two days later
docked with the Mir. As the six shuttle astronauts floated into Mir, Lucid
hugged the first Americans she had seen in half a year.

The shuttle and station flew together for five days, and the nine
astronauts/cosmonauts moved two tons of food, water and other supplies
from the Mir to the shuttle, for the return to Earth.

Sunday, May 19

[Editor's note: This is a message sent by astronaut Shannon Lucid during
the first part of her mission. It conveys some of the day-to-day
activities onboard the Mir space station. This comes from the Shuttle-Mir
Web site at:
(http://shuttle-mir.nasa.gov/mir21/status/week11/pinksox.html)
Dear Everybody!!

Here it is, another Sunday on Mir!!! And how, you might ask, do I know
that it's Sunday? Easy!!! I have on my pink socks and Yuri, Yuri, and I
have just finished sharing a bag of Jello!!!

When light follows darkness every 45 minutes, it is important that I have
simple ways of marking the passage of time. The pink socks were found on
STS-76 and Kevin, the commander, said that they were obviously put on as a
surprise for me, so I took them with me over to Mir and decided to wear
them on Sundays.

And the Jello? It is the greatest improvement in spaceflight since my
first flight over 10 years ago. When I found out that there was a
refrigerator onboard Mir, I asked the food folks at JSC if they could put
Jello in a drink bag. Once aboard Mir, we could just add hot water, put
the bag in the refrigerator and, later, have a great treat. Well, the food
folks did just that and sent a variety of flavors with me to try out. We
tried the Jello first as a special treat for Easter. It was so great that
we decided the Mir 21-NASA 2 crew tradition would be to share a bag of
Jello every Sunday night. (Every once in a while, Yuri will come up to me
and say, "Isn't today Sunday?" and I will say "No, it's not. No Jello
tonight!!!")

There have been a lot of changes here on Mir since I arrived. And no, the
changes were not because I am here!!!

The first big change was the arrival of Priroda, the final segment that is
to be added to Mir. This segment is called Priroda because that's the
Russian word for nature and there are sensors on the outside of the
segment to study Earth. The US science equipment is located inside
this segment.

As a graduate student years ago, I fantasized about having my own
laboratory. I must admit, though, that in none of my fantasies was I
gazing out the window of a space station watching "my laboratory" approach
like a gigantic silver bullet moving in slow motion toward the station's
heart!! Reality is indeed stranger than fiction!!!!

There had been a power problem on Priroda after its launch, so there was
some concern about SO2 leaking from the batteries into the atmosphere.
When it arrived, we had to wait and check out the air quality before
opening the hatch. Yuri checked the air and pronounced it good. After
listening to the hissing air as the atmospheric pressure was equalized
between Priroda and Mir, the hatch was opened. And yes, it was a dramatic
moment! There it was, all bright, shiny, and new.

The installed American glove box protruding into the aisle gave it a real
"science" look. The bright orange cover on top of the glove box added a
bit of color to the gray-blue and dusty-pink panels of the floor and
walls. Station replacement parts and other equipment were bolted to the
walls and ceiling just inside the hatch, bolted on the first few floor
panels
were row after row of big orange and gray batteries, which were the
power for Priroda on ascent. We had to start work almost immediately
unbolting and bagging up the batteries because of the ground's concern
about leaking SO2 into the atmosphere.

After a lot of work, the batteries on the floor were unbolted and I
thought the job was complete. Then, Yuri opened a panel that revealed more
rows of batteries to be unbolted. Another opened panel revealed yet more
batteries; there were batteries without end!!! And each battery had to be
unbolted, plastic caps had to be put on the four "feet" and on the
connectors, and then each battery had to be bagged and tightly tied. Talk
about a lot of work!!!! To even reach the batteries, some of the equipment
had to be unbolted and the supporting metal framework taken apart.

So there the three of us were floating in Priroda surrounded by floating
batteries, bagged batteries, equipment, and scrap metal. At times I
thought that there was enough scrap metal floating there to build station
Alpha!!! Periodically, free-floating metal pieces would impact each other
creating clear metallic tones like cathedral bells in the module and we
joked with each other about the "cosmic music" that we were hearing. We
devised an assembly line to clean up the mess and got so efficient that we
finished the task in one sixth of the time that the ground expected and
earned ourselves a holiday.

The other big change, although it is not permanent, was the arrival of
Progress, the resupply vehicle. Usually about every six weeks one is sent
to Mir with food, equipment, clothes--everything that, on Earth, you
would have to go to the store and buy in order to live. Because it had
deployed solar batteries, it was easier to spot while approaching the
station than Priroda had been.

I saw it first. There were big thunderstorms out in the Atlantic, with a
brilliant display of lightening like visual tom toms. The cities were
strung out like Christmas lights along the coast--and there was the
Progress like a bright morning star skimming along the top!!! Suddenly,
its brightness increased dramatically and Yuri said, "The engine just
fired." Soon, it was close enough so that we could see the deployed solar
arrays. To me, it looked like some alien insect headed straight toward us.
All of a sudden I really did feel like I was in a "cosmic outpost"
anxiously awaiting supplies--and really hoping that my family did
remember to send me some books and candy!!!

Soon after it docked, the three of us began opening the hatch. When Yuri
opened a small valve to equalize the pressure, we could smell the air that
was in Progress. Yuri said, "Smell the fresh food." I will admit it was a
fruit smell, but I though it smelled more like the first time you open
your refrigerator after a two-week vacation only to discover you had
forgotten to clean out the vegetable compartment.

The first things we took out were our personal packages and, yes, I
quickly peeked in to see if my family had remembered the books and candy
I'd requested. Of course they had. Then we started to unpack. We found the
fresh food and stopped right there for lunch. We had fresh tomatoes and
onions; I never have had such a good lunch. For the next week we had fresh
tomatoes three times a day. It was a sad meal when we ate the last ones!!!

After our impromptu lunch, we took the rest of the afternoon off, looking
at our mail that was in the packages and enjoying the apples and oranges
that were also onboard. Yuri commented that for the first time all six of
the docking ports were now occupied--a Guinness Book record!

Like I said, I had a wonderful bag of new books on Progress. My daughters
had hand-selected each one, so I knew I'd enjoy them. I picked out one and
rapidly read it. I came to the last page and the hero, who was being
chased by an angry mob, escaped by stepping through a mirror. The end.
Continued in Volume Two. And was there Volume Two in my book bag? No.
Could I dash out to the bookstore? No. Talk about a feeling of total
isolation and frustration!!!! You would never believe that grown children
could totally frustrate you with their good intentions while you were in
low-Earth orbit, but let me tell you, they certainly can. Suddenly,
August and home seem a long way away!!!!

Shannon

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