Life Science: Experiments in Space

The complete teacher's guide contains instructions on setting up spider habitats in your classroom and helping students design their own "spider" investigations.

The complete teacher's guide with activities to explore "life in space" and engage students in conducting their own open-ended scientific investigations.

This supplemental mini-guide explores basic uses of ImageJ (public domain image processing software) for data collection and analysis (e.g., documenting and measuring root growth, spider web geometry, etc.).

This supplemental mini-guide details the key steps for conducting a scientific investigation (i.e., begin with a question, design a procedure to collect the required data, etc.).

This supplemental mini-guide covers the uses and benefits of naturalist journals, which for centuries have been helping scientists to organize data into a meaningful form through sketches, pictures, and written observations.

What is microgravity? How is it created? This primer has the answers.

Basic information about how astronauts and their animal and plant experiments are launched into space.

NSBRI Scientist Kim Prisk talks about the health hazards of lunar dust. Like beach sand on Earth, dust on the moon gets into everything. What is lunar dust? Why is it a problem for future lunar explorers?

NSBRI researcher, Dr. Babs Soller has been working to develop techniques for non-invasive measurement of blood and tissue chemistry.

NSBRI scientist Scott Dulchavsky has developed a technique to train space flight crews to conduct medical-quality ultrasound imaging in space.

David Dinges is working with the NSBRI to develop a test that helps astronauts to gauge fatigue and stress during long missions in space.

Neuroscientist George Brainard is working with the NSBRI on research to improve the quality of astronauts' sleep.

Benjamin Levin, NSBRI Cardiovascular Alterations Team, talks about the need to maintain fitness during space missions.