Ohio University class sending experiment into space
ATHENS, Ohio (WCMH) – Many who work locally in the television industry got their training at Ohio University, home to one of the top-ranked journalism schools in the nation.
But over the last ten years or so, Athens has also become a pathway to a far more expansive industry: outer space. Later this year, a group of Ohio University students will send an experiment to the International Space Station.
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It’s become a tradition in Athens, and it starts with one woman.
“This is what I do for a living,” Ohio University professor of environmental and plant biology Dr. Sarah Wyatt said. “Science is nothing but toys that you play with and you see what happens. And that’s what I like.”
Few people enjoy their job more than Wyatt.
Inside Porter Hall on Ohio University’s campus is Wyatt’s laboratory, which is kind of named for her, and with the results at the lab, you’ll see why. Past students have sent four experiments to the International Space Station.
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“It’s not just a pretend activity; it’s a real activity with real potential results,” Wyatt said.
Most of Wyatt’s work focuses on gravity, but more specifically, how plant growth is affected if gravity is removed. And there’s no better laboratory to test the lack of gravity than in space.
Nathan Smith and Victoria Swiler are among the students who created a new experiment for this year’s student spaceflight experiments program. That experiment focuses on a rare strain of bacteria originally discovered on the space station.
“Does this bacteria actually promote plant growth and also, does it do that in spaceflight?” Swiler, a senior, said.
“And so it’s a large topic in science right now,” Smith, a sophomore, said. “So you can apply it to Earth, you can apply it to microgravity, and it just has a large range of benefits for everyone.”
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Their experiment is scheduled to launch into space in September. For everyone involved, it’s a massive achievement and a reminder that with the right direction, careers can truly take off.
“It’s just awesome to be able to watch a rocket launch to the International Space Station and know something that I worked on will be flying up there,” Ohio University grad student Nicholas Witticar said.
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