1. The Effects of Microgravity on the Growth of Ryegrass Seeds
Springfield Public Schools
Florence M. Gaudineer
Middle School
Springfield, NJ

2. 7th Grade Team From FMG Co-Principal Investigators: Co-Investigators:
David Ares
Jeremy Dash
Daniel Munoz
Co-Investigators:
Timothy Burns
Antonio Nacci
Teacher Facilitator:
Mrs. Alison Gillen, FMG Middle School

3. Research Question What We Know
What are the effects of microgravity on the growth rate of Ryegrass seeds?
In the absence of gravity, what direction will the roots and/or stems grow?
What We Know
Seed roots respond positively to gravity
Stems respond negatively to gravity
Ryegrass seeds will germinate in days on Earth; will that be the same in microgravity?
Concentrated salt solution can be a fixative to stop the growth of seeds.

4. Why This Is Important
This is a good topic to experiment on because plants are such an important element in our ecosystem, and if we can understand how they grow, we can start to grow plants in space.

5. Salt Solution
For a fixative, we used salt, as it triggers a hormone in the seeds which prevents it from growing. This discovery was made by José R. Dinenny, PhD Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Plant Biology.
We were able to communicate with him. He was able to tell us the salt concentration we should use.
Seeds with salt solution
Seeds without salt solution

6. Hypothesis
If we send Ryegrass seeds up into microgravity and give them only water, then the grass seeds would grow the same, because water is a primary signal for the germination process.

7. The Fluid Mixing Enclosure
The type of tube we are using is a Type 3 FME:
Seeds In Growth Chamber Water Salt Solution

8. Materials
The materials we are using in the experiment are cotton gauze, Ryegrass seeds, water, and concentrated salt solution.
The cotton gauze in our growth chamber allows the seeds to stay in place.
The salt will stop the growth of the seeds at the end of the experiment.

9. On The ISS
Nine days before the seeds come back down to Earth the astronauts will release the water clamp, that will start the Ryegrass seeds growth. Then, five days after that, the astronauts will unclamp the concentrated salt solution into the seeds. That will stop their growth so that nothing changes on their journey home.

10. Expected Results
When we performed the same experiment in the classroom, the seeds grew down towards the bottom of the tube. They also stayed very moist during the duration of the test. Since the seeds react positively to gravity, in microgravity we might see the roots possibly grow in many directions.
We expect the growth of the seeds to be about the same length because water is the biggest factor of the germination process.
We will also plan to see if the seeds remain the same color as the seeds here on Earth

11. Back Home
While the experiment is underway in space, we will be performing the same experiment on Earth
When the seeds come back, we will compare the seeds that were in space with the ones that stayed on Earth. We will compare them by:
Color
Mass
Length of the grass/stem
The length and direction of the root

12. Acknowledgements
José R. Dinenny, PhD Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Plant Biology- Technical Advisor
Funding Sources:
Springfield Public Schools
CASIS (Center for The Advancement of Science in Space)- SSEP National Partner