1. The Effect of Microgravity on Shewanella oneidensis

2. Group Members Teacher Facilitator School
Esteban Fuentes - Principal Investigator
Ayomide Akintola - Co-Principal Investigator
Abdul Ahtesham - Co-Principal Investigator
Umar Shakih - Collaborator
Teacher Facilitator
Michael Bowling
Geometry Teacher
School
Harmony Science Academy Houston-High
Houston, Texas

3. Inspiration

4. Problem Currently orbiting earth, NASA estimates:
21,000+ man-made space debris larger than 10 cm (which NASA is tracking)
500,000+ smaller 10 cm (hard to detect traveling at 17,500 mph
Astronauts delay work on satellites to avoid being hit by space junk
2013 – russian space craft damaged by debris from a 2007 chinese satellite explosion

5. Earth 2,000 km from the surface.

6. Driving Question

7. How can we reduce the amount of space debris?
We propose to send Shewanella Oneidensis (MR-1) to the ISS to study its ability to consume metal in microgravity.

8. What is MR-1

9. S.Oneidensis (MR-1) is a bacterium which lives in both anaerobic and aerobic environments. This extraordinary microbe feeds on, and thereby consumes, both poisonous and non-poisonous metals such as iron, lead, aluminum, and uranium.

10. Shewanella Oneidensis

11. Experiment Design

12. S. Oneidensis + Distilled water Lead
Materials:
4 mL of distilled water.
2.5 mL of S. oneidensis (MR-1)
2.00 g lead.
Silicon Tube
S. Oneidensis + Distilled water Lead
Compartment A
Clamp
Compartment B

13. Hypothesis

14. If we were to send S. Oneidensis into a microgravity environment, then the microbe’s ability to consume metal should remain unaffected.

15. Sponsors

16. Questions?
Works Cited
[Russian Satellite Hit by Debris from Chinese Anti-Satellite Test]. (2013, March 8). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from
[Space Debris and Human Spacecraft Retrieved] Retrieved June 20, 2016, from