Experiment Devised by Viera Eighth Graders Flies to International Space Station

Photo of Bacteria Boys
(Left to right) The Bacteria Boys are Evan Ireland, Connor Santore, Eric DiStasi, Liam Hauser and Luke Costa and their experiment beat out 2,200 proposals from all over the U.S. to be able to fly. (Image credit: International Space Station National Library)

November 14, 2023 – A group of five eighth graders from Pinecrest Academy Space Coast in Viera had an exciting evening last week when an experiment they devised flew into space.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule launched on November 10 with a small science experiment that sent horseshoe crab blood to the ISS. The young men call themselves “Bacteria Boys” and created the experiment to study whether E. coli bacteria can be detected in microgravity.

The teachers at STEM-based charter school of Pinecrest Academy Space Coast must be over the moon at the success of their students. We would say that it seems that “the rocket scientists don’t fall far from the launch pad”. That’s a thing, right?

Source: Florida Today