Midlands University of Technology told the News that 19 astronauts will take the experiment into space for six weeks in September.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Midlands Technical College students will soon be making South Carolina's name known in space.
The technical college told News 19 it was the first and only college in the Palmetto State selected to participate in the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP).
This means that their research will be developed by astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).
Everyone can participate in something groundbreaking.
“If they had the passion, they could have done anything. Lol, whatever else happens,” said Jordi Fernandez, Midlands University of Technology biology faculty advisor.
As long as you put your heart and faith into it.
“The students were very confident and I really liked that,” Fernandez said.
The very scientific concoction that Fernandez saw in the minds of the students in the Student Spaceflight Experimental Program.
“When I got the first draft of their proposal back and saw the professionalism with which they wrote it, I kind of cringed. Because we often have a hard time reporting,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez said this was doctoral-level research.
“I was shocked,” Fernandez said.
And now, six students are sending their science projects into space.
This experiment concerns the safety of spinach sprouts growing in microgravity and whether their composition is any different than on Earth.
“It's grown very well. This seems to be the best germination of all our experiments and procedures. It looks very beautiful,” said biology student Robert Ferguson.
Let me tell you, these students are not all studying biology. Craig Elliott is a psychology major and one of the authors of the research proposal.
“We continued to have a good group, and from that point on, the snowball just kept rolling. It was like the longer we kept going, the more confidence we had in everyone,” Elliott said.
Will Turner is also majoring in psychology.
“It's something in this heart that allows me to say I've done this… all the ups and downs and all the trials and tribulations I've had to endure since my early 20s, working in commercial fishing for the past eight years. To be 32 years old and in this situation that the Midlands technician put me through is just amazing. There's really no words to describe it,” Turner said.
A joy that began with spinach seeds, lots of faith and enthusiasm.
Midlands University of Technology said these students' experiments are scheduled to be launched into space in September.
