When Canadian astronaut Dr. Dave Williams takes flight for his next space mission (STS-118), scheduled for launch in June 2007, the Canadian Space Agency will provide Canadians from 15 to 17 years old with a once in a lifetime opportunity to have their own experiment performed on-orbit. The International Space Station (ISS), unique floating laboratory which orbits the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 400 km, is the largest international scientific endeavor ever undertaken and Canada plays a pivotal role in its development.In the context of the educational activities surrounding Dave Williams’ mission, the Agency launched a nationwide search for the next on-orbit Canadian space science experiment, asking young people from across the country to submit their ideas for life or physical science experiments that they would like to see performed on the International Space Station. Since 2001, Canada’s science community has been using this reduced gravity environment to perform a series of experiments including one which studies the processes of bone loss, a hallmark of Osteoporosis, a disease which effects more than 1.4 million Canadians every year. They have also measured the amount of radiation to which astronauts are exposed with the same technology currently used in 400 cancer clinics worldwide to monitor radiation therapy for cancer patients. Now it’s time to see how teens could use this laboratory.

Designed to be no longer than a two-minute activity, Canadian teens will send in a cue-card experiment including a hypothesis, an objective, recommendations about materials to be used, and a process to perform the experiment to the Canadian Space Agency. A CSA science team will evaluate all entries. The top five experiments will be sent to astronaut Williams while he is on-orbit and run the possibility of being carried out in this weightless environment. All participating 15 to 17 year-old will receive a certificate of participation, signed by Dr. Williams.

Canadian teens interested in participating should go to the CSA website at http://www.space.gc.ca/ for the official rules of the “My Science in Space” competition. They are welcome to send in their experiment on their own or as a class activity.

Credit: http://www.newscanada.com/

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