Students to Send Experiment Into Space in NASA's Last Shuttle Launch

They call it a “momentous achievement” and a “dream come true.”

And for seven students and graduates of , the opportunity to see their designed experiment be sent off into space through a NASA project is both of those things combined.

Through the work of first-year science teacher Jorge Valdes, the students, calling themselves the "Osteoblast Team" after their experiment, are participating in a that is sending experiments from several schools around the country into space on Shuttle Atlantis Friday.

And today, the team members and their families are in Florida to see the lauch of the final shuttle into space, with their experiment on board.

Valdes initially proposed the project to the board of education and school district, both of which fully supported the work. And from there, after-school meetings were scheduled to get students involved in the work, while the school also raised money to put the experiment together.

“I decided I wanted to put a project together as soon as I heard the proposal,” said Adam Elwood, who will be a senior at the high school in the fall. “So I gathered a few friends in the group, and we had the chance to meet the others at the several sessions after school.”

“We have all grown very close since, probably due to the many pizza parties we put together,” he added.

Joseph Avenoso, who will also be a senior in the fall, said he went to the first meeting about the project, and was glad to be part of the team.

“I was lucky enough to find my friends, who let me join their group that they were starting,” he said. “That day forward, they have been great to work with.”

According to Valdes, the competition to choose a project was open to all students in the school.

"We received several hundred proposals from students and these were paired down to three finalists," he said. "The three proposals were then sent for a round two selection panel and the final experiment was selected."

Elwood’s group of students worked with science and art teachers, meeting for pizza parties after school to talk science, and learning about research laboratory experience and experimental methods that enabled them to design and plan ideas for a space science experiment.

Aside from Elwood and Avenoso, the team consisted of Rotem Herzberg, who will be entering college in the fall; Tejas Patel, who will be a senior at BRHS; Gage Cane-Wissing, who will be a senior; and Alex Belly, who will also be a senior.

The project designed by the students is looking for a possible solution to the loss of bone mass in a microgravity environment. According to the team members, astronauts exercise in space for several hours every day, but their bodies lost bone mass.

Humans need that specific skeletal structure to resist the Earth’s force of gravity. But when in space, members of the team said, astronauts’ brains do not command the body to produce more bone.

The overall goal of the experiment is to find a solution to this problem, which, the team said, has hindered long-distance space travel needed for missions to Mars and planets farther away.

Once on board the shuttle, the experiment will consist of using a human growth hormone to help grow mouse osteoblasts—which are cells that specialize into bone cells—in DMEM, also known as an environment that allows cells to thrive and grow.

The team worked with teachers in the school and scientists both at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) and even the UK to get the materials.

The materials were shipped to NASA on June 30, and were loaded on shuttle Atlantis Wednesday, with the goal of the launch Friday.

Once the shuttle returns to Earth the results will be analyzed and published, and the project will be presented in Washington D.C. next year.

“I think this is a momentous achievement,” Elwood said. “This is the last shuttle launch and our experiment is going up with it. I am just extremely proud, and believe I have the right to brag now.”

“Honestly, I could not be more proud than I am now of our teamwork and dedication,” he added.

The Bridgewater team’s experiment was one of 16 chosen from schools around the country to participate in the Atlantis shuttle.

“I feel accomplished and encouraged to pursue more goals,” Avenoso said. “I have always admired NASA and the space program. It is a dream come true to be a part of this science team.”

The team is scheduled to give a presentation in front of the other schools while in Florida, and will then be treated to a reception by Melbourne University and the Kennedy Space Center.

Valdes said that 65 students, teachers, families and administrators will be in Florida for the launch.

Aside from the NASA experiment, the high school’s art department created a contest of its own to design a mission patch for the team. Tessa Lewis, who will be a freshman in college in the fall, saw her design selected by the high school and district community, and she—along with those whose projects received honorable mention—was invited to the launch as well.

The patch, Valdes said, is a pair of hands joined together, symbolizing the humanity of Earth.

For the team, being part of the experiment has been an opportunity to understand the importance of teamwork in research, while also having a good time and working closely with scientists in both UMDNJ and the UK. Members said they never realized that research teams reach out to experts all over the world when putting together experiments.

“Through this project, we’ve learned that research and lab work requires work and can be fun,” they said. “For many of us, our college and career plans have been expanded to pursue this type of work in the future.”

“In the end, whether the osteoblasts grow or not, something will be learned,” they added. “This is a great first-hand experience of the process of scientific research for young students.”

Valdes said he is excited about the opportunity for his students.

"This is an opportunity of a lifetime," he said. "I could never have imagined it."