From: Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Contact: Rubenstein Communications Inc., Public Relations
Mike Stouber 212-843-9357/ mstouber@rubenstein.com

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Luke Sacks (646) 381-5282 / lsacks@intrepidmuseum.org
REQUEST FOR COVERAGE

WINNERS OF THE FIRST INTREPID INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION CHALLENGE ANNOUNCED AT THE
INTREPID SEA, AIR & SPACE MUSEUM
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Student Team Chosen from 205 NYC Public Middle School Students to
Send Experiment Design to Space

NEW YORK, NY (June 18, 2015) -- The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, in partnership with the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) and the Ramon Foundation, announced today that a team of five sixth grade students from P.S./I.S. 30 Mary White Ovington in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, has been selected to send their experiment to the International Space Station (ISS) as the winners of the first Intrepid International Space Station Challenge (I2S2C). The winning team, Dana Ahmad, Sundous Aljahmi, Joshua Feliciano, Jiahao Guan and Joyce Wong, and led by science teacher Nathan Tubbs, bested 42 other teams from five NYC public middle schools in the experiment design competition by creating an experiment that explores how microgravity affects the germination of pot mum seeds.

The experiment will be sent to the International Space Station in the fall of 2015 on SSEP Mission 8, and an astronaut aboard the ISS will conduct the experiment. After approximately six weeks in orbit, the experiment will be returned safely to Earth for data collection and analysis.

"This has been an amazing experience for my students and me. To know that they, as sixth graders, have an opportunity to see their experiment fly into space, has engaged them in a way other projects have not,” said Nathan Tubbs, science teacher and facilitator for the winning team. “I have had a great time watching them complete their research, work as a group and interact with scientists to refine their ideas. It has been hard work, and we are extremely excited to be able to represent the Intrepid Museum, our school and our community as a part of SSEP Mission 8."

"I think it's really cool that we got chosen because this is a big opportunity,” added winning team member Sundous Aljahmi. “All of our families are really proud of us."

The winning team and their families convened at the Intrepid Museum on Thursday for a special congratulatory luncheon with Mike Massimino, former NASA astronaut and senior advisor for space programs at the Intrepid Museum.

“It’s great to see these students connect to and engage in science through this extraordinary opportunity,” stated Massimino. “The Intrepid Museum, SSEP and the Ramon Foundation created a remarkable program that gave many New York City students the chance to experience what it’s like to be part of groundbreaking research and innovation and to feel excitement and wonder for all that is yet to be discovered.”

Also in attendance at the lunch was Ruben Savelson from Institute of Collaborative Education who designed a Mission Patch that will also launch to the ISS representing the creative spirit of all the student participants in the program.

All student experiments were designed to work within an existing, flight-certified research mini-laboratory designed by NanoRacks, LLC, and provided through SSEP. In order to give students an experience comparable to the reality of the scientific field, the competition mirrored how professional researchers formally compete to obtain limited research assets. Each team, composed of three to five students, proposed an experiment designed to assess the impact of microgravity on a physical, chemical or biological system in any number of diverse fields such as seed germination, crystal growth, physiology and life cycles of microorganisms, cell biology and growth, food studies or micro-aquatic life.

Partner schools include Brooklyn Science and Engineering Academy (Brooklyn); Institute for Collaborative Education (Manhattan); P.S./I.S. 30 Mary White Ovington (Brooklyn); I.S. 204 Oliver Wendell Holmes (Queens); and the Urban Assembly Institute for New Technologies (Manhattan).

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education's Student Spaceflight Experiments Program is an on-orbit educational research opportunity enabled through NanoRacks, LLC, which is working in partnership with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory.

The Intrepid Museum gratefully acknowledges The Corcoran Group, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Foundation and Time Warner Cable for their generous support of I2S2C.

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About the Museum
The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is a non-profit, educational institution featuring the legendary aircraft carrier Intrepid, the space shuttle Enterprise, the world’s fastest jets and a guided missile submarine. Through exhibitions, educational programming and the foremost collection of technologically groundbreaking aircraft and vessels, visitors of all ages are taken on an interactive journey through history to learn about American innovation and bravery.

The Intrepid Museum fulfills its mission to honor our heroes, educate the public and inspire our youth by connecting them to history through hands-on exploration while bridging the future by inspiring innovation.

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About the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program is undertaken by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in partnership with Nanoracks, LLC. This on-orbit educational research opportunity is enabled through NanoRacks, LLC, which is working in partnership with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory.

About the Ramon Foundation
The Ramon Foundation was founded by Rona Ramon, the wife of the first Israeli Astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who lost his life in the Colombia accident in 2003. Ilan and Rona’s 6irst born son, Asaf, followed his father’s footsteps to becoming an F16 fighter pilot and was killed during a training mission on 2009. Rona chose to commemorate her loved ones by educating the next generation of youth in their spirit. The Ramon Foundation encourages future generations to realize their personal and social potential. The Ramon Foundation wishes to build a society based on high values and ideals through the inspiration of Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli Astronaut, the STS 107 crew and the late Asaf Ramon, Ilan’s and Rona’s son.








Kimberly Maul Green
Digital Marketing Coordinator
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
One Intrepid Square
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New York, NY 10036-4103
646-381-5291
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