The (semi)Grand Unboxing

Well, the semester is finally over, and Julius and I are still breathing. Today, we were finally able to open the samples from the air balloon! Firstly, let's take a look at the control.

Like several of our samples, the research balloon control was plagued by mold, and is completely dried out and irrecoverable. Keep this in mind when viewing the rest of our results.

Now, on to the experiment!

When we opened the cube we were met with two things: mold and, surprisingly, slime. Yes, slime.

Interestingly similar to our sounding rocket cube, one sample was destroyed by mold, while the other seems to be mold-free. The moldy sample, on the left, was completely dried out, and there appeared to be some sort of black mold on one end. This was relatively expected, but the second sample was what truly surprised us. It appeared to be unaffected by mold, but the pad was rotten. There were remnants of the interior structure and skin, but the meat had turned to a slime-like consistency. Due to the fact that it was unaffected by mold, and the that it was still in the early stages of decomposition and still retaining some moisture, We hypothesize that the pad could have been killed by the radiation it was exposed to during its flight in space, but there are several other factors that could have caused its decomposition.

Since both of our samples are irrecoverable, the research balloon experiment ends here. However, we have learned that mold is more prevalent of a problem than we had earlier anticipated, killing  half of our samples, and that although hardy, Texas prickly pear cactus cannot survive radiation.

Delivery! Delivery!

The samples have finally arrived! Julius and I are really excited to open the samples. However, we must face the trials known as final exams. We’ll put up a post with some pictures as soon as we can.

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

As the holidays near, we have been keeping as busy as ever, but we are looking forward to Winter Break. However, the temperature has been falling a lot recently, so we’ve started putting the cacti into our garage when the temperature gets below freezing. Otherwise, the cacti are not just doing well; they are thriving! Our control piece from the sounding rocket has grown a new pad which is starting to grow its own spines! Rocket Sample #2 is also growing some impressive spines.

            In regards to our cacti samples from the air balloon, we have heard that the samples are somewhere in Palestine, Texas at the moment. We are really excited to see how they are doing. Alas, however, homework calls. We’ll put up a post when we get the samples!

The Massive Update Post

Weekly Update #5,6,7,8

We have had a few very eventful weeks here in Cactus land, and there is both good and bad news.

Firstly, the bad news:

Rocket Sample#1 is officially dead. We did our best to revive it, but the rot took too great of a toll.

Now for the good news!

The Rocket Control sample has started to grow new pads! They are extremely tiny right now, but you can see them on the bottom right tip of the sample. YAY!!!!!!!!!!

Also, the research balloon has launched form New Mexico, and landed somewhere in Texas. We are extremely excited to see how our second set of samples handled the trip!

P.S. Whew! The new semester has arrived, and with it comes a mountain of homework! Julius and I will update the blog as we can!

The Balloon Has Landed!

Launch! 2.0

Ladies and gentlemen, the research balloon has launched! Unfortunately, Julius and I were in class while it was launching, so we could not watch it live, but Cubes in Space has some awesome pictures of the launch that I want to share with y'all.

It Will Lauch Eventually!

Yet again, the launch of the research balloon has been delayed due to weather! :-(
Julius and I will keep y'all updated, and hopefully NASA will be able to launch it next week.

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

Science Will Prevail!

The research balloon carrying our experiment should launch on Friday at 8:30 a.m. Central time!

You can watch it with us live HERE!

Wish us luck, and keep your fingers crossed for no more rain!

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

Research Balloons are Awsome! (and cacti are cool too)

This week was full of rescuing the cacti from sudden downpours, constantly checking the weather in New Mexico, and being amazed at the sheer amount of helium that will be going into the research balloon.

Weekly Update #4

What a week! One minute the sun is shining, the next it is raining cats and dogs! Julius and I were stumped as to whether we should put the samples out in the sun, or hide them from the rain. In the end, we did a bit of both, and we may-or-may-not have run out into a downpour yelling "Save the cactus!".

The first sample seems to be doing the best,

as it is getting steadily greener.

The second sample is still trying to recover from rot.

And the Control cactus is somewhere in-between the two.

Also, Julius and I have been waiting for the research balloon to launch, but so far we have not had any luck. (Annoying rain!) In the meantime, Cubes in Space has been posting some awesome photos of NASA's preparations for launch.

Look at the size of those Helium tanks! We can hardly wait to see the balloon launch, and then see how our experiment survived space travel!

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

Rain, Rain, go Away; We Want to Launch our Science Experiment!

Unfortunately, the launch of the research balloon has been postponed due to rain, but the good news is that Cubes in Space sent Julius and me some awesome pictures of the payload!

We think that our experiment is in compartment "C 2."

Off to the balloon!

So Far, So Good

Weekly Update #3

This week has been relatively uneventful. All of the samples are doing well, and we have started giving them a little bit more water. Also, sometime next week we will move them to a sunnier location.
Make sure to mark your calendars, because the research balloon launch is this Monday! It appears that there will not be a livestream of the launch, but I will keep y'all updated on the experiment's progress.

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

'Twas a dark and rainy week...

Weekly Update #2

Not much happened this week. The weather has been unusually rainy for Texas, but the cacti seem to be doing well. We have been keeping them out of the rain so we can control how much water they are getting. Julius has been great at watering them about 1/8 of a cup of water every other day. (Thank you!)

In other news, according to the CiS website, the balloon launch has been postponed until the 29th. It also looks like there will not be a livestream of the launch.

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

Our First Week with the Cactus from Space

Weekly Update #1

The past week has been chock- full of excitement, and Julius and I are very exited to see how our experiment will progress from here.

This week we:

Received our Cactus experiment form our teacher,

and were thrilled to see how well the cactus samples survived space travel.

This warranted a celebration!

Two days later, we put the cacti into pots...

...with a special potting mix for cactus.

Then, we slowly started introducing them to light,

and began to water them.

Finally, Julius and I received a letter from the Governor of Texas!

The cacti samples seem to be recovering well, and are barely phased by the Texas heat. We will keep y'all updated to any major events, and I will be writing posts like this once a week with lots of photos  to show the cactus' progress.

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

A Letter from the Governor's Office

Yesterday, Julius and I received an awesome surprise in the mail. A letter from the Governor of Texas! Julius and I are awed by how much support we are receiving for a project that started as "a crazy idea," and I hope that we will live up to your expectations!

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

Good Morning, Cactus!

They all look like normal cactus cuttings, but two of them have been to SPACE!

Yesterday, Julius and I put our cactus samples into pots! With the help of  Mr. Ryan C. from our local Lowes, we settled on some special potting soil, and these adorable terra cotta pots!

In our original proposal we had planned to use some soil from the area around the "Mother Cactus," but we amended this plan for several reasons, the main reason being that we have no clue what is in our local soil, and when we send our research to NASA it would be better if we can point them to something that has a well documented composition. That being said, there is another reason. A very scaly, scary, venomous reason.
When Julius and I were packing the cubes in May, we decided to get some extra pictures of the mother cactus for the blog. After a while I looked up from my camera to see Julius nearly step back onto a long tan "thing." That thing promptly MOVED, coiled up under a tree, and started RATTLING. Ah, Texas is just full of friendly critters! Needless to say, we ran one way, and the rattlesnake ran (slithered?) in the other.
After that, Julius, our teacher, and I decided that stomping through tall grass to dig underneath a giant cactus in the middle of the summer was not the best idea I had ever had...

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

E.T. Cactus

Yesterday, Julius and I unpacked, measured, weighed and photographed the cactus that went to space! We had loads of fun, and we were surprised how well the cactus stood up to space travel.

First, we sterilized a plate, scale, and two pairs of tweezers with rubbing alcohol, and put down some paper towels to protect our work-surface.

Then, we admired the awesome NASA logo on the experiment cube, and weighed the cube. It was 3 grams lighter than when we shipped it off!

Next, we got to crack it open!

We proceeded to slowly extricate the pieces of cactus from the gravel. I can hardly believe that this gravel, which came from my backyard, has been to space! COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Enter a frowning Julius)

"Edith, this is a serious science project! We need to act professional."

Ahem... right. ANYWAY,

The first piece of cactus we pulled out surprised us. Part of it was, as we had been dreading, rotten. But the rest of the piece was in good condition, and we are confident that this piece can be salvaged. However, the second piece of cactus blew us away.

This piece of cactus is in near PERFECT condition! After three months, over 3,000 miles of travel, and a trip to space, this piece of cactus looks almost exactly the same as when we shipped it.

A picture of this piece of cactus from 3 months ago.

A picture of this piece of cactus from YESTERDAY.

  Julius and I are thoroughly exited about how well this piece of cactus handled space travel, and there may or may not have been a declaration of "It Liiiiiives!" that would rival any Frankenstein movie.

The two cactus samples are now stored in a dark box, so we can slowly reintroduce them to light, and we are looking forward to the next phase of our experiment!
 Until then, we can celebrate the successful return of our Texas Prickly Pear cactus!

Thank you for reading!

-Edith