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!

Up Next: The Stratosphere!

Launch of a super pressure balloon in Antarctica.

Credits: NASA/Wallops Flight Facility

Today Julius and I learned that the research balloon carrying our second cactus experiment will launch on August 22nd! I am not sure wether this one will have a live-stream or not, but I will write a post when I know more!

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

All Systems GO! (again)

NASA has given the green light for launch tomorrow! The rocket will launch at 5:00 a.m. CST, and y'all can watch it live HERE.

May the coffee be with you, always.

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

Safety First

This morning Julius and I got an email from one of the organizers for Cubes in Space explaining why the flight was postponed, and I thought everyone here would find it interesting.

I am so very sorry to inform you that the launch has been scrubbed due to weather.  NASA felt the conditions tomorrow would not allow for a safe launch and recovery.  It is my understanding that this is primarily due to the high probability of lighting and difficult sea state.

Obviously this is beyond our control but we have always had contingency plans for something like this.  NASA will have another weather briefing today from 1 to 2 PM to decide if all looks good for Friday.  If it’s good, we will attempt to launch Friday at same time (6 AM).  If it is bad, we will have to think what to do next. 

Cheers,

Debbie

Julius and I have our fingers crossed that the weather will be good enough for launch tomorrow, but since the rocket will land in the ocean, safety comes first.

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

Houston, We've Had a Problem

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

All Systems GO!

Our experiment will be launched into space TOMORROW at 5:00 a.m. CST! For those of you that have strong coffee to combat the early hour, you can watch the launch live HERE.

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

So Exited!

Today Julius and I took a quick peek at our control cubes. Everything seems to be in order...

...the cactus has gone dormant, so there is no growth, and thanks to the gauze and our efforts to sterilize the gravel there is no mold.

Also, there are only seven days left  untill the launch of the sounding rocket! Julius and I can hardly wait!

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

Cactus Has Landed!

Just a quick update to let y'all know that the experiment cubes have safely arrived at the Cubes in Space headquarters!

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

And They're Off!

The two experiment cubes have been given to our teacher for shipping, and the control cubes are stored safely in our school closet. Now, we wait!

Thank you for reading!

-Edith 

Packing the Cubes

Today Julius and I packed the experiments, and we will give them to our teacher tomorrow.

Firstly, we gathered all of our materials.

Then we got to work cutting the cactus.

First cut!

Trimming the spines.

This piece is so light!

 On to the next one!

After that, we tried to pack the first cube, but the rice we used to weigh it down was too light, so we had to switch to gravel.

We collected the smallest gravel we could find, sterilized it with boiling water,

and then dried it on a paper towel.

Finally, we packed the first cube!

We then repeated the process for the sounding rocket cube and the control cubes.

 

All done!

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

Cutting the Cactus

This afternoon Julius got the cactus pads for the experiment. (We are so exited!)

The "Mother Plant"

The cactus pads are now drying on a concrete table in the garden.

Thank you for reading!

-Edith

Pre-launch Cubes in Space Timeline

Cactus in Space
From the Proposal's Submission to the Cubes' Send-off

(will be updated to include future events)
 
 March 10, 2016:
 Proposal submitted.

April 1, 2016:
Proposal accepted.

 May 4, 2016:
 Cacti samples collected.

 May 4 - 12, 2016:
 Samples dried (moved when rain occurred)

 May 12, 2016:
• Selected cacti samples and their controls.
• Packaged cacti samples and their controls

 May 13, 2016:
 Delivered to teacher for shipping.

 May 17, 2016:
 Samples shipped to Cubes in Space headquarters.

 May 19, 2016:
 Samples arrival at Cubes in Space headquarters.

Thanks for reading!

-Julius