"Further Research Required"

     219 days, thousands of miles traveled, a trip to space, and returning to Earth proved to be too much for our Research Balloon Cactus. Although this is disappointing, it is not unexpected, as even our control was unable to survive such a long time without light or water. However, our Sounding Rocket sample not only survived, but thrived, and is still growing happily along with its control.
     These experiments did answer our original question, namely, " if Texas Prickly Pear cactus (Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri) can survive relatively unprotected space travel." The answer is yes. Texas Prickly Pear cactus can survive months away from light and water, being launched into space on a rocket, and returning tumultuously to Earth. However, we have discovered that flight in a research balloon, and possibly exposure to radiation, may kill cacti.
      For as many answers as it gave us, this experiment has also raised new questions. Would a different species of cacti endure space travel better? Would transporting whole pads, along with implementing measures to prevent mold, save more samples? Can cacti be genetically engineered to better survive relatively unprotected space travel?
    
     The questions are out there, and the Cactus in Space project is coming to a close. To whom it may concern, further research is required.

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.

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

"The Uber Sciencey Post" (A.K.A. the report for our teacher)

... As delivered by Dr. Tony the Cat, because cute cats make everything more interesting. :-)

We Have The Green Light, or Rather, A Green Cactus.

We are ready to move on to the next phase of our experiment, and our results so far have greatly exceeded our expectations.

Today we unpacked, measured, weighed, sorted, photographed, and re-packaged the cacti from the sounding rocket experiment cube and its control.

The control, although moldy, is not only still alive, but has started growing roots.

The two pieces of cactus that went to space have returned relatively unscathed. One has a spot that is rotting, and the other is in perfect condition. Both possess a vibrant green color, and we have high hopes for being able to revive all of the samples.

These results are much better than we had anticipated, as we had expected the cactus to be completely brown and dormant upon arrival. This places us slightly ahead of schedule, and puts us in a position to slowly reintroduce the samples to light over the upcoming week.

We will  post a more detailed report tomorrow, that will have pictures documenting the steps we took while unpacking the cactus, and provide some of our hypotheses for the changes we observed in the samples.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Edith and Julius