Glendale students to bring NASA research into their classroom

You think NASA is only going to hire engineers, math geeks, science geeks, No, it's made up of people just like you and me, and you need everybody.”

Bayer Private School science teacher Art Borja

By Steve Stockmar
Mail |
X: @stevestockmar

With NASA closing in on a manned spaceflight to Mars, research continues on astronauts growing food in space for the mission, which could take 1,000 days roundtrip.

A middle-school science classroom in Glendale will take up some of that research in the hopes of submitting its findings.

When the new year opens Monday, Aug. 5 at Bayer Private School, science teacher Art Borja will have his sixth, seventh and eighth grade students simulate growing conditions aboard the International Space Station in order to grow vegetables inside their classroom and chart the data. Borja is fresh off his time this past June as the only Arizona teacher selected for the Houston-based aerospace workshop LiftOff Summer Institute, which uses science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning experiences by incorporating a space science theme supported by NASA missions.

The goal, Borja explains, isn’t just to add to the research currently under way on the ISS. The ISS’ Vegetable Production System, known as Veggie, is a space garden helping NASA study plant growth in microgravity, while adding fresh food to the astronauts’ diet and enhancing well-being on the orbiting laboratory.

It’s also to show his students that conducting NASA research starts with imagination.

“You think NASA is only going to hire engineers, math geeks, science geeks,” he said. “No, it's made up of people just like you and me, and you need everybody.”

Borja, a Peoria resident in his third year at Bayer and his 26th overall as a teacher, has been here before.

In a previous lesson he challenged students to research technology to improve medical devices. He then took their findings to the NASA offshoot NEREID Summit, a three-day conference for researchers, educators and policy makers to explore solutions to challenges through scientific approaches.

“I took my kids’ research and I presented their work. They were the co-author,” Borja said. “I told them, ‘Guess what? Your work got presented at a conference.’ They were so proud. And I think that that's important, to give them ownership of something.”

The Veggie garden aboard the ISS is about the size of a carry-on piece of luggage and typically holds six plants. That’s what the students will attempt to replicate in their classroom.

NASA is advancing technologies to send astronauts to Mars as early as the 2030s, according to NASA.gov.

“NASA is researching food systems to ensure quality, variety, and nutritional values for these long missions,” the agency states on its website. “Plant growth on the International Space Station is helping to inform in-space crop management as well.”

Each plant in the Veggie garden grows in a “pillow” filled with a clay-based growth media and fertilizer, according to NASA. The pillows distribute water, nutrients and air in a healthy balance around the roots. Otherwise, the roots would either drown in water or be engulfed by air because of the way fluids in space tend to form bubbles, NASA research shows.

The agency states that, to date, Veggie has successfully grown a variety of plants, including three types of lettuce, Chinese cabbage, mizuna mustard, red Russian kale and zinnia flowers.

“Our team at Kennedy Space Center envisions planting more produce in the future, such as tomatoes and peppers,” NASA added. “Foods like berries, certain beans and other antioxidant-rich foods would have the added benefit of providing some space radiation protection for crew members.”

A NASA/Arizona State University space grant funded Borja’s LiftOff Summer Institute expenses. Already with a bachelor’s degree in biology, Borja completed dual master’s degrees during the pandemic in astronomy and astrophysics and in space sciences.

Bayer Private School is located at 23555 N. 67th Ave., in Glendale.

The first growth test of crops in the Advanced Plant Habitat aboard the International Space Station yielded great results in this undated photo. Arabidopsis seeds – small flowering plants related to cabbage and mustard – grew for about six weeks, and dwarf wheat for five weeks.

(Photo courtesy of NASA)

Steve Stockmar
News Editor | Sun Life Magazine & Arts & Entertainment YourValley.net

sstockmar@iniusa.org

Meet Steve
Steve Stockmar joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, and has been an Arizona journalist for almost 30 years. He serves as editor of Sun Life Magazine and contributes to West Valley communities where he focuses mostly on arts & culture, education, and profiles of neighbors making a difference.

Community: Every season Steve serves as a “buddy” with the Miracle League of Arizona in Scottsdale, has volunteered his time with Family Promise in Glendale, and previously served on the Ghostlight Theatre board in Sun City West.

Education: Graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a Journalism major and English minor.

Random Fact: Steve once won a 50-player live Texas Hold ’Em poker tournament.

Hobbies: Anguishing over his beloved Chicago Cubs and Bears; listening to Beatles and Grateful Dead music.