Student Spaceflight Experiments Program

Marfa ISD has had a robust Earth and Space Sciences academic class going for the past 3 years. In the 2018-19 school year, MISD participated in the nation-wide Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. Marfa had 44 teams, totaling 230 students, each designing an experiment that could be conducted on Earth, and also in space. This program stimulates critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, scientific and technical writing skills, and the ability to make a formal presentation, all skills critical to the future success of our young people. Local teachers and the dean of the honors college at Texas Tech judged the MISD proposals, choosing the winning experiment, which was designed by a small team of fourth, fifth and sixth grade girls. The students spent the spring refining their experiment, and holding multiple events to raise funds for their team to travel to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. over the summer, joining competing teams from all over the country. In July, the Marfa team conducted their experiment on the ground, while simultaneously NASA scientists at the International Space Station conducted the same experiment in space, comparing results. Needless to say, it was an incredible opportunity for our students, to be involved in the scientific process on a competitive level, and to have the chance to have their hypothesis tested in outer space.