Announcing the Space Crystal Prize

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Chemistry Department’s Molecular Structure Laboratory is starting its 4th annual Wisconsin Crystal Growing Competition for middle school and high school students, and the prize for this year’s winners will be new and exciting: the chance to grow their crystals in microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment. aboard the International Space Station U.S. National Lab!

The new prize is made possible through a partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS(Abbreviation: CASIS™) The nonprofit organization that manages the ISS National Lab, which receives at least 50 percent of the U.S. research allocation on the International Space Station to facilitate research that benefits humanity (NASA manages the other 50% and focuses on research for space exploration purposes).) and its Space Station Explorers (SSE) education program.

This year the competition is open to Wisconsin students only, but there are plans to make it nationwide in future years.

The 2017 Space Crystal Prize winners will work with the Wisconsin Molecular Structure Laboratory and the CASIS SSE team to translate their optimum growth conditions into experiments that could launch as early as SpaceX-14 in late 2017.

They’ll tackle the technical challenges of meeting flight requirements, design companion experiments to carry out on Earth, and communicate their experiences through blogs, social media, and possibly the pre-launch press conference at Kennedy Space Center in Florida!

For more information on the competition, visit: http://wicgc.chem.wisc.edu