Elon Musk's SpaceX Rocket Launches Ukrainian Students' Scientific Project to the International Space Station
A SpaceX-31 rocket carrying an experimental model of the winners of the All-Ukrainian School Space Experiments (SSEP) competition - the team of Skole Secondary School No. 2 named after Stefania Vitruk with the support of School To Go - launched to the International Space Station on 4 November from Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA). This was reported by the Minor Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
The team's experiment is called ‘Preparation of biomedical hydrogels in microgravity’.
Ukrainian students came up with the idea for the project after they learned about the discovery of a unique method of producing hydrogels by chemists at Lviv Polytechnic.
‘We learned about the discovery of chemists from Lviv Polytechnic who have patented a unique method of producing hydrogels. These hydrogels consist of organic chains linked by physical and chemical interactions, forming a network with water or other hydrophilic substances in the pores. These substances have the ability to absorb water-soluble compounds and form films, so they are already used in various fields on Earth,’ the project participants said.
In space, hydrogels can perform various functions, such as controlled drug delivery systems, substrates for growing cells or plants, desiccants, hydrogel membranes, moisture sensors, and can even stop bleeding and promote wound healing.
‘The Junior Academy of Sciences joined the SSEP programme in 2021. Previously, participation in SSEP missions was only available to students from the United States. Today, the project of the MAS students has already gone into space for the third time,’ said Stanislav Dovgyi, President of the MAS.
The Ukrainian team joined the 18th SSEP mission with the support of the Nova Ukraine Charitable Foundation.
SSEP is a unique comprehensive programme for the development of science and STEAM education aimed at fostering a new generation of scientists and inventors. The winners of the SSEP competition have the opportunity to send real mini-laboratories for microgravity research to the ISS on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
Scientists invite schools to join the SSEP Ukraine project to take part in the next mission. To do this, you need to fill out the participant form.
