Sugar that was refined in Baltimore will be included in a payload heading for the International Space Station this week.
On Tuesday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket taking off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., will have three pounds supplied by Domino Sugar aboard.
.@SpaceX targets Tuesday to launch its #Dragon cargo craft to the space station. @NASA TV will preview its mission beginning Monday at 11 a.m. EST. https://t.co/VfB8bXkxnQ pic.twitter.com/51W2ZsSEA6
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) December 11, 2017
Once aboard the space station and under the care of the astronauts there, the sugar will be used to grow crystals in zero-gravity.
Students on Earth can also take part. Kits outlining the Crystal Growth Experiment are set to be available through Kickstrater. In setting up their own experiments, students can help compare between how the crystals grow on Earth and in space. The STEM effort was designed by DreamUp, NanoRacks, and Xtronaut.
“We support educational STEM programs at schools around the country, so we were thrilled when we were approached with this inventive program that uses our sugar products in a unique way to inspire young students to engage with and learn about science,” Brian O’Malley, CEO of Domino Foods, Inc., said in a statement.
Photos of both results can be posted to a website, enabling all to follow the progress, whether floating in space or firmly planted on the ground.
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