Budding scientists win place on NASA mission

08/06/10
Two A-Level students have beaten off strong competition from budding scientists across the UK to win a place on a research mission with NASA and US high-power rocketeers 'the rocket mavericks' organised by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA).

The two students, Rainbow Lo of Ursuline High School, Wimbledon; and Joe Campion of King Edward VI Sixth Form College, Nuneaton, have won places on a two week-long research expedition to discover if microscopic life exists in the extreme outer-atmosphere. The expedition is part of the Clotho project - a collaboration between NASA, the Mavericks Foundation and several of the world's leading scientific institutions.

Joe and Rainbow were singled out by a judging panel, impressed by their responses to the competition challenge of how to measure the number of microbes discovered. The winners were two of six students shortlisted to attend a full day workshop at NESTA's headquarters in London on Friday.

Dr Rachel Brazil, one of the competition judges and project manager for NESTA's Crucible programme, says: "The quality of entries we received shows the ingenuity and passion for science that exists in our students. Joe impressed all of the judges from the start and we are delighted he will be joining us on this trip of a lifetime.'

The winners will work with an astrobiology group from NASA and a UK research team supported by NESTA to launch a rocket 115 kilometres into space, carrying a robotic device that captures microbes. These microbes will then be analysed to understand how they survive in one of the harshest environments on our planet, which could help scientists make vital advances in science back on earth.

The team devised the experiment while taking part in NESTA's Crucible programme, which encourages scientists from different disciplines to collaborate on research projects.

Notes to editor

For further information, and for photography, please contact Catherine Anderson on 020 7438 2609 or catherine.anderson@nesta.org.uk

About NESTA
NESTA is the largest independent endowment in the UK. Its mission is to support innovation to drive economic recovery and solve some of the UK's major social challenges.

NESTA is a world leader in its field and is in a unique position to support innovation through a blend of practical programmes, policy and research and investment in early-stage companies. www.nesta.org.uk 

NESTA Crucible programme
Crucible  brings together 30 early-career researchers from different disciplines to help solve complex scientific challenges. Participants take part in four residential weekends where they develop collaborative and innovative cross-disciplinary ideas for future research. Oliver, Melissa and Paul were part of Crucible 2008 and have been working with each other since then.

Dr Oliver de Peyer is a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Medical Research in London and is an expert in lab robotics. He also specialises in astrobiology and has worked at NASA in the past. He has planned and built the robot that we'll fly.

Dr Melissa Grant is a biochemist with expertise on microbe detection. She is a post doctoral fellow at the University of Birmingham and works on finding new preventative treatments for gum disease. She has figured out what chemistry needs to happen while the robot is up in the stratosphere.

Dr Paul Shepherd is a Research Fellow in the Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering at the University of Bath. He is more used to working out how to design huge structures like sports stadiums so that they can withstand earthquakes and tornados. He has used the same techniques to make sure our experiment can survive being launched into the stratosphere.