Page 221 - International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 3rd edition.

the distinctive feature of the Inter-MAI-75 experiment Asian Students Work with Astronauts
is to develop methods and tools that ensure the use in Space Missions
of information from space for educational purposes,
as well as in the overall educational process of the Methawi Chomthong of Mahidol Wittayanusorn
secondary and higher education system. This will School in Thailand plants chili seeds to observe
make it possible to improve the efficiency of teaching how they grow, while Leonita Swandjaja of Bandung
the disciplines of the natural science cycle by attracting Institute of Technology in Indonesia distributes tomato
students to the real conditions of spacecraft following, seeds to primary school pupils. These seeds have
as well as to provide additional public attention to the traveled in space, and many students and pupils in the
implementation of space programs and opportunities Asia-Pacific region have enthusiastically planted and
to obtain immediate practical results. nurtured these “space seeds.” The Space Seeds for
Asian Future (SSAF) (http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kuoa/ssaf/)
During Inter-MAI-75, the MAI Data Reception is a joint program run by space agencies and
and Processing Center, which is equipped with institutions for science education in the region.
communication facilities with the ISS Russian
Segment, and the radio amateurs around the world SSAF does more than simply send seeds into space
take images from the ISS. The first experiment and bring them back to Earth. SSAF collaborates
sessions attracted widespread international attention. between astronauts and students on the ground.
Several dozen receiving radio amateur stations, located In September 2013, astronaut Dr. Karen Nyberg
on almost all continents, participated in the Inter- retrieved a box from a stowage rack in the Japanese
MAI-75 sessions of information reception. Data from Experiment Module Kibo. The box contained seedlings
radio amateurs regarding the reception conditions of Azuki, small red beans that grew 7 days after being
may be of scientific interest for studying the radio watered and kept under dark conditions.
ommunication features of ground receiving stations In parallel on the ground, students prepared their own
with space objects in the near-Earth space. plant boxes and started cultivating their own seeds.
They observed the growth of their plants to identify any
The images received by radio amateurs around the
world are posted on the ARISS SSTV gallery (http:// difference between the ground and space seedlings.
spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php). Dr. Nyberg showed the seedlings in the box on a video
camera. She then pulled out some seedlings and
examined the strength of their stems. The video image
of the operation was downlinked to the Tsukuba Space
Center, JAXA, Japan. Members of the ground staff
observed the space seedlings as conveniently as if they
were side by side with her. These downlinked video
images were distributed to the organizations that were
participating in the SSAF2013 program, and a timeline
was set for showing the video to students, thus making
them feel as if they were working with an astronaut.
In Malaysia, the National Space Agency (ANGKASA)
held a competition to help students develop their

Students understood the
Sample of image taken from the ISS RS in wonderful capability of such
February 2017 by amateur radio communication
channel during the sessions of Scientific tiny seeds by witnessing that
Experiment Inter-MAI-75, devoted to the MAI they were able to adjust to various
laboratory facilities.
Image credit: Moscow Aviation Institute (National gravitational conditions.
Research University)

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