Kent Place Students' Experiment Heads To Space

Summit, NJ -- An experiment using butterflies designed by Kent Place Students, including one from Summit, is taking flight all the way into space.

The winning student-designed experiment,  "Tiny Wings of Glory," will be carried out on the International Space Station (ISS) next fall. 

The experiment was chosen from 99 proposals submitted by 300 Kent Place students as part of The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education's Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP).

It was created by seventh graders, Isabella Diaz of Roselle Park, Aya Mtume of Orange, Elizabeth Wyshner of Short Hills and fifth graders Olivia Adamczyk of Bernardsville, Alexandra Anderson of Chatham, Nora Lee of Short Hills and Abigail Wall of Summit.

"Tiny Wings of Glory" tests the role of gravity in the development of Vanessa cardui or commonly known as Painted Lady Butterflies.

“Gravity plays a part in the metamorphosis process of butterflies because the butterflies have to suspend upside-down in order to pupate correctly. Since there is no up or down in microgravity, the cocoons may have a hard time,” the students explained in a release.

Astronauts will preserve the butterflies shortly after they should have matured into the chrysalis stage during their stay aboard the International Space Station next fall. The students will also perform the same experiment on Earth in order to observe the differences between both specimens.

Tiny Wings of Glory and a finalist in the competition, Generation Regeneration: Cellular Activity in Microgravity, will be presenting their experiments on June 29 and 30 at the Air & Space Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.