No, I'm not cheating.You may think of x-rays, xylophones or even the phrase, "X marks the spot." But for me X is the mark of the Experimental Squadron - now part of the Aerospace Engineering & Testing Establishment - in Cold Lake, Alberta. The X on an aircraft indicated that it was undergoing modifications or assessment. I still thrill to see photos of planes with that designation. You see they remind me of my Dad, who in the earliest years of my life was an avionics engineer with the squadron.
Of course, I was far too little to understand that then. By the time I was old enough to appreciate what he did for a living, he was already working a civilian job. I learned a little about his years in the RCAF as I grew and I continue to connect with his military history, even in my adult years discovering things I never knew before.
I am no engineer, but I do have an innate interest in things scientific. And I do have an appreciation for experimental design, as well. This morning I submitted our results for the citizen science project, Tomatosphere. Now I get to tell my girls which group of tomato seeds we planted was the control, and which ones were treated to simulate an incident on the way to Mars.
Tomatosphere is a project of the Canadian Space Agency that distributes seeds to classroom teachers and homeschoolers. The seeds are planted in carefully identified containers, and students keep track of how many from each group germinate. The data collected through the citizen science project helps our space agency scientists to evaluate tomatoes as a potential food crop for growing on Mars.
Here is the story behind this year's treatment group seeds:
We are on the way to Mars and a sensor indicates some kind of problem with a storage system on the outside of the space vehicle. The problem is investigated by an astronaut on a “spacewalk” – an extravehicular activity or EVA – who indeed finds there is a problem with the storage system. Over the next few weeks, plans are made on Earth to fix the problem and an astronaut conducts another EVA to fix the problem. However, some time has passed and the seeds have been exposed to extremely cold temperatures (-90oC), and very low atmospheric pressure (almost a vacuum). The problem with the storage system is fixed – BUT, HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THE SEEDS THAT WE WILL USE TO GROW TOMATOES ONCE WE GET TO THE SURFACE OF MARS?
The girls have gathered around, and they are very eager to learn which of their seeds were treated. (Sorry, I can't reveal that here because it's a blind experiment and there are other folks participating who haven't completed the germination yet!) I'm off to do the reveal!
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