ACS Athens S.T.E.A.M. Team Returns To Space

  • by XpatAthens
  • Monday, 23 December 2019
ACS Athens S.T.E.A.M. Team Returns To Space
ACS Athens High School students conducted their second S.T.E.A.M. experiment, investigating how ouzo and pure organic grape molasses (petimezi) behave at an altitude of 100 km. More specifically, the students of ACS Athens (‘’spACS 2’’ team) investigated how these Greek traditional products behave under microgravity conditions.

The students’ scientific experiments were carried by Blue Origin’s New Shepard groundbreaking reusable rocket into space beyond 100 km altitude, also known as the Karman Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space.

New Shepard was successfully launched on Wednesday, December 11, from Blue Origin's West Texas Facility and landed vertically 10 minutes later, with the entire space flight been broadcasted live. Earlier in 2019, ACS Athens students (“spACS 1’’ team) sent Greek honey into space with New Shepard again, becoming one of the few non-US K-12 schools to have participated in such a space mission. 

ACS Athens students had to meet strict safety, size, and mass criteria in order for their experimental apparatus, containing ouzo, petimezi, electronics, and their 3D-printed container (designed and prototyped by one of the students) to be approved for a space flight, familiarizing themselves with real-world S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) investigations. Jaeho Nam, ACS Athens student and member of the spACS 2 team said: "I was fortunate to be a part of the spACS 2 team, and I personally think this experience not only provided me the opportunity to attain essential skills for a career in engineering but to learn the true meaning and value of teamwork." 

The international team of ACS Athens, formed in 2018, consists of High School students, their educators - Dr. Antonios Karampelas, Dr. Ioannis Kerkines, Ms. Victoria Poulou, Mr. Spyros Arsenikos, and Dr. Liana Tsigaridi - and external collaborators (Mr. Panos Mazarakis, Mr. Ilias Botsios). As Dr. Karampelas, Principal Investigator, stated: "I am proud of my students who managed to complete such a challenging task and excited to have seen ouzo and petimezi flying into space for the first time in history." 

The container of the experiment will be returned to ACS Athens a few days after its successful landing so that the students can process and analyze the collected data. 

More information on the conclusions of the experiment will follow, as they become available. 

The video of the launch is available by Blue Origin
The ACS Athens team first presented the spACS experiment during the 2019 Athens Science Festival
To learn more about the experiment click here
To learn more about Blue Origin click here

LIFE & CULTURE