Ryerson students launch mushrooms into space

The project was designed by three Ryerson undergraduates and two Toronto high school students to test whether oyster mushrooms could one day serve as a food source for astronauts. At home, the students are simultaneously conducting the same experiment, which will serve as a comparison.

“In terms of oyster mushrooms, we chose this species because it’s an edible species with a high amount of fibre and carbohydrates but low in fat,” said Preet Kahlon, a fourth-year Ryerson medical physics student. “We knew that if we did something that was resilient like fungus… it would be able to serve as a source of food for astronauts.”

The experiment is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, which is run by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education. It enables students to conduct microgravity experiments in space. Ryerson is the first Canadian university to take part.

Nathan Battersby, a fourth-year biology student, brought forth the idea to administration in November 2014. The university received approval to participate in March 2015 and held a competition until May of that year to design the project it would send to space.

The competition also served as a mentorship program. Ryerson undergraduates competed in groups of about five along with high school students interested in science. Approximately 130 students participated.

Battersby was part of the directing team with faculty members who analyzed the proposals and narrowed them down to the top three, which were sent to the Smithsonian Space Museum in Washington to decide a winner. Judges were looking for experiments that were most likely to give accurate results and have real-life applications.

“It’s not everyday that you get to send something to space and it’s not like you can do your typical science experiment where you send 30 trials and take an average,” Battersby said. “In this case, there was one experiment that had to work.”

The experiment consists of a tube, less than 10 millilitres, divided into three sections. One section contains spores for oyster mushrooms, comparable to the seeds of a plant. Another contains the food source for the mushrooms: cellulose which gives the mushroom its structure and a water source to provide moisture.

After a few weeks, astronauts on the ISS will carry out an activation that opens up and combines the two sections, allowing growth to begin.

Two weeks before the experiment returns home, astronauts will activate the third compartment of the tube, containing a fixative to kill the fungus and preserve the project as is, similar to a dissection project in high school.

“Once it comes back, we want to analyze what is the visible difference in growth from the experiment,” said Kahlon. “We’re wondering how much gravity plays a role in the growth.”

The students plan to publish their results, even if no growth occurs. It cost $30,000 USD to participate, which was funded by the provincial government, the Faculty of Science and president’s office at Ryerson, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Magellan Aerospace and Bombardier.

“We really are focused on science outreach and experiential learning,” said Emily Agard, director of science communication at Ryerson and outreach director of the project. “We’re trying to create a niche for ourselves, we’re trying to establish ourselves and differentiate ourselves from what other people are doing.”