Finnish pupils lose science lab in NASA rocket explosion

The news about the explosion of an unmanned NASA SpaceX Falcon rocket in Florida, United States late Sunday was received with particular sadness in Espoo, Finland.

The pupils of a school in Espoo had worked for months to build a micro laboratory that was on its way to the ISS Space Station as part of the four tonne cargo of the Falcon. The Finnish school had been able to join in the project through co-operation of a partner school in California.

The idea was to investigate what the impact of weightlessness was on the growth of fungi. To be tested were spores of the Finnish "winter polyporus brumalis" and the idea was to see whether they grow in space and, if so, how.

The teacher in charge, Hanna Niemela, told the Finnish television news on Monday that this was actually the second attempt at the project. The first effort had partially failed as the spores had run out of water due to a delay in the launch, but they survived their dry space flight and began to grow when back on earth.

Niemela said NASA had indicated that a third attempt could be possible, but no official confirmation was available. She said a new laboratory would be built in two weeks and pupils could be alerted during their summer leave, if necessary. Endit