Co-Principal Investigators: Madelyn Hickman, Tony Holmes, Jacob Rubio, Kalista Ybarra

Teacher Facilitators: Serena Connally Science Teacher Hobby Middle SchoolRonica Korn and Michael Dawson Teachers Howsman Elementary School

Crystal Tetras

Introduction

Our experiment will help us determine how microgravity affects the growth of sodium tetraborate crystals.

Without the impact of gravity, will crystals develop differently? Will there be more crystals? Will they be shaped differently?

We think our experiment, if our hypothesis is correct, that the crystals will be better quality (more abundant and increased clarity).

Question:How will microgravity affect the growth of

borax - sodium tetraborate - crystals?

Hypothesis:In a microgravity environment, the

crystals will grow at a more robust rate and will grow larger.

Materials

· Borax (Sodium tetraborate)· Deionized water· Ethyl alcohol anhydrous· Fluids Mixing Enclosure (FME) type 3· Type 3 kit provided by NanoRacksLLC· Syringe· Screw driver· Safety materials: gloves, goggles, aprons

Procedures

The following procedures were performed twice, once for the space experimental and once for the Earth actual control.1. Prepare and load the Fluid Mixing Enclosure2. Volume 1 contains distilled water3. Volume 2 contains sodium tetraborate (Borax)4. Volume 3 contains ethyl alcohol

Procedures● Once in space the astronauts will open clamp A and shake the

FME for 2 minutes at time A=0. We will do the same here with the Earth actual FME.

● At A+2 the astronauts will shake the FME for 1 minute then open clamp B and shake the FME for another minute. We will do the same with the Earth actual FME.

● When the FME returns from space we will open both FME’s and examine both using a microscope. We will look for clear crystals that can be x-rayed using x-ray crystallography.

● A crystal from each FME will be x-rayed and analyzed by Dr. Arman Hadi at University of Texas at San Antonio.

Results

After opening the Fluid Mixing Enclosures (FME), we saw that the space experimental crystals had more microcrystalline clusters than single crystals. The Earth actual sample contained more single crystals than microcrystalline clusters. When compared under a microscope, the crystalline forms grown in a microgravity environment were shorter and flatter.

Borax – sodium tetraborate – Na2B4O5(OH)4 ● 8H2OFigure 1. Generic Shoe box ( unit cell)

New Questions

Will crystals of another substance grow better than the sodium tetraborate crystals?

If we had more time, would the crystals have grown better?

Would a larger container allow for the growth of larger single crystals?

Would a larger container allow for the growth of fewer microcrystalline clusters?

Conclusion

In conclusion, we were more than capable of growing crystals in a microgravity environment and the microgravity variable between the two FME grown crystals does play a role in the type and quality of crystals grown.

We have learned that the crystals grown on Earth as well as in space have many similarities and differences. We also learned that the microgravity environment does affect the growth of the crystals (in both shape and quantity).

Future Expansion

If we had another chance to do this we would like to try other crystals and compare them to the tetraborate crystals and see how they are similar and different.

We would like to grow microcrystalline clumps and see if there is a

difference in how the clumps form.

We also would like more time to grow the crystals.

San Antonio Partner Organizations Thank you for your support.

Texas Space Grant Consortium at University of Texas at AustinNorthside Education Foundation

University of Texas at San AntonioSouthwest Research Institute

University of Texas Health Science Center at San AntonioRobert Trevino, San Antonio City Councilman District 1Rey Saldana, San Antonio City Councilman District 4

Shirley Gonzalez, San Antonio City Councilman District 5Ray Lopez, San Antonio City Councilman District 6

Chris Medina, San Antonio City Councilman District 7Ron Nirenberg, San Antonio City Councilman District 8

Mike Gallagher, San Antonio City Councilman District 10Julian Castro, former Mayor of San Antonio

Ivy Taylor, Mayor of San AntonioNational Defense Education Program/Cryptologic and Cyber Systems Division

City of San AntonioCenter for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), SSEP National Partner

National Center for Earth and Space Science Education