SCIENCE OF OPPORTUNITY (SATURDAY MORNING SCIENCE)
Research Area: Educational Activities and Outreach: Educational Demonstrations
Expedition(s): 6
Principal Investigator(s): ● Donald R. Pettit, PhD, NASA’s Johnson Space Center,
Houston, Texas
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Don Pettit, Expedition 6 NASA International Space Station science officer, used his free time,
usually Saturday mornings, while living aboard the International Space Station to shed the light
of science on a variety of subjects for students of all ages. These demonstrations were
chronicled and dubbed “Saturday Morning Science.”
EARTH BENEFITS
The simple demonstrations using everyday
material for Saturday Morning Science will
play a major role in inspiring the next
generation to take the journey into space.
SPACE BENEFITS
The simple inspired demonstrations
performed during Saturday Morning Science
will provide insight into how fluids and other
objects behave in microgravity compared
to the gravity on Earth.
RESULTS
Several articles have been published on
Saturday Morning Science. Although
simple, Saturday Morning Science often demonstrated phenomena that had not been seen in
microgravity.
An article published in Sky and Telescope in October 2003 titled “Shooting the Heavens from
Space” discussed the amazing views and images captured by astronauts as they live and work in
space.
In April 2004, another article published in Sky and Telescope titled “Building Planets in Plastic
Bags” based on water observations performed as a Saturday Science demonstration. The
demonstration involved observing how salt grains clumped in water while in microgravity.
During this demonstration, Pettit unknowingly demonstrated middle stage planetary accretion.
A summary paper of the demonstration was published in Lunar and Planetary Science in 2004
concluded that although the demonstration lacked formal controls to identify the exact
clumping mechanism, the mechanism is obviously electrostatic. Future investigations of this
phenomenon will use realistic materials such as rock dust.
ISS006E20853 – Close-up view of earplugs strung together
by NASA International Space Station Science (ISS) Officer,
Don Pettit, to create a sprouter for basil and tomato seeds
used in the Growing Plants in Zero-G project of Saturday
Morning Science during ISS Expedition 6. NASA image.