Come with us on a journey, if you will...

By the time you are reading this, a number of university students will already be casting their eyes forward to Spring Break -- a chance to unwind, party, relax, and enjoy a week off. For a group of students at the Florida Institute of Technology, there may be a couple days of sleeping in, or some time taken for meals with family, but there will be studying, data analysis, a presentation of research at the Florida Academy of Sciences in Lakeland, FL on March 10th, and whispers of an expanded relationship with NASA and more research to be done.

These students are all members of a relatively new scholarly society at Florida Tech.

Promoting the Future of
Astrobiology and Exobiology

 The Astrobiological Research and Education Society was founded in November of 2016 by approximately a dozen students and three student board members majoring in Astrobiology, but quickly expanded to include students majoring in Aerospace Engineering, Molecular Biology, and Marine Biology.  This is representative of their open invitation to outside disciplines to contribute to the study of life in the universe.

Our mission is to promote the field of Astrobiology, provide information and education to the public, promote space exploration, and help provide definition to the field of applied exobiology as a course of research.

Travelling teams make "mission patches"
representing the ARES Road Crew
to commemorate events

Since the beginning of the Fall Semester of 2016, we began a research project through the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute with a grant received from NASA, in association with the In-Situ Resource Utilization Element. Our task for RADISH, or Research to Advance the Development of InterStellar Horticulture was to scientifically evaluate the viability of martian regolith as an agricultural growth medium, and develop materials and methods to optimize efficiency, output, and sustainability. We started our search by obtaining a quantity of the first approved research simulant, JSC MARS-1A; a volcanic regolith from Hawaii. We have since conducted a several studies in this medium.

Our Chapter Treasurer David Handy and I will be travelling to Lakeland, Florida on March 10th to present our research to date at the Florida Academy of Sciences. Our poster presentation session will be held from 5:30pm to 7:30pm if anyone would like to speak with us about RADISH.

Otherwise, if you are a Facebook user, please feel free to follow our Facebook Page or contact us by email to see what the Society is up to!

With continuing discussions with NASA about the need for agriculture within our long-term space exploration strategies, we are certain to have more to share soon.  2017 is sure to be an exciting year!

Come exploring with us!

Dave Masaitis
President, Charter Chapter
Astrobiological Research and Education Society