Started the "Space Education Project" utilizing the ISS Kibo!

What is the Space Education Project?

COSMOFLOWER 2008" (educational and cultural project) has been selected for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) public call for paid use of the International Space Station "Kibo", and the "Space Education Project" will be implemented as part of RIVANES' educational program. In this project, plant seeds will be launched to "Kibo", stored, and then retrieved for use in educational programs at publicly selected junior high and high schools throughout Japan.

This mission

This space education project begins with the launch and delivery of plant seeds from the Kennedy Space Center in the United States to Kibo in October 2008. The seeds to be used in this project are Miyakogusa (Lotus japonicus) and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), plants that have been particularly well studied in Japan, including research on environmental response and genetic research. The launched seeds will be stored in "Kibo" under the supervision of astronauts, and in December, Astronaut Wakata will fly to the International Space Station to deliver a message about this project from space to us on the ground.
The seeds that have gone to space (space seeds) will return to Earth in April 2009, and will then be handed over to junior high and high schools participating in the educational program at space seed awarding ceremonies to be held in several locations throughout Japan. After the seeds are distributed, from May to August, students from the participating schools will hold an experiment class using the space seeds together with researchers who will visit the participating schools to compare the differences between the space seeds and ordinary seeds stored on Earth, and to verify with the children the changes that occur in the seeds stored after they fly into space.
The results of each school's experiments will then be disseminated nationwide at the Space Education Forum to be held on September 12, 2009 (tentative), and the experiment classes and the forum will be introduced in the media and on the official website.

Call for Cooperating Universities for Space Education Project

As part of the nationwide implementation of this space education project, we are seeking universities to host a space seed award ceremony for students from nearby junior high and high schools who will participate in the educational program. We hope that you will cooperate in providing an opportunity for many people to look into space and cutting-edge science through this project, and we would also like to use this opportunity to promote your university as a cooperating university in the space education project.