Liftoff!

Des Moines Area Community College and Lone Star Community College have partnered with the UTEX Culture Collection of Algae at the University of Texas at Austin and NASA to send Haematococcus pluvialis samples into space to facilitate studying the effects of microgravity on algal growth. Microalgae are microscopic algae, much smaller than the macroalgae you see floating around in the ocean or washed up on the shore. They are found in freshwater and marine systems, living in both water and sediment. Microalgae can be cultivated to have characteristics that are useful to humans such as high protein... Read more

How cool is this? Des Moines Area Community College Biotechnology program graduate Lyndsay Baker's experiment will be sent to the International Space Station for research. Lyndsay hopes that the algae grown as part of her experiment will produce the compound astaxanthin to help keep astronauts healthy.

Lyndsay's project, Microalgae Biosynthesis in Microgravity (MicroAlgae), studies the effects of microgravity on Haematococcus pluvialis , an algae capable of producing a powerful antioxidant, astaxanthin. It could provide a readily available dietary supplement to promote astronaut health on long-duration space exploration missions. Lyndsay is an alumna of... Read more