Saint Louis University Students to Send Experiment to the International Space Station

08/21/2026

The SLU Experiment Will Head to the International Space Station in Summer 2027

ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University students will design and send a science experiment to the International Space Station as part of Mission 22 of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP). SLU’s experiment will be flown to the International Space Station, along with others from around the country, in summer 2027.

SSEP is run by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) and operates at each school as a local flight-experiment design competition. The student teams at each institution develop their own microgravity research proposal. 

“This is an excellent opportunity for SLU students to get professional training in the work of doing science,” said Michael Swartwout, Ph.D., professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering in SLU’s School of Science and Engineering. 

Experiments are designed to fit real-world engineering and technology constraints imposed by the flight-certified mini-lab that must be used, as well as the nature of flight operations to and from Low Earth Orbit. 

Up to 20 teams, comprising 3-5 students, will compete to design a microgravity experiment in the science discipline of their choice. The teams will work in parallel starting on Sept. 1 to design and write a proposal for their experiment. On Nov. 3, each team will submit a formal research proposal for review by a panel of SLU faculty and alumni experts. 

The SSEP has a nine-week development window to produce a highly constrained science project to be conducted by astronauts aboard the ISS. Swartwout noted the speed of the challenge – from proposal to actual launch – is meteoric for aerospace research.

“The fun part is they will be able to see this go to the ISS in the spring,” he said. “That is astonishingly fast for space.”

Three SLU projects will be sent to the national selection committee, and one SLU experiment will be integrated into the mini-lab and launched via a cargo flight to the ISS. 

The chosen experiment will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Astronauts aboard ISS will operate the experiment for 4-6 weeks before it is returned to Earth for each team to finish analysis. 

“SLU’s selection as one of 22 institutions nationwide to participate in this competition means our students won’t just study space science — they’ll design an experiment bound for the International Space Station, running in microgravity for four to six weeks. That kind of opportunity is rare, and it reflects our commitment to hands-on experiences at the boundaries of science and engineering,” said Jenna Gorlewitz, Ph.D., associate dean of research and innovation in SLU’s School of Science and Engineering and chair of the department of aerospace and mechanical engineering. 

“Opportunities like this ground technical and scientific discovery in innovation, impact, and purpose — and showcase the power of interdisciplinary student teams asking big questions in pursuit of a deeper understanding of truth.”

Teams from middle and high schools, two-year colleges, four-year universities, and undergraduate programs may participate in the launch. SLU is participating in the undergraduate program.

Student Spaceflight Experiments Program

The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program [or SSEP] is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in the U.S. and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education internationally. It is enabled through a strategic collaboration with Rhodium Scientific, America’s first commercial space biotech company, as the International Space Station implementation partner and spaceflight hardware provider. SSEP is the first pre-college STEM education program that is both a U.S. national initiative and implemented as an on-orbit commercial space endeavor.

Research reported herein was supported by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. and NASA under agreement number 80JSC018M0005 and with Rhodium Scientific under agreement number UA-2021-8282.

Saint Louis University

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic research institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 13,300 students a rigorous, transformative education that challenges and prepares them to make the world a better place. As a nationally recognized leader in research and innovation, SLU is an R1 research university, advancing groundbreaking, life-changing discoveries that promote the greater good.