CACC Student Experiment Arrives at International Space Station

by Chance Jones

Posted on Oct 15, 2026 at 11:09 AM

Alexander City, Ala. — A science experiment designed by students at Central Alabama Community College (CACC) has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS).  This moment represents a major milestone in the college's participation in Mission 20 to the ISS, the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) operated by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) 

CACC’s experiment traveled aboard SpaceX's Dragon cargo spacecraft, capsule C211, following its successful launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 5:33 a.m. CST on October 13. Following its approximately 50-hour journey, Dragon docked with the ISS on October 15, delivering a small but ambitious experiment that will investigate how radish seeds germinate in microgravity.

The project began in January 2025, when 52 students organized into 15 teams to develop proposals for scientific experiments that could be conducted in space. Proposals explored a wide range of subjects, including dentistry, cancer cell proliferation, and amino acid crystallization. The selected experiment, designed by former CACC students Noah White, Allie Scott, Benton Stegall, Gracie Deason, and Adeline Benton, investigates radish root development in a microgravity environment.

“I never imagined I would get to say that I sent radishes to space!” said Allie Scott, now a student at Auburn University's Harrison College of Pharmacy. “Watching the rocket launch was such an exciting and unforgettable experience, especially knowing that something we worked on was inside and headed to the International Space Station.”

A year of research, refinement, and engineering

Getting the experiment ready for flight required more than a promising scientific question. Over the past year, the team refined its experimental design to fit within a 10-milliliter flexible tube. Students worked to determine the appropriate amounts of growing medium, water, and formalin needed to support seed germination while preserving the samples for subsequent analysis.

The project also benefited from the support of Quin Shakra of The Plant Good Seed Company in Ojai, California. Shakra provided technical guidance, helped the team obtain documentation required for spaceflight, and donated Pink Beauty Radish seeds for the experiment.

“The whole moment is unbelievable,” remarked CACC Chemistry Instructor Jeremy M. Carr, the project's local director.  “CACC has an experiment floating about 300 miles above our heads on one of the most well-known laboratories in the world. Not bad for a local community college in Alabama.”

Bringing research beyond the classroom

For participating students, Mission 20 has offered more than an opportunity to contribute to space-based research. The experience has also provided a distinctive way to demonstrate problem-solving, collaboration, and project development to future employers and academic programs.

Noah White, one of the experiment's original student researchers, recently found that experience valuable during his search for professional opportunities.

“I've recently just gone through a pile of interviews for co-ops, and everyone asked about [Mission 20] on my resume,” White said. “It impressed Honda enough to land me a spring/summer co-op!”

Mission 20 reflects CACC's broader efforts to expand educational opportunities beyond traditional coursework. In recent years, the college has expanded undergraduate research, non-credit programming, athletics, study abroad, and campus offerings while supporting students pursuing competitive opportunities in professional and graduate education.

“At CACC, it’s important that the classroom extends beyond our four campuses,” stated CACC President Jeff Lynn. “When students engage in real-world projects like this science experiment for the International Space Station, they help create solutions that can make a lasting impact on Alabama and the world.”

The research continues on Earth and in space

In the coming days, astronauts aboard the ISS will conduct the experiment according to a timetable developed by CACC students. Following its scheduled return to Earth in the coming weeks, the samples will be analyzed by a new group of CACC students and compared with an identical experiment conducted on Earth.

That comparison will allow students to investigate how the microgravity environment influences radish seed germination and root development.

For CACC, the arrival of the experiment marks the beginning of the next stage of the research, not its conclusion.

About SSEP

The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program [or just “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 partnership with Nanoracks, LLC, which is working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory.

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