Painted Lady butterfly larvae launched aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on Nov. 16 to begin a journey to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of an education experiment funded by National Space Biomedical Research Institute. The larvae successfully fed, grew, formed chrysalises, and emerged as adult butterflies. The first chrysalis formed on Nov. 24, and the first butterflies emerged on Nov. 30.

The historic space experiment concluded on Dec. 10, 2009, when the butterflies completed their life cycles. However, photos and videos from the mission have been archived, allowing classrooms to repeat the experiment in the coming years.

Student Science Poster Competition - Entries Due Feb. 15, 2010

NSBRI and Baylor College of Medicine are holding a national Student Science Poster Competition. Individual students, student teams or entire classes are invited to create posters detailing their research questions, observations and conclusions. For more information, contest guidelines and a poster template, visit: http://www.bioedonline.org/space/STS_Mission_129.cfm

The Butterflies in Space Project

The project allows students to observe the behavior and life cycle of Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies as they progress from the larvae stage to colorful butterflies in the microgravity environment of the space.

Classrooms can set up a ground-based habitat and replicate the space experiment. Students conduct their own open-ended investigations of the butterfly life cycle. The Butterflies in Space Teacher Activity Guide is designed for middle school students, but can be adapted to other grades.

The Painted Lady butterfly larvae traveled to the ISS in a special habitat aboard the Atlantis. The astronauts transferred the habitat to the station, where the butterflies completed their life cycles.

Photographs of the experiment were downlinked from the ISS to Earth every 30 minutes during daylight hours.

For more information about the project , please visit: http://www.bioedonline.org/space/STS_Mission_129.cfm.

A downloadable version of the Butterflies in Space Teacher Activity Guide is available here: http://www.bioedonline.org/space/guideRegistration.cfm

The project was conducted in partnership with BioServe Space Technologies, Baylor College of Medicine, Orion's Quest, The Butterfly Pavilion, Challenger Learning Center of Colorado and the NASA Office of the Chief Scientist. Additional support was provided by Houston Endowment Inc., and Howard Hughes Medical Institute.