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NC State Experts Offer Insight On Final Shuttle Launch, Space Experiments, Future Of Space Exploration

The space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch July 8. It will be the final mission for NASA’s shuttle program. The shuttle will be carrying an experiment into orbit for North Carolina State University researchers. Reporters can contact these NC State experts for more information about the experiment, the role that the shuttle program and the International Space Station have played in scientific research, the history of the shuttle program and the future of space exploration.

Dr. Imara Perera, research assistant professor of plant biology, 919/515-3544 or imara_perera@ncsu.edu, is the lead researcher on a plant biology experiment that is being launched with Atlantis. “On Earth, plants are critical for humans both as source of food and for purifying the air and water and therefore they will be a vital component of future long-duration space missions,” Perera says. “However the space environment is not ideal for plant growth. The goal of our experiment is to understand how plants sense and respond to the space environment, in particular, microgravity. The long-term implications of this work will be to improve plant growth under unfavorable environmental conditions that may exist both here on earth and in space.”

Dr. Chris Brown, director of North Carolina Space Grant and associate vice chancellor for research development, 919/513-2457 or cbrown@ncsu.edu, has over two decades of experience in space biology research. Brown is a former manager and senior scientist of the Plant Space Biology Lab at the Kennedy Space Center, and can talk about the role that the shuttle program and the International Space Station have played in scientific research.

Dr. Fred DeJarnette, campus director of North Carolina Space Grant and professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, 919/515-5243 or dejar@ncsu.edu, has extensive experience working with NASA and the shuttle program. DeJarnette is available to talk about the history of the shuttle program and the future of space exploration.

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