With their study of using moss to determine ozone concentration in the stratosphere, Team LEO3 of Poland is the winner of the “Best Science Experiment” prize for GSBC 2015 with their JADE Mission. Numerous samples were placed in test tubes and flown to altitude inside the balloon payload, while controls were kept in various conditions on the ground. Upon recovering the payload, the samples were cut up, studied under a microscope, and put through a series of other tests to assess cell damage, changes in cell size and chlorophyll intensity, and chlorophyll degradation. The team learned much about the varying responses of the different species to temperature, ozone, radiation, and pressure changes and hope to use this for future biomonitoring experiments. Congratulations to Team LEO3 on completing a very unique and thorough experiment with exciting results.
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