Northwest Nazarene University’s Team Super-Hydro, a team of seven engineering and chemistry students, returned from NASA this week after successfully completing their experiment onboard the "Weightless Wonder" aircraft.

NASA’s Waste Management Department wanted NNU students to test how the maximum amount of water, vapor, or liquid can be retrieved from the waste produced in the space station’s filtration system using a new super-hydrophobic material. Students worked alongside a NASA mentor in the months leading up to the flight who also flew on the “Weightless Wonder” with them.

"We weren't sure if we were going to [see] the phase separation of water in zero-gravity or not, but we saw it the whole time," said team leader and junior engineering student Kevin Halle. "Every time we experienced 0g those bubbles went in a specific direction, and we saw serious phase separation. It was really cool!"

The NNU team consists of Hale (Edmonds, Washington), Dorothy Ackerman (Great Falls, Montana), Chad Larson (Medford, Oregon), Darrell Leber (Lake Stevens, Washington), Keith Moilanen (Brush Prairie, Washington), Weston Patrick (Wasilla, Alaska), and Grady Turner (Nampa, Idaho).

Halle and Turner flew on Thursday, April 26 with NASA mentor Greg Pace. Ackerman, Larson, and Patrick flew on Friday, April 27 with Dan Lawrence, NNU chair of the department of physics and engineering.

More information on Team Super-Hydro, videos and details about their experiment can be found online at www.nnu.edu/teamsuperhydro or on their blog.
--Northwest Nazarene University