Paul Stansell, a grade 9 pupil at Sacred Heart College, excelled at the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists recently for his idea to grow beans on Mars.
He was a national finalist at the event which was held on September 25.
Paul received the prestigious Hendrik J van der Bijl Award for excellence in research, innovation, novelty, the level of work for his school grade and the quality of his documentation and presentation.
The aim of the expo is to develop scientists who are able to identify a problem, analyse information, find solutions and communicate findings effectively.
Paul presented his scientific investigation to a group of pupils, teachers, educational bodies, professional organisations and government officials.
“I conducted more research on wheat grass, retesting the effects of carbon dioxide and low atmospheric pressure, but also testing the symbiotic effects of low pressures and water, and ionising ultraviolet rays and the effect on the wheat grass. I concluded that plants cannot be grown on the surface of Mars.
“I hypothesised a solution which would be to use a plastic sphere, much like a beach ball. This would be inflated with a small amount of air, packed tightly and sent to Mars. On Mars they would expand in the low pressure environment. You could fill these spheres with enough air so that when they get to Mars, they would have a higher air pressure inside them than the surrounding air. This would mean that liquid water would be stable inside the spheres. They could be sealed to prevent water loss and made out of ultraviolet resistant plastic,” said Paul.
Mrs Lamorna Cantin, Paul’s science teacher said, “Paul has put an exceptional amount of effort and individual research into his investigation. The maturity for his age impressed the judges.”
