Middle School - Challenge 5: copy - Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

GRADES 6 to 8 | 2025-2026

Challenge 5: Growing Beyond Earth®

IMPORTANT NOTE: Registration for this Challenge is now closed and no more schools will be accepted to participate in this Challenge for this school year (there is always next year though!) If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please email challenge@fairchildgarden.org.

YOUR CHALLENGE:

As NASA looks toward a long-term human presence beyond Earth’s orbit, there are specific science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) challenges related to food production in space. Established in 2015 as a partnership between Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and NASA’s Exploration Research and Technology Programs, Growing Beyond Earth enables student community scientists to actively contribute data toward NASA mission planning.

New Schools will conduct the following experiment:

Novel Crops

Returning schools will choose on of the following experiments:

Novel Crops: Extended Growth Period
Neighboring Effect
Water Stress
Fruiting Crops

Download information as one page with lesson plan

Click here for 2025-2026 GBE Trial 1 Research Protocols

✓ Submission Requirements to earn Fairchild Challenge points:
	Teachers must register to attend a mandatory workshop led by NASA and GBE facilitators. **If you cannot make it to the mandatory in-person workshop but would still like to participate in this Challenge, please reach out to the Challenge team at challenge@fairchildgarden.org
	Trial 1 and 2 data with on-time submittal. – Submitted to GBE portal.
	Trial 2 Proposal with on-time submittal. Submit your Trial 2 Proposal here! Student-designed, original research project informed by Trial 1 data. Proposal written like a brief abstract (maximum 250 words) and include the following: Research Question & Hypothesis: What are you trying to investigate, and what do you predict will happen? Independent Variables: Identify the independent variables you will be testing in your experiment. Experiment Description & Justification: Describe the experiment you want to run and explain why you believe it is scientifically valid. Include what inspired you to do this experiment. This may include results from your first experiment, research questions generated through background research, or ideas based on prior knowledge. We want to know what sparked your interest and helped you form your hypothesis. Materials: List any materials that are not part of standard GBE experiments. References: Include any sources you used to inform your experiment, background research, or hypothesis. Use any standard citation format (e.g., APA, MLA).
	Optional Trial 2 Presentation with students presenting it live at GBE Symposium More details to come!
	One set of Fairchild Challenge points earned per middle school.

CHALLENGE RESOURCES:

Important Dates

MANDATORY WORKSHOP (see dates in the Challenge description)

**If you are unable to attend the mandatory workshop, please notify the Challenge team at challenge@fairchildgarden.org

Trial 1 Data Due:
Friday, November 21, 2025 by 5:00pm

Trial 2 Proposal Due:
Friday, December 12, 2025 by 5:00pm

Trial 2 Data Due:
Friday, March 20, 2026 by 5:00pm

Optional Trial 2 Presentation Due:
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 by 5:00pm

Research Symposium:
Saturday, April 11, 2026

Point Breakdown
Participants per submission	Groups
Maximum number of points per submission	300 max 75 for required Trial 1 data 75 Trial 2 proposal 75 for Trial 2 data 75 total bonus points for optionally submitting Trial 2 presentation and students presenting at the GBE Symposium
Number of submissions per school	1

Fairchild City in a Garden Standards

Scientific Output

This website is based upon the work supported by NASA under grant award No 80NCCS22M0125. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.