Many people watched the lift-off of the space shuttle Columbia on March 21, 1982. But none watched more closely than eighteen-year-old Ted, as Ted's insects were on board the shuttle. The Shuttle Student Involvement Program invited students to make a science experiment. The experiment would be done by astronauts on the space shuttle. Ted had always been interested in space and flight. Insect flight especially interested him. Ted noticed that insects need gravity to take off and land. They need gravity to fly in a straight line. But in space, there is no gravity. Could insects fly in zero gravity? That is what Ted wanted to find out. Ted made an experiment called "Insect in Flight Motion Study". He entered his experiment and soon news came that _ . A large team of scientists and engineers helped Ted get his experiment ready to fly. There were many questions to be answered first. What kind of insects would Ted use in his experiment? The insects would have to be strong enough to live on the shuttle for nine days without much food. What kind of container would hold the insects? Would the insects die during the shuttle flight? After months of hard work, the "insectronauts" were chosen. A group of moths, flies, and honeybees were put into a special box and put onto the space shuttle. When Columbia flew into space, it was carrying insect passengers. On March 24, astronauts Gordon Fullerton and Jack Lousma took out the box that held the insects. They began filming the insects with a special video camera. When the space shuttle landed Ted was able to watch the video film of insects. Just as he thought, most of the insects did have trouble flying in zero gravity. The flies did well. But the moths' flight seemed "uncontrolled". They would often just hang in the air. The bees had the most trouble. They couldn't fly at all! The film showed bees spinning around in all directions. Others were just floating about in the box. Ted learned the answer to his question about insects' flight in zero gravity. But he also learned a lot more. He learned about the hard work needed in making a successful experiment. How did Ted learn the answer to his question about insects' flight in zero gravity?
By asking the scientists and engineers. By studying a book written by the astronauts. By going into space and watching the insects' flight himself. By watching the video film made by the astronauts.