A Colorado 11-year-old is boldly going where no sixth-grader has ever gone before. He's building a microbrewery for the International Space Station — you know, for science.
Reporter: Following a recipe usually meant for adults, Michal Bodzianowski, at age 11, is turning beer-making into a historic achievement.
Michal: "Beer, while known to most people as a party drink, actually has some medical properties." (SWV WAFB)
"The experiment to see out the fermentation process works got the attention of NASA. The student says beer can be used to clean wounds in space." (Via WDRB)
"I really didn't expect this from the start. I just wanted my experiment to get a good grade in my class." (SWV KDVR)
Michal was inspired by a book on the Middle Ages, which explained how people drank beer because it was purer than water. He theorized beer had untapped medical properties that would be useful for future space communities. (Via The Denver Post)
His project was submitted to the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, which conducts student competitions for the prize of working alongside NASA scientists and engineers. (Via ABC)
Of the more than 700 submissions by nearly 4,000 students, only 11 proposals were chosen. Michal is the first and only student from Colorado to ever win.
Michal will be receiving a real research mini-laboratory, scheduled to leave for the International Space Station in the coming months. He will prepare the experiment on Earth, then an astronaut will execute it under Michal's instruction. (Via Fox News)
Teacher: "This is why you are spending all that time learning to write a lab report because you may have to write a real proposal on day."
Michal: "It's pretty much going to be the greatest moment of my life, so far." (Via KWGN)
Michal's experiment is scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station in mid-December.
