Students at Teikyo University in Japan are building a slime-mold–housing micro-satellite to orbit the Earth. Using amateur radio, the satellite will transmit pictures of the mold’s growth back to Earth.

 

TeikyoSat 3 is a small satellite project of the Space System Society at the university’s Utsunomiya campus. Weighing 44 pounds, the satellite is designed to study the effect of space radiation and the microgravity environment on a mold known as Dictyostelium discoideum, but is often referred to as "slime mold." D. discoideum has a relatively short lifespan, making it possible to view all the stages of its life.

 

The micro-satellite is scheduled to launch on Japan’s H 2A launch vehicle in 2014, and will ride along with the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) main satellite. A ground station at the University’s Utsunomiya campus will monitor TeikyoSat 3. Details about the tiny satellite will likely be made available to the public to enable radio amateurs to receive images directly from the spacecraft.