Whether it was Rubik's Cubes, Sudoku or riddles, Nicole Beisel loved puzzles as a kid. Not much has changed. But these days the University of Florida doctoral student works with a lot more pieces and the stakes are higher. Much higher. Think Mars.
Beisel's research involves making sense of immense, complex sets of genetics data for the UF's Space Plants Lab, a team focused on, as you may have guessed, growing plants in zero gravity. (Learn how the lab sends plants to space.) But it's Beisel's side project that she calls "simply cool" and will one day help the first greenhouses thrive on Mars.
By thinking outside of the box, Beisel is developing imaging procedures for a GoPro modified by the Space Plants team that uses near-infrared light to detect when a plant is in destress before it's possible with the naked eye.
The camera known for its ability to capture extreme images could one day give astronauts an advantage on a hostile foreign planet, allowing them to monitor greenhouses remotely and correct a would-be catastrophic decline of plant health before it happens.
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Image via University of Florida.