Student's Experiment Is in the Depths of Space

Fifteen-year-old Max Holden of Hidden Hills is doing something out of this world, literally.

The Chaminade College Preparatory freshman and classmate Paige D'Andrea are among a few select students whose science experiments are currently being conducted on the International Space Station, the Daily News reports.

Their experiment, which seeks to determine whether wine would ferment faster in the weightlessness of space, was among a dozen out of nearly 800 student submissions approved by NASA, the newspaper reports.

"Wine usually ferments for two years if you're going to sell it on the market," Holden told the Daily News. "If this ferments twice as fast, it can only take one year to ferment it, and it can go on the market much faster."

On May 22, two vials with grape juice were launched into space aboard the space station-bound SpaceX Dragon Capsule, according to the Daily News. The next step is for an astronaut at the station to add yeast to the vials, while Holden and D'Andrea do the same thing at the same exact time on Earth.

The Dragon capsule arrived back on Earth Thursday, but the science experiment won't be sent back for about another month. That's when Holden and D'Andrea will compare the space vials and the ones left in their classroom.

The vials that contain the most carbon monoxide are the ones that would have undergone the most fermentation, according to the Daily News.

"Not many people ever get to say they've had something sent to outer space, especially high school students," Holden told the publication. "It's pretty cool."

To read more about the experiment, head to the Daily News website.