Nancy Conrad, founder and chairman of the Conrad Foundation, today announced the Foundation has joined forces with NanoRacks LLC to launch a new program called DreamUp, which will assist students in raising money to participate in a unique educational experience -- conducting experiments in the microgravity of space. The program will enable students to use American Express(R) Membership Rewards(R) points to fund student experiments onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Junior high, high school and undergraduate college students from accredited U.S. schools who register for the DreamUp program will have access to NanoRacks' two standardized research platforms aboard the ISS (also known as NanoLabs) each of which supports 16 payloads, or experiments, housed in small containers. Each NanoLab is plugged into the ISS' power and communications system by a NASA astronaut, offering students a chance to test scientific theories in a zero gravity environment.
Students can design two different size payloads, starting at $15,500 each. For every 1,000 American Express points redeemed, the DreamUp program will receive $10.00 for the team/school of the donator's choice. Donations can also be made to a scholarship fund, which will help deserving, under-served schools fund their own DreamUp payload.
Schools interested in signing up for DreamUp should complete an online registration form. Anyone interested in donating money or points to the DreamUp program can visit http://www.conradfoundation.org/dreamup/donations/.
