When the Space Shuttle Endeavour left Earth for the International Space Station in November, it carried a research study by LMU senior Ryan Tolan. The mechanical engineering major created a project to study the effects of a low-gravity environment on the development of Painted Lady butterflies.

How life forms adapt to low-gravity conditions in space can provide valuable information for designing human space environments, Tolan says. Painted Lady butterflies are useful to study because their life cycles can be observed over a relatively short period of time.

Tolan designed a habitat that provides a livable environment for the butterflies while also meeting the stringent design specifications that apply to any equipment or research carried by the shuttle. The project takes digital images of the butterflies at different developmental stages (egg, larva, pupa and adult) while they are raised in a habitat that has some conditions similar to Earth's, including exposure to proper food sources, temperature and lighting.

"Having my research project go into space is what makes the project worthwhile," Tolan says. "It's one thing to do research, but it's another to know yours is being put to good use. I did much more than simply work on designs; I sat in on meetings and conference calls and even gathered information from professionals in the fields of biology and aerospace design."

Tolan is working with the Bioserve Space Technologies, a nonprofit NASA-sponsored research center based at the University of Colorado, Boulder.