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BioServe Space Technologies has developed and flown a series of miniature habitats to house several different biological specimens and one biochemical experiment. This effort was in support of an educational program, Space Technology and Research Students (STARS), developed by SPACEHAB Inc. The STARS program gives students from around the world a chance to design and conduct their own spaceflight experiments. STARS-Bootes, the payload flown on STS-107, housed a Japanese Medaka fish experiment; a Chinese silkworm experiment; an American Harvester ant experiment; a Carpenter bee experiment from Liechtenstein, an Australian Orb Weaver spider experiment; and a biochemical crystal growth experiment from Israel. Each habitat was custom designed to suit each specimen's individual needs. The habitats provided passive humidity control, lighting, feeding areas, and containment as well as an artificial environment for the specimens to be observed in.

This paper describes the development and ground-test results of three passively controlled life support systems for experiments currently onboard ISS, and scheduled for flight on STS-107 as part of the Space Media Inc. (SMI) Science and Technology Research Student (STARS®) global education program. Two experiments use the Autonomous Biological System (ABS) technology, which has been tested during two 4-month Mir experiments. One ABS will house embryos and fry of the Japanese Medaka Fish, Oryzias latipes, A second ABS contains a complex ecosystem experiment. The third system uses a passive life support system based on agar gel for the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex occidentalis. Thermal control, lighting and still and streaming digital imaging during the experiments are provided by the Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus - Isothermal Containment Module (GBA-ICM).

BioServe Space Technologies is developing a set of habitats which will support various biological specimens and one biochemical experiment. The habitats are being developed to support a spaceflight educational payload called Space Technology and Research Students (STARS). The STARS program entrusts high school students with the development and design of their own spaceflight experiments. Experiments are solicited from various countries and primarily focus on the life sciences. Once selected, all experiments must be accommodated within one middeck locker sized payload, the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus.

The STARS (Science Technology and Research Students) Program developed by SPACEHAB, Inc., is a commercial educational initiative which leverages the excitement of space to inspire students' interest in the areas of engineering, mathematics, and science by means of a hands-on, interactive approach. In January 2003 students from six countries participated in, and tracked the progress of, their own space-based experiments flown aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. The students participated in every development stage of their experiments from hypothesis definition to the analysis of data collected during the flight. By taking this approach students gained a wealth of knowledge in the areas of math, science, and engineering, while simultaneously learning to work as a world-wide, multicultural team. Results were gathered from a distributed survey and from post-mission activities.

BioServe Space Technologies developed a series of miniature habitats housing several different biological specimens and one biochemical experiment to fly aboard Columbia on the STS-107 mission. This effort was in support of an educational program, Space Technology and Research Students (STARS™), sponsored and developed by SPACEHAB Inc. This program was designed to pique the interest of high school and undergraduate students from around the world and give them a chance to design and conduct their own spaceflight experiments. The student experiments supported by the series of miniature habitats included a Japanese Medaka fish experiment; a Chinese silkworm experiment; an American Harvester ant experiment; a Carpenter bee experiment from Liechtenstein, an Australian Orb Weaver spider experiment; and a biochemical crystal growth experiment from Israel. Each experiment was housed in a custom designed enclosure or habitat developed to address each specimen’s individual needs.