Rubber Chicken In Space: Students Send Bird To Stratosphere To Study Solar Radiation [VIDEO]

The students at Bishop Union High School in Bishop, Calif. have accomplished something great. They've sent a sensor-equipped rubber chicken to the edge of the stratosphere with hopes of studying the effects of solar radiation.

The rubber chicken was equipped with a video camera, which recorded its entire journey from the ground of California, past the clouds and to the edge of space.

The students hope to learn about the effect of solar radiation on life. The experiment will facilitate conversations about space weather within the classroom.

The space chicken has been named Camilla, and it's the official mascot at NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. In 2010, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) launched from Kennedy Space Center, leaving behind its mission's mascot, Camilla Corona SDO, says the Camilla Space Weather Project's website. Seeking a way to keep her astronaut friends and SDO safe, Camilla is going to send them space weather forecasts!

The experiment bares a strong resemblance to the Brooklyn Space Program, which was an experiment set up between father and son that allowed an iPhone camera to drift up to space using a set of helium balloons. When you combine the creativity of a young mind and the experience of a patient adult, the possibilities are endless, says BSP's official website. Based on an foundation of play, free thinking and learning through physical action, our interests lie in pushing the bounds of creativity and innovation through a means people enjoy.