Linwood Elementary Teacher Lisa Turney will have her Bitmoji avatar launch to the International Space Station 

(BERKELEY, California) – Magnitude.io CEO Ted Tagami announced today that Linwood Elementary Technology Teacher Lisa Turney from Linwood, Kansas will have her Bitmoji launch to the International Space Station with the ExoLab-8 mission.

Tagami remarked, “Lisa Turney will serve as the ExoLab-8 Astro_moji Mission Specialist leading an extraordinary virtual field trip experience and connecting students in all settings to a plant experiment in microgravity.”

From November 12 through December 6, Magnitude.io invited educators to apply for the mission specialist position. When the pandemic changed normal school routines, Turney, along with thousands of other educators, developed virtual learning environments by creating Bitmoji classroom lessons. After submitting a Bitmoji classroom lesson and short essay, Turney’s likeness was chosen to be featured on a Bitmoji sticker that will be placed on the astrobotany experiment launching on the NG-15 cargo resupply mission in February 2021.

Upon receiving the news of her selection, Turney expressed, “In times like this, opportunity means everything. There are no field trips, assemblies, or working together in groups. It is a new world for students and teachers, but a space mission that connects students and scientists from far distances? That is truly an inspiring experience.”

Recognizing the value of scientific inquiry, Turney added, “Students will love the opportunity to do hands-on science using technology to monitor the experiment in space! Students will be part of something that has the potential to change humanity. The implications of growing food in space effectively is far reaching. They will see how true science is done and that it can be done anywhere.”

After a career as a local meteorologist, Turney decided to bring her passion for science to students. Turney is in her 13th year as a K-12 educator and 15th year as an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Missouri ‒ Kansas City. She has a Bachelors of Science degree in Atmospheric Science and a Master’s degree in Teaching. A self-described science nerd, she recently joined the staff at Linwood Elementary, located west of Kansas City, KS in the Basehor-Linwood School District 458.

The ExoLab-8 mission will investigate how the stress of spaceflight affects the symbiotic relationship of red clover and nitrogen-fixing Rhizobia bacteria. ExoLab missions assist students with authentic research as they investigate agriculture on Earth and contemplate food crop production during long duration space missions. Educators can register for this virtual field trip and conduct ground trials with their students while the experiment is on the space station.

In collaboration with Space Tango, a company enabling R&D and manufacturing in space, and the ISS U.S. National Laboratory’s Space Station Explorers, Magnitude.io’s award-winning ExoLab connects students in classrooms and kitchens at a fraction of the cost of typical space-based missions. Space Tango has assisted Magnitude.io since the inaugural launch of ExoLab-1 in February 2017.

Magnitude.io is a founding member of If you have any questions regarding information in these press releases please contact the company listed in the press release. Our complete disclaimer appears here the Space Station Explorers consortium, which includes more than 1,000 U.S. teachers promoting fun, STEM experiences aboard the ISS.

###