ISS - Expedition 63 Mission patch.
June 19, 2020
Scientific investigations conducted aboard the International Space Station the week of June 15 included research on capillary flows in small devices and demonstrations of fluorescent imaging of plant and yeast proteins. The three NASA astronauts aboard the station, Chris Cassidy, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, also set up hardware and reviewed plans for two spacewalks planned to start at the end of the month.
Now in its 20th year of continuous human presence, the space station provides a platform for long-duration research in microgravity and for learning to live and work in space. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, once again launching astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil, increases the crew time available for science on the orbiting lab.
Image above: Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle-9 (HTV-9) is pictured behind the elbow of the Canadarm2 robotic arm while docked to the space station on May 25. The visiting vehicle brought up new science equipment, including the integrated Standard Imager for Microsatellites (iSIM) and the Confocal Space Microscope (COSMIC). Image Credit: NASA.
Here are details on some of the microgravity investigations currently taking place:
Putting fluid flows to work
Image above: Equipment for the Capillary Driven Microfluidics investigation, which studies how capillary flows in small devices in microgravity works. Image Credit: NASA.
Capillary forces are the interaction of a liquid with the solid sides of a narrow tube that serves to draw the fluid up the tube. These forces act even in the absence of gravity. Capillary Driven Microfluidics examines capillary flows in small devices in microgravity in order to improve understanding of how it works and can be used. Improved fluid control methods could advance development of better medical diagnostic tools. Some devices, for example, require separation of blood cells and plasma, which have different densities, and microgravity improves the efficiency of this separation. During the week, the crew installed hardware for the investigation and completed several initial runs.
International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA
Better imaging for life science research
Spectrum-001 tests hardware used to take images of fluorescent proteins in plants and yeast grown in Petri plates. This investigation is one of a number aboard the space station that require little or no crew involvement – crew members set up the hardware last week and now ground crews control lighting as well as carbon dioxide and ethylene levels in the chamber during the growth period and collect and transmit images to the ground. Image collection is a vital part of life science microgravity research using organisms grown in Petri plates. This demonstration should improve that capability and contribute to a better understanding of biological responses to the stresses of spaceflight.
A better diet for spaceflight
Image above: NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy with photos of fresh food items. The Food Physiology investigation tracks daily food intake during the duration of a crew member’s flight to document the effects on an enhanced diet on the body’s adaptation to space. Image Credit: NASA.
Nutritional status, immune function and the gut microbiome are linked and can affect adaptation to spaceflight. The Integrated Impact of Diet on Human Immune Response, the Gut Microbiota, and Nutritional Status During Adaptation to Spaceflight (Food Physiology) documents the effects of dietary improvements on these factors. Researchers track daily food intake during the duration of a crew member’s flight and for several pre- and post-flight sessions and have weekly in-flight conferences to discuss diet with the crew members.
Image above: NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy configures the Spectrum imager for testing of its capabilities to take images of fluorescent proteins in plants and yeast growing in Petri plates. Image collection is a vital part of life science microgravity research, and this demonstration should improve that capability and contribute to a better understanding of biological responses to the stresses of spaceflight. Image Credit: NASA.
Other investigations on which the crew performed work:
- Scientists are studying melting of materials in the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF). Reactions of the raw materials melted to make glass and metals with the crucible or container that holds them can cause imperfections. To prevent these reactions, scientists use static electricity to cause the materials to levitate or float, which is much easier in microgravity than on Earth.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1738
- Electrolytic Gas Evolution Under Microgravity (Electrolysis Measurement) examines the influence of gravity on electrolytic gas evolution. This process, which uses electrodes to pass an electric current through a substance and separate out gases in the form of bubbles, could be used in microfluidic devices to produce oxygen in spacecraft and future human habitations on the Moon and Mars.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1939
- Hourglass, another JAXA investigation, examines the behavior under different gravity conditions of various granular materials that simulate regolith, a dust that covers the surface of planets and planetary-like bodies.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8007
- Structure and Response of Spherical Diffusion Flames (s-Flame) studies the structure and dynamics of soot-free and sooty flames. Findings could contribute to development of engines with improved efficiency and reduced emissions on Earth. S-Flame is part of the Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments (ACME) project, a series of independent studies of gaseous flames performed in the station’s Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR).
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2063
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1651
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=317
Space to Ground: Alpha Guys: 06/19/2020
Related links:
Expedition 63: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition63/index.html
Commercial Crew Program: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html
Capillary Driven Microfluidics: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7377
Spectrum-001: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8092
Crew involvement: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/research-aboard-iss-continues-with-nasa-astronaut-chris-cassidy
Food Physiology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7870
ISS National Lab: https://www.issnationallab.org/
Spot the Station: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/
Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Video (NASA), Text, Credits: NASA/Michael Johnson/John Love, Lead Increment Scientist Expedition 63.
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