ISS - Expedition 65 Mission patch.
Oct. 8, 2021
Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of Oct. 4 that included launching two university-built satellites, analyzing the movement of liquid to gain insight on spacecraft’s fuel, and researching mechanisms related to aging.
International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA
The space station has been continuously inhabited by humans for 20 years, supporting many scientific breakthroughs. The orbiting lab provides a platform for long-duration research in microgravity and for learning to live and work in space, experience that supports Artemis, NASA’s program to go forward to the Moon and on to Mars.
Here are details on some of the microgravity investigations currently taking place:
Lowering the boundary to space
Image above: The developers of Maya-3 and Maya-4 are pictured. The BIRDS-2S project consists of the Maya-3 and Maya-4 CubeSats, the first Philippine university-built cube satellites. Image Credit: NASA.
STeP-UP is a project funded by the Philippine Department of Science Technology. It’s aim is to make space technology more inclusive and accessible within the country by providing local learning opportunities that include more sectors of society, STeP-UP worked with eight graduate students to create the first Philippine university-built cube satellites. The satellites, Maya-3 and Maya-4, were deployed as part of the BIRDS-2S project. They carry color red-green-blue cameras for gathering images of Earth, a relay service to the amateur radio community, a GPS to provide its in-orbit location, and a tool to measure the Earth’s magnetic field. This cross-border project provides opportunities to students from developing nations for hands-on satellite development and lays the foundation for establishing a sustainable space program in their countries.
Motion way above the ocean
Image above: ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet works with FLUIDICS hardware during the completion of experiment runs to research fluid dynamics in microgravity. Image Credit: NASA.
The ESA (European Space Agency) investigation, FLUIDICS, monitors the movement of liquid within a sphere in microgravity. The study of this movement gives insight into what is happening within spacecraft’s fuel tank based on the “liquid sloshing” phenomenon. By conducting this investigation on station, crew members can eliminate the effects of gravity so that they can focus solely on analyzing the liquid’s surface tension. The aim of such observations is to improve the guidance and precision of satellites, and to optimize their lifetime through greater fuel management. With a deeper comprehension of fluid movements, this experiment could provide a better understanding of how Earth’s oceans work. In turn, it could help improve climate prediction systems and optimize the use of the ocean to produce renewable energy. This week, a crewmember installed hardware for the study in the Columbus module.
Shedding some light on aging
TELLAS is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) experimental facility that studies the mechanisms related to aging within the microgravity environment. Using luminescence and an imager, crew members can make observations of tissues and genes in animals in space. The photos that are taken on orbit are then analyzed by researchers on the ground. This facility provides information that contributes to aging research, potentially improving the health and longevity of people on Earth. This week, crew members installed the Calibration Light Source hardware in preparation for research operations.
Other investigations on which the crew performed work:
Image above: NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei works on the Ring Sheared Drop Investigation that uses microgravity to study proteins associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Image Credit: NASA.
- Ring Sheared Drop uses a device to create shear flow, or a difference in velocity between adjacent liquid layers. Previous research shows shear flow plays a role in the formation of protein aggregations in the brain called amyloid fibrils which may be involved in the development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7383
- RFID Recon tests using radio frequency identification tags to identify and locate cargo on the space station using the space station’s free-flying Astrobee robots. The technology could help crew members find items more quickly and efficiently and enable more efficient packing, reducing launch mass and stowage volume.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7722
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1891
- Cool Flames Investigation with Gases, part of the ACME series of studies, observes chemical reactions of cool flames, which burn at lower temperatures. Nearly impossible to create in Earth’s gravity, cool flames are easily created in microgravity, and studying them may improve understanding of combustion and fires on Earth.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8270
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1651
- NICER is mounted on the exterior of the space station to study the physics of neutron stars, the glowing cinders left behind when massive stars explode as supernovas.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1705
- Food Physiology examines the effects of an enhanced spaceflight diet on immune function, the gut microbiome, and nutritional status indicators, with the aim of documenting how dietary improvements may enhance adaptation to spaceflight.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7870
- For Eklosion, a crew member grows a Marigold plant in a specially designed vase and takes photographs to document the flower’s growth each week. This ESA (European Space Agency) investigation gathers data on plant growth and the psychological benefits of tending the plant for the crew member.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8358
- The ESA GRASP investigation examines how the central nervous system integrates information from the senses to coordinate hand movement and visual input, in part to determine whether gravity is a frame of reference for control of this movement.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2038
- Food Acceptability looks at how the appeal of food changes during long-duration missions. Whether crew members like and actually eat foods has a direct effect on caloric intake and associated nutritional benefits.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7562
Space to Ground: Lights, Camera, Liftoff!:10/08/2021
Related links:
Expedition 65: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition65/index.html
BIRDS-2S: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8635
FLUIDICS: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2043
TELLAS: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=8117
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/Ana Guzman/John Love, ISS Research Planning Integration Scientist Expedition 65.
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