Scientific Hardware and Space Experiments Returning to Earth on SpaceX CRS-24 Dragon Craft

A retired microscope and samples from research studies on colloids and cellular signaling are among the load returning from the International Space Station aboard the 24th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission. The Dragon craft, which reached the station on December 22, 2021, is undocked on January 23 with parachute-assisted splashdown the following afternoon (Monday, January 24) off the coast of Florida.

These quick return flights permit researchers to make supplementary observations and evaluations of their experiments at Kennedy Space Center, decreasing the impacts of gravity on samples. Investigators afterward can carry out more thorough analyses back at their home laboratories.

Learn more about some of the equipment and experiment samples making the trip back to Earth:

Last light for LMM on the Dragon Craft

In 2009, NASA launched a state-of-the-art light imaging microscope, the Light Microscopy Module (LMM). The microscope now returns to Earth aboard the Dragon Craft for a well-deserved retirement. Financed by NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences division, this powerful diagnostic tool allowed unique research study of microscopic phenomena in microgravity, giving the capability to remotely acquire and download pictures and video clips at different levels of magnification.

LMM allowed them to observe and record how matter is organized and moves on the microscopic level. Researchers employed this tool for microgravity research on colloids, tiny particles suspended in a liquid. This liquid contributed to breakthroughs in formulations and the shelf life of consumer items such as toothpaste and shampoo, 3D printing, and technology for finding shifting sands on Mars. The LMM likewise contributed to research studies of plants in microgravity, including the CARA investigation. It also supported thermophysics research studies, including CVB and CVB-2. Both of them are researches on heat transfer systems in microgravity.

Tiny structures assembly

InSPACE-4 studies assembly of tiny structures from colloids or particles suspended in a liquid, utilizing magnetic fields. Colloidal structures alter the properties of the assembled material, such as its mechanical response to or interaction with light and heat. Microgravity gives a distinct opportunity to observe assembly in ways and scales not possible on Earth over time.

Outcomes might offer knowledge into harnessing nanoparticles to produce and manufacture new materials. This leads to more sophisticated materials for space applications, including energy transfer, thermal shields, energy production, protection from micrometeorites, and actuators and sensors for human and robotic missions. Additional potential applications include advancing the manufacturing of materials on Earth for applications such as thermal shields, sound damping devices, camouflage, and clinical diagnostics. The technology additionally could support larger-scale applications such as constructing foundation stabilizers for areas susceptible to earthquakes.

Investigators observed the experiment via video downlink, and vials containing the colloidal structures returned to Earth for additional analysis.

Cell signaling in microgravity

Scientists keep on researching how microgravity influences mammalian cells. Cytoskeleton, an investigation from ESA (European Space Agency), examines whether microgravity influences the feature of cellular signaling molecules called RhoGTPases. These molecules perform as “molecular switches”. They are involved in the control of gene expression, programmed cell death, cell spreading, and organization of the cytoskeleton (the network of protein filaments and tubules that give cells their shape).

This investigation contributes to our knowledge of how the human body responds to microgravity. It might also support the creation of countermeasures to assist crew members in maintaining optimum health on future missions. The work additionally might increase knowledge about cellular function on Earth and contribute to future clinical study here on the ground. Cell cultures are going back to the ground for analysis.

Read the original article on Scitech Daily.

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