Gravity related research with fishes--perspectives in regard to the upcoming International Space Station, ISS.

During the entire evolution of life on Earth, the development of all organisms took place under constant gravity conditions, against which they achieved specific countermeasures for compensation and adaptation. On this background, it is still an open question to which extent altered gravity such as hypergravity (centrifuge) or microgravity (spaceflight) affects the normal individual development, either on the systemic level of the whole organism or on the level of individual organs or even single cells. The present review provides information on these questions, comprising gravistimulated effects on invertebrates and vertebrates (with the exception of mammals, since respective biomedically oriented reviews abound), focusing on developing fish as model systems, with special emphasis on the effect of altered gravity on the developing brain and vestibular system, comprising investigations on behaviour and plastic reactivities of the brain and inner ear. Clues and insights into the possible basic causes of space motion sickness-phenomena (SMS; a kinetosis) are provided as well as perspectives in regard to future work to be done including studies on the ISS concerning the analysis of gravistimulated effects on developmental issues (imprinting phase for graviperception?).     

国际空间站“很国际”

国际空间站是国际合作的结晶,包括美国航宇局、俄罗斯联邦航天局、加拿大航天局、日本宇宙探索局和欧空局的11个成员国:比利时,丹麦,法国,德国,意大利,荷兰,挪威,西班牙,瑞典,瑞士和英国。     

给国际空间站算笔帐

美国航宇局估计,自1994年以来,国际空间站已花费了美国纳税人500亿美元,如果考虑到所有成员国的支出,国际空间站的总价至少得打上1000亿美元的价签。数目太大了,我们就容易失去对数目的直观感觉。为了对这个在太空中飞     

国际空间站载人航天十周年

夜空中除了月球之外,最明亮的物体是什么?太阳?这不是脑筋急转弯!金星?这个答案已经OUT了!2009年3月,在增添了新的一组太阳能电池板后,国际空间站超越金星,成为夜空中第二明亮的物体,仅屈居月球之后。假如今天地球上的文明突然毁灭,文明的进程重新来过,新文明的古代天文学家一定会对夜空中那个每92分钟就绕地球一圈、亮度超过金、木、水、火、土五颗星的星体充满了敬畏之心。在新创造的神话中,这颗星体所代表的神灵一定地位显赫。这样一想,国际空间站还真是人间奇迹,足以代表我们这个文明的最高成就。它的确很高,在地表之上360千米的太空中,而且从2000年11月2日第一批航天员踏入空间站,开始长期驻扎算起,国际空间站连续载人飞行已经过了10年。对于国际空间站来说,十周年已经算人到中年,该是对它的表现做一次中期总结的时候了。     

Seed-to-seed growth of Arabidopsis thaliana on the International Space Station.

The assembly of the International Space Station (ISS) as a permanent experimental outpost has provided the opportunity for quality plant research in space. To take advantage of this orbital laboratory, engineers and scientists at the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR), University of Wisconsin-Madison, developed a plant growth facility capable of supporting plant growth in the microgravity environment. Utilizing this Advanced Astroculture (ADVASC) plant growth facility, an experiment was conducted with the objective to grow Arabidopsis thaliana plants from seed-to-seed on the ISS. Dry Arabidopsis seeds were anchored in the root tray of the ADVASC growth chamber. These seeds were successfully germinated from May 10 until the end of June 2001. Arabidopsis plants grew and completed a full life cycle in microgravity. This experiment demonstrated that ADVASC is capable of providing environment conditions suitable for plant growth and development in microgravity. The normal progression through the life cycle, as well as the postflight morphometric analyses, demonstrate that Arabidopsis thaliana does not require the presence of gravity for growth and development.     

中国小朋友收到“天外来信”

"亲爱的黄幸安,在我看来,你的问题最有意思……"3月3日下午,这封发自国际空间站第27宇航组的"天外来信",由俄罗斯联邦航天局驻华首席代表罗金博士送到了嘉兴阳光小学五年级     

Space Shuttle drops down the SAA doses on ISS

Long-term analysis of data from two radiation detection instruments on the International Space Station (ISS) shows that the docking of the Space Shuttle drops down the measured dose rates in the region of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) by a factor of 1.5–3. Measurements either by the R3DE detector, which is outside the ISS at the EuTEF facility on the Columbus module behind a shielding of less than 0.45 g cm⁻², and by the three detectors of the Liulin-5 particle telescope, which is inside the Russian PEARS module in the spherical tissue equivalent phantom behind much heavier shielding demonstrate that effect. Simultaneously the estimated averaged incident energies of the incoming protons rise up from about 30 to 45 MeV. The effect is explained by the additional shielding against the SAA 30–150 MeV protons, provided by the 78 tons Shuttle to the instruments inside and outside of the ISS. An additional reason is the ISS attitude change (performed for the Shuttle docking) leading to decreasing of dose rates in two of Liulin-5 detectors because of the East–West proton fluxes asymmetry in SAA. The Galactic Cosmic Rays dose rates are practically not affected.     

NASA将在国际空间站为模拟卫星填注燃料

<正>很多人也许并不知道,目前国际先进技术已经实现了在轨维修卫星,而且还将实现为在轨卫星填注燃料。最好的例子就是美国的哈勃空间望远镜,经过维修,"哈勃"的寿命延长了5年。而这一切要归功于航天飞机。目前,美国航宇局戈达德空间中心的工程师们正在开发一种在轨试验台,利用从哈勃空间望远镜维修任务获得的经验,来验证卫星燃料补给的技术。     

Life sciences flight hardware development for the International Space Station.

During the construction phase of the International Space Station (ISS), early flight opportunities have been identified (including designated Utilization Flights, UF) on which early science experiments may be performed. The focus of NASA's and other agencies' biological studies on the early flight opportunities is cell and molecular biology; with UF-1 scheduled to fly in fall 2001, followed by flights 8A and UF-3. Specific hardware is being developed to verify design concepts, e.g., the Avian Development Facility for incubation of small eggs and the Biomass Production System for plant cultivation. Other hardware concepts will utilize those early research opportunities onboard the ISS, e.g., an Incubator for sample cultivation, the European Modular Cultivation System for research with small plant systems, an Insect Habitat for support of insect species. Following the first Utilization Flights, additional equipment will be transported to the ISS to expand research opportunities and capabilities, e.g., a Cell Culture Unit, the Advanced Animal Habitat for rodents, an Aquatic Facility to support small fish and aquatic specimens, a Plant Research Unit for plant cultivation, and a specialized Egg Incubator for developmental biology studies. Host systems (Figure 1A, B: see text), e.g., a 2.5 m Centrifuge Rotor (g-levels from 0.01-g to 2-g) for direct comparisons between g and selectable g levels, the Life Sciences Glovebox for contained manipulations, and Habitat Holding Racks (Figure 1B: see text) will provide electrical power, communication links, and cooling to the habitats. Habitats will provide food, water, light, air and waste management as well as humidity and temperature control for a variety of research organisms. Operators on Earth and the crew on the ISS will be able to send commands to the laboratory equipment to monitor and control the environmental and experimental parameters inside specific habitats. Common laboratory equipment such as microscopes, cryo freezers, radiation dosimeters, and mass measurement devices are also currently in design stages by NASA and the ISS international partners.     

Preparation of the Biochip experiment on the EXPOSE-R2 mission outside the International Space Station

Biochips might be suited for planetary exploration. Indeed, they present great potential for the search for biomarkers – molecules that are the sign of past or present life in space – thanks to their size (miniaturized devices) and sensitivity. Their detection principle is based on the recognition of a target molecule by affinity receptors fixed on a solid surface. Consequently, one of the main concerns when developing such a system is the behavior of the biological receptors in a space environment. In this paper, we describe the preparation of an experiment planned to be part of the EXPOSE-R2 mission, which will be conducted on the EXPOSE-R facility, outside the International Space Station (ISS), in order to study the resistance of biochip models to space constraints (especially cosmic radiation and thermal cycling). This experiment overcomes the limits of ground tests which do not reproduce exactly the space parameters. Indeed, contrary to ground experiments where constraints are applied individually and in a limited time, the biochip models on the ISS will be exposed to cumulated constraints during several months. Finally, this ISS experiment is a necessary step towards planetary exploration as it will help assessing whether a biochip can be used for future exploration missions.     

Total solar irradiance absolute level from DIARAD/SOVIM on the International Space Station

Current measurements from DIARAD/VIRGO, PMO6V/VIRGO and ACRIM3 radiometers are of the same order of magnitude, but differ from TIM/SORCE by about 4.5 W m⁻². This difference is higher than the sum of the claimed individual absolute uncertainties of the instruments. In this context, the SOLAR payload on the International Space Station embarks the SOVIM package. We give the results of the differential absolute radiometer DIARAD/SOVIM and discuss its associated uncertainties. Compared to DIARAD/VIRGO, all possible efforts have been made to improve the absolute accuracy. Substantial progress has been made in the aperture area and electrical power measurements. The measured TSI value from the left channel of DIARAD/SOVIM during three days of June 2008 is 1364.50 ± 1.38 W m⁻² (Total) or ±0.49 W m⁻² (if we combine the individual contributions in quadrature). The right channel gives 1364.75 W m⁻² with the same uncertainties. These values are about 1.2 W m⁻² lower than DIARAD/VIRGO and about 4 W m⁻² higher than TIM/SORCE. The difference between the left and right channels measurements is as low as 0.25 W m⁻² which is within the improved uncertainty limits.     

Experiments with small animals in BIOLAB and EMCS on the International Space Station.

Two ESA facilities will be available for animal research and other biological experiments on the International Space Station: the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) in the US Lab "Destiny" and BIOLAB in the European "Columbus" Laboratory. Both facilities use standard Experiment Containers, mounted on two centrifuge rotors allowing either research in microgravity or acceleration studies with variable g-levels from 0.001 to 2.0 x g. Standard interface plates provide each container with power and data lines, gas supply (controlled CO2, O2 concentration and relative humidity), and--for EMCS only--connectors to fresh and waste water reservoirs. The experiment hardware inside the containers will be developed by the user, but ESA conducted a feasibility study for several kinds of Experiment Support Equipment with potential use for research on small animals: design concepts for experiments with insects, with aquatic organisms like rotifers and nematodes, and with small aquatic animals (sea urchin larvae, tadpoles, fish youngsters) are described in detail in this presentation. Also ESA's initial steps to support experiments with rodents on the Space Station are presented.     

在孩子们的心里播洒航天科技的阳光——中俄“给国际空间站航天员写信活动”颁奖典礼侧记

阳春三月,暖风融融,春回地暖,万象更新。在这鲜花盛开、充满活力的日子里,中俄给国际空间站航天员写信活动颁奖典礼在嘉兴市经济技术开发区阳光小学隆重举行,同时也拉开了     

美国在“国际空间站”上的技术开发与验证应用研究

正作为全球最大的在轨航天器,"国际空间站"(ISS)已实现连续有人驻留超过15年,并在空间应用领域取得了众多成果。"国际空间站"成员国一致认为,最大限度地提高"国际空间站"研究能力可能带来新的探索机遇、促进商业发展并对教育事业产生积极影响。"国际空间站"已在人体学研究、生物学与生物技术、物理科学、技术开发与验证、地球与空间科学、教育等六大领域发挥了重要作用,技术开发领域的应用是其重点。由于美国对"国际空间站"应用的组织管理、项目规划和实施最为系统,因此本文以美国为主,介绍应用情况。     

Absorbed dose of secondary neutrons from galactic cosmic rays inside the International Space Station.

In this paper, we present the results of Monte-Carlo simulations of the flux and energy spectra of neutrons generated as a result of galactic cosmic ray proton interactions with the material of International Space Station (ISS) inside Zvezda Service Module, the Airlock between Russian and USA segments and one of Russian Research Modules for a full configuration of ISS. Calculations were made for ISS orbit for the energy ranges <10 and >10 MeV for both maximum and minimum of solar activity. To test the accuracy of the calculations the same simulations were made for MIR orbital station and for CORONAS-I satellite and compared with the results of measurements. Calculated and measured fluxes are in reasonable agreement.