Six Science-y Shipments Sent to the Space Station

Northrop Grumman launched its Cygnus spacecraft into orbit

to the International

Space Station at 4:01 a.m. EST on Nov. 17 from Wallops Flight

Facility in Virginia. Cygnus launched on an Antares rocket carrying crew

supplies, equipment and scientific research to crewmembers aboard the station.

The spacecraft is named after NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy officer John Young, who

walked on the Moon during Apollo 16 and commanded the first space shuttle

mission. Throughout his lifetime, Young logged 835 hours in space over the course of six missions.

Antares launched the S.S. John Young from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A on Wallops

Island, carrying tons of cargo, including scientific investigations that will

study 3D printing and recycling, cement solidification, and crystals that may

fight Parkinson’s disease.

Here’s a look at six science-y experiments and research this mission will deliver to the space station.

1. 3D printing and recycling

Refabricator demonstrates an integrated 3D printer

and recycler for the first time aboard the space station.

It

recycles waste plastic materials into high-quality 3D-printer filament, which

could enable sustainable fabrication, repair, and recycling on long-duration

space missions.

2. Sensory input in microgravity

Changes

in sensory input in microgravity may be misinterpreted and cause a person to

make errors in estimation of velocity, distance or orientation.

VECTION,

a Canadian Space Agency (CSA)

investigation, examines this effect as well as whether people adapt to altered

sensory input on long-duration missions and how that adaptation changes upon

return to Earth.

3. Solidifying cement in space

The

MVP-Cell

05 investigation uses a centrifuge to provide a variable gravity environment to

study the complex process of cement solidification, a step toward eventually

making and using concrete on extraterrestrial bodies.

4. From stardust to solar systems

Much

of the universe was created when dust from star-based processes clumped into

intermediate-sized particles and eventually became planets, moons and other

objects. Many questions remain as to just how this worked, though.

The

EXCISS investigation seeks

answers by simulating the high-energy, low gravity conditions that were present

during formation of the early solar system. Scientists plan to zap a specially

formulated dust with an electrical current, then study the shape and texture of

pellets formed.

5. Growing crystals to fight

Parkinson’s disease

The

CASIS

PCG-16 investigation grows large crystals of an important protein, Leucine-rich

repeat kinase 2, or LRRK2, in microgravity for analysis back on Earth.

This

protein is implicated in development of Parkinson’s disease, and defining its

shape and morphology may help scientists better understand the pathology of the

disease and develop therapies to treat it. Crystals of LRRK2 grown in gravity are

too small and too compact to study, making microgravity an essential part of

this research.

6. Better

gas separation membranes

Membranes represent one of the most

energy-efficient and cost-effective technologies for separating and removing

carbon dioxide from waste gases, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. CEMSICA tests membranes made from particles of calcium-silicate (C-S) with pores

100 nanometers or smaller. Producing these membranes in microgravity may

resolve some of the challenges of their manufacture on Earth and lead to

development of lower-cost, more durable membranes that use less energy. The

technology ultimately may help reduce the harmful effects of CO2 emissions on

the planet.

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