Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Oct 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997xmm..pres...34.&link_type=abstract
XMM Press Release INFO 32-1997
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
Scientific research conducted under space conditions can provide new insight into how processes occur on Earth and organisms function. The unmanned Foton spacecraft has been used since 1988 to conduct such investigations. Now on its 11th mission and the fifth in which ESA has taken part, Foton is carrying some 80 kg of ESA payload: two ESA research facilities (an incubator and an experiment holder on the outside of the spacecraft) are on board along with 12 scientific experiments. The French space agency (CNES) and the German space agency (DARA) also have payload on the spacecraft.
ESA's space-qualified incubator, called Biobox, keeps organisms at predefined conditions. During this mission, the three Biobox experiments are looking at the reaction of bone cells in microgravity.
The second ESA facility, a pan-shaped container called Biopan attached to the outside of Foton, is used to expose experiment samples directly to the space environment in order to study the impact of space's extreme temperatures, ultraviolet and cosmic radiation, and near-perfect vacuum. On this mission, the six Biopan experiments are concentrating on exobiology, radiation biology and material science.
Biopan has a motor-driven, hinged lid and is equipped with devices and sensors that measure the various aspects of the environment to which the experiments are subjected. Once Foton is in orbit, a telecommand is sent from ground and the lid opens to expose the samples to the environment. At the end of the mission, another command is sent and the lid closes. Since Biopan is on the outside of Foton, it also has its own ablative heat shield to protect the facility and samples during the spacecraft's re-entry and landing.
Other ESA experiments on board Foton are looking into the effects of weightlessness on bacteria, the biological clocks of beetles and the aging of fruitflies.
The scientific investigators responsible for the ESA experiments are from research institutes and universities in Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain and Russia. For the first time during such a mission, the scientists will monitor their experiments from an operations centre at ESTEC, ESA's scientific and technical establishment in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, rather than from Russia. A network has been set up between Moscow and ESTEC to transmit experiment data directly to the operations centre.
After 14 days in orbit, the Foton capsule is scheduled to re-enter the atmosphere on 24 October and land in the fields near Orenburg, Russia. The capsule and the experiments will be recovered within 24 hours of the landing. The ESA experiments will be immediately flown back to ESTEC in The Netherlands, and turned over to their scientific investigators for analysis.
ESA plans to continue to take part in such scientific research: the next mission, Foton 12, is scheduled for the spring of 1999. Note: Photos of Biobox, Biopan and the Foton capsule are available on the ESA home page: http://www.esa.int Captions to accompany Foton 11 info note on the web
1. ESA's Biobox facility with three containers holding three different experiments that are studying the effects of weightlessness and/or radiation on bone cells. On the bottom left, a centrifuge used to submit control samples to 1g conditions while in space. 2. ESA's Biopan attached to the exterior of the earlier Foton 10, after landing in February 1995 3. ESA's Biopan attached to the exterior of Foton 11, before launch 4. Electrical interface testing in Russia (July 1997). Foton 11 is at top right. 5. Electrical interface testing in Russia (July 1997). Foton 11 is in foreground. 6. Soyuz launcher carrying the earlier Foton 10 being rolled out to the launch pad (February 1995) 7. Soyuz launcher carrying the earlier Foton 10 on the launch pad (February 1995)
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