Delivering ants to space, sloshy fluids for robotic satellites, a
study on antibiotic drug resistance and other small satellites to the International Space Station can be a tough job, and now Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va., can help carry the load. In its first commercial resupply journey after completion of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, the Orbital-1 mission will deliver some very interesting new scientific investigations to the space station.
Orbital’s Antares rocket is planned to launch Jan. 8 from Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. Antares is scheduled to deliver the Cygnus spacecraft full of new research investigations, supplies and other space station hardware to the space station on Jan. 12.
One of the new research investigations traveling to the orbiting
laboratory is the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus Science
Insert - 06: Ants in Space
(CSI-06). Students in grades K-12 will observe videos of these
“ant-ronauts” recorded by cameras on the space station. The students
will also conduct their own ant interaction investigations in their
classrooms as part of a related curriculum. Educational investigations
such as Ants in Space are designed to motivate budding scientists in
primary and secondary school to pursue their interest in the science,
technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
The Ants in Space study examines the behavior of ants by comparing
groups living on Earth to those in space. The idea is that ant
interactions are dependent upon the number of ants in an area. Measuring
these interactions may be important in determining behavior of ants in
groups. This insight may add to existing knowledge of swarm
intelligence, or how the complex behavior of a group is influenced by
the actions of individuals. Developing a better understanding of swarm
intelligence may lead to more refined mathematical procedures for
solving complex problems, like routing trucks, scheduling airlines or
telecommunications efficiency.
A second investigation launching with the Orbital-1 mission is the SPHERES-Slosh
study. SPHERES-Slosh will use the existing space station facility of
free-flying satellites known as Synchronized Position Hold, Engage,
Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES).
The goal is to look at how liquids slosh around inside containers in
microgravity, showing how applied external forces impact the contents of
those containers. The experiments simulate how rocket fuels move around
inside their tanks in response to motor thrusts used to push a rocket
through space. The study of the physics of liquid motion in microgravity
is important because Earth’s most powerful rockets use liquid fuels to
take satellites and other spacecraft into orbit. Having a deeper
understanding of rocket propellants may lower the cost of industry and
taxpayer-funded satellite launches by improving fuel efficiency.
A third investigation aboard the Cygnus spacecraft is a study of
drug-resistant bacteria. Drug-resistant bacteria are of increasing
concern to public health. As bacteria grow more resistant to
antibiotics, there are less effective pharmaceutical treatment options
for people with bacterial infections. Researchers for the Antibiotic
Effectiveness in Space (AES-1) investigation aboard the space station look to determine gene expression patterns and changes using E. coli. This
research builds upon previous space station investigations into
drug-resistant bacteria, such as the National Laboratory Pathfinder
Vaccine Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (NLP-Vaccine-MRSA) study of what is commonly referred to as staph infection.
The findings from AES-1 may help improve antibiotic development on Earth. Improving the efficacy of antibiotics and reducing their resistance to bacteria is a priority for health care professionals.
Small, relatively inexpensive satellites, collectively referred to as CubeSats, will provide a variety of technology demonstrations using the NanoRacks Smallsat Deployment Program to launch the satellites from the station’s Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) airlock. The NanoRacks CubeSats are deployed using the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD). View the illustrated simulation to see how these small satellites are deployed into space.
Using crowdsourcing
methods for funding, the NanoRacks-ArduSat-2 investigation will test
advanced electronics and hardware in the space environment with only
minimal adaptation. Built and operated by NanoSatisfi
of San Francisco, sensors on the NanoRacks-ArduSat-2 are set to
determine potential commercial applications for CubeSat data collection
and commercial off-the-shelf electronics. Testing these sensors through
this mini-satellite format may contribute to technological information
that helps lower the cost of applications that use low-Earth observation
techniques.
Another small satellite investigation, the NanoRacks-Planet Labs–Dove
Flock-1, will use a fleet of 28 CubeSats -- individually known as the
Dove satellites -- to capture imagery of Earth for use in humanitarian
and environmental applications. Built and operated by Planet Labs Inc.
of San Francisco, imagery from these CubeSats will help pinpoint areas
for disaster relief and improving growth of agricultural products in
developing countries around the globe. In addition, information from the
Dove CubeSats will focus on environmental protection measures, such as
monitoring deforestation and changes to polar ice caps. The data
collected by Planet Labs' CubeSats will be freely available for anyone
to use.
A third example of some of the CubeSats launching with the Orbital-1 mission is the NanoRacks-SkyCube, developed by Southern Stars Group LLC
of San Francisco. NanoRacks-SkyCube will provide an educational
demonstration of the capabilities of CubeSats. To get the attention of
the public, NanoRacks-Skycube will tweet from space via Twitter, capture
imagery in orbit and use a balloon during its de-orbit and reentry into
Earth’s atmosphere.
These are only a few of the many investigations headed to the space
station this month. Students will closely observe ant behavior, fluids
will slosh about in contained spaces, drug-resistant bacteria will be
scrutinized and CubeSats will test their capabilities in orbit after
being deployed from the space station. For 15 years,
investigations have been underway every day aboard the orbiting
outpost. This Orbital Sciences launch will bring more research to ensure
that science continues aboard the space station.
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