ISS Science Operations Weekly Status Report 21 Mar 2002
The Station crew activated three additional protein
crystal growth chambers during the past week as part of an experiment with potential
contributions to the fields of medicine, agriculture, the environment and other
biosciences.
Cylinder 9 of the Protein Crystal Growth Single
Thermal Enclosure System (PCG-STES) was activated Friday, March 15. Cylinders
10 and 11 were activated on Monday and Tuesday (March 18-19), respectively.
Cylinders 8, 9, and 11 were deactivated Wednesday, followed by cylinder 10
today.
Scientists will use the results of the experiment to
determine how fast different solutions can form protein crystals, so scientists
on later Station missions can better match the length of the mission to the
type of protein solution being flown and how long it requires to form crystals.
All the protein crystal growth cylinders are identical and have identical contents.
The only variable is the growth period.
“To use a baking analogy, I want to know how long
I need to leave a cake in the oven to bake it thoroughly, said Dr. Craig Kundrot,
discipline scientist for macromolecular biotechnology at NASA’s Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. “We’re putting dozens of cakes in the oven
at different times, and we will take all of them out at the same time and compare
them.”
The first six PCG-STES growth cylinders, containing
proteins for ground study, were activated soon after the experiment arrived
on the Space Station. The remaining six cylinders – numbered 7 through 12 –
are focused on the crystallization rate study. The seventh was activated February
8, and the eighth chamber was activated February 28. The fundamental goal
for growing biological crystals is to determine their structure and the biological
processes in which they are involved.
On Friday (March 15), Flight Engineer Dan Bursch collected
plant tissue samples from plants growing in the Advanced Astroculture (ADVASC)
experiment. The crew collected condensate, nutrient and gas samples on Monday
(March 18).
The Space Acceleration Measurement System and
Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System recorded Tuesday’s undocking
by a Russian Progress resupply ship. This vibration information is important
to scientists planning future microgravity experiments.
Recovery of the Active Rack Isolation System (ARIS)
and an associated experiment for analyzing the system has been completed and
the crew tested the system Wednesday by tapping on EXPRESS Rack 2, which houses
the experimental device. The experimental device, designed to isolate delicate
microgravity experiments from vibrations, experienced a failure in January.
The crew recently replaced one of eight pushrods used to “float” the rack inside
its location in the Destiny lab module.
Procedures were completed last week at Johnson Space
Center to enable Flight Engineer Carl Walz to troubleshoot the Experiment
on Physics of Colloids in Space this week. During recovery operations today
Wednesday, efforts by Walz and ground controllers to regain command of the experiment
computer, which failed February 24, were unsuccessful. The ground is currently
assessing the situation.
Ahead on the crew’s schedule for this week, all three
will fill out their Crew Interactions surveys today. Bursch and Walz
will perform the monthly Pulmonary Function in Flight lung volume tests
on Thursday and take routine weekly readings on the EVA Radiation Monitoring
dosimeter badges on Friday.
Locations scheduled to be photographed this week for
the Crew Earth Observations research program were: seasonal vegetation
burning in the Angola and Congo-Zimbabwe regions, and marshes in the Parana
River basin in South America.
Other experiments onboard the Station continue to function
normally, while the crew continues routine status checks and maintenance on
the lab and its experiments.
Tuesday, March 19, marked the first anniversary of
round-the-clock operations in support of Space Station science experiments by
the Payload Operations Center at the Marshall Center.
Editor’s Note: The Payload Operations Center at NASA’s Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages all science research experiment
operations aboard the International Space Station. The center is also home
for coordination of the mission-planning work of a variety of international
sources, all science payload deliveries and retrieval, and payload training
and payload safety programs for the Station crew and all ground personnel.
