Related papers: Flight-Scope: microscopy with microfluidics in mic…
Parabolic flights provide cost-effective, time-limited access to "weightless" or reduced gravity conditions experienced in space or on planetary surfaces, e.g. the Moon or Mars. These flights facilitate fundamental research - from materials…
In the absence of gravity, surface tension dominates over the behavior of liquids. While this often poses a challenge in adapting Earth-based technologies to space, it can also provide an opportunity for novel technologies that utilize its…
Motility is an essential factor for an organism's survival and diversification. With the advent of novel single-cell technologies, analytical frameworks and theoretical methods, we can begin to probe the complex lives of microscopic motile…
Space biology research aims to understand fundamental effects of spaceflight on organisms, develop foundational knowledge to support deep space exploration, and ultimately bioengineer spacecraft and habitats to stabilize the ecosystem of…
This work investigates the capillary rise dynamics of highly wetting liquids in a divergent U-tube in the microgravity conditions provided by 78th European Space Agency (ESA) parabolic flight. This configuration produces a capillary-driven…
Since the MICROSCOPE instrument aims to measure accelerations as low as a few 10$^{-15}$\,m\,s$^{-2}$ and cannot operate on ground, it was obvious to have a large time dedicated to its characterization in flight. After its release and first…
Sloshing of cryogenic liquid propellants can significantly impact a spacecraft's mission safety and performance by unpredictably altering the center of mass and producing large pressure fluctuations due to the increased heat and mass…
This study describes the development and validation of a novel microgravity experimental platform that is mainly applied to small robots such as modular self-reconfigurable robots. This platform mainly consists of an air supply system, a…
This paper reviews opportunities for using electron microscopy in various gas atmospheres for the analysis and morpho-physiological modification of biological structures. The approaches that allow varying the gaseous phase content, as well…
We present a study of an impacting descent probe that increases the science return of spacecraft orbiting or passing an atmosphere-less planetary body of the solar system, such as the Galilean moons of Jupiter. The descent probe is a…
The spaceflight environment presents unique physicochemical conditions, including microgravity, ionizing radiation, altered fluid transport, and confined engineered habitats, which influence biological systems and biomolecular assembly…
High-density microfluidics is becoming an important experimental platform for studying complex biological systems such as synthetic gene regulatory networks, molecular biocomputating of engineered cells, distributing rapid point-of-care…
Flagellated microorganisms can swim at low Reynolds numbers and adapt to changes in their environment. Specifically, the flagella can switch their shapes or modes through gene expression. In the past decade, efforts have been made to…
The role of gravity in human motor control is at the same time obvious and difficult to isolate. It can be assessed by performing experiments in variable gravity. We propose that adiabatic invariant theory may be used to reveal…
Microplasmas are operated around atmospheric pressure exhibiting pronounced non-equilibrium characteristics, i.e. they possess energetic electrons while ions and neutrals remain cold. They have gained significant interest due to their…
Human spaceflight has been fascinating man for centuries, representing the intangible need to explore the unknown, challenge new frontiers, advance technology and push scientific boundaries further. A key area of importance is…
We propose the concept of a space mission to probe the so called flyby anomaly, an unexpected velocity change experienced by some deep-space probes using earth gravity assists. The key feature of this proposal is the use of GNSS systems to…
This paper describes the process and challenges behind the design and development of a micro-gravity enabling aerial robot. The vehicle, designed to provide at minimum 4 seconds of micro-gravity at an accuracy of .001 g's, is designed with…
LISA-Pathfinder is an ESA space mission flown between 2015 and 2017 to demonstrate a technological maturity sufficient for building a gravitational waves telescope in space, such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). A pair of…
Microscopes are essential for biomechanics and hydrodynamical investigation of small aquatic organisms. We report a DIY microscope (GLUBscope) that enables the visualization of organisms from two orthogonal imaging planes (top and side…