It is the current opinion that sustainable future in space is based on affordable initiatives. Reused rocket is a dream come true but, in addition to the drastic reduction of flight expenses, new efforts should reduce costs of experiments in Space. The use of refurbished hardware can be a valid but challenging solution for researchers that have to reach their scientific goals, accepting all technical constraints of hardware originally designed for satisfying requirements of a different experiment. In 2017, ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) promoted YiSS (Youth ISS Science), a call for educational and scientific experiments to be performed on ISS during the VITA (Vitality, Innovation, Technology and Ability) mission, with astronaut Paolo Nespoli. A requirement of the call was to select the Experiment Unit within a set of nine all of which were previously used for other experiments in microgravity. The EUs were designed, developed and flight-certified by Kayser Italia. Among the 13 projects submitted for the competition, MULTITROP (MULTITROPism: interaction of gravity, nutrient and water stimuli for root orientation in microgravity) was the winner. The project was ideated by scientists of the Department of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Naples Federico II, in collaboration with students from the University and a High School. In addition to the educational aims of enhancing young people's interest in Space biology, the experiment had a scientific goal in plant Space biology. It aimed to disentangle the role of gravity from the other two stimuli for root orientation: hydrotropism and chemotropism. ASI has funded and coordinated the programme, also providing access to the Space resources thanks to a bilateral agreement with NASA. MULTITROP was performed in a BIOKON container equipped with two Experiment Units previously flown for the YING (Yeast In No Gravity) experiment, supported by ESA (European Space Agency) in 2009. The hardware was refurbished and re-adapted by Kayser Italia to fulfil the new mission requirements. So far, pre-flight and in-flight phases have been successfully completed while the post-flight one is still in progress. Students enthusiastically took part in laboratory activities and dissemination events. One lesson learned was that to plan a new experiment with refurbished HW, scientists should evaluate not only the HW details but also the specific environmental conditions expected during the pre-flight and flight operations. Within the scenario of using refurbished HWs, the possibility to control common environmental parameters should be always ensured in order to limit biological constraints.
Multitrop: The challenge of using refurbished hardware for an educational and scientific experiment on the ISS / Aronne, G.; Izzo, L. G.; Romano, L. E.; De Francesco, S.; De Micco, V.; De Pascale, S.; Carrubba, E.; Neri, G.; Galoforo, G.; Piccirillo, S.; Valentini, G.. - 2018-:(2018). (Intervento presentato al convegno 69th International Astronautical Congress: #InvolvingEveryone, IAC 2018 tenutosi a deu nel 2018).
Multitrop: The challenge of using refurbished hardware for an educational and scientific experiment on the ISS
Aronne G.;Izzo L. G.;De Micco V.;De Pascale S.;
2018
Abstract
It is the current opinion that sustainable future in space is based on affordable initiatives. Reused rocket is a dream come true but, in addition to the drastic reduction of flight expenses, new efforts should reduce costs of experiments in Space. The use of refurbished hardware can be a valid but challenging solution for researchers that have to reach their scientific goals, accepting all technical constraints of hardware originally designed for satisfying requirements of a different experiment. In 2017, ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) promoted YiSS (Youth ISS Science), a call for educational and scientific experiments to be performed on ISS during the VITA (Vitality, Innovation, Technology and Ability) mission, with astronaut Paolo Nespoli. A requirement of the call was to select the Experiment Unit within a set of nine all of which were previously used for other experiments in microgravity. The EUs were designed, developed and flight-certified by Kayser Italia. Among the 13 projects submitted for the competition, MULTITROP (MULTITROPism: interaction of gravity, nutrient and water stimuli for root orientation in microgravity) was the winner. The project was ideated by scientists of the Department of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Naples Federico II, in collaboration with students from the University and a High School. In addition to the educational aims of enhancing young people's interest in Space biology, the experiment had a scientific goal in plant Space biology. It aimed to disentangle the role of gravity from the other two stimuli for root orientation: hydrotropism and chemotropism. ASI has funded and coordinated the programme, also providing access to the Space resources thanks to a bilateral agreement with NASA. MULTITROP was performed in a BIOKON container equipped with two Experiment Units previously flown for the YING (Yeast In No Gravity) experiment, supported by ESA (European Space Agency) in 2009. The hardware was refurbished and re-adapted by Kayser Italia to fulfil the new mission requirements. So far, pre-flight and in-flight phases have been successfully completed while the post-flight one is still in progress. Students enthusiastically took part in laboratory activities and dissemination events. One lesson learned was that to plan a new experiment with refurbished HW, scientists should evaluate not only the HW details but also the specific environmental conditions expected during the pre-flight and flight operations. Within the scenario of using refurbished HWs, the possibility to control common environmental parameters should be always ensured in order to limit biological constraints.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
