ALBERT

Description: It is a difficult job to gauge the liquid fuel mass in a tank on spacecrafts under microgravity condition. Without the presence of strong buoyancy, the configuration of the liquid and gas in the tank is uncertain and more than one bubble may exist in the liquid part. All these will affect the measure accuracy of liquid mass gauge, especially for a method called Compression Mass Gauge (CMG). Four resonance resources affect the choice of compression frequency for CMG method. There are the structure resonance, liquid sloshing, transducer resonance and bubble resonance. Ground experimental apparatus are designed and built to validate the gauging method and the influence of different compression frequencies at different fill levels on the measurement accuracy. Harmonic phenomenon should be considered during filter design when processing test data. Results demonstrate the ground experiment system performances well with high accuracy and the measurement accuracy increases as the compression frequency climbs in low fill levels. But low compression frequencies should be the better choice for high fill levels. Liquid sloshing induces the measurement accuracy to degrade when the surface is excited to wave by external disturbance at the liquid natural frequency. The measurement accuracy is still acceptable at small amplitude vibration.

Description: Linear stability of plane-parallel pulsational flow of two miscible fluids in a horizontal layer subjected to high frequency horizontal vibrations is investigated neglecting viscosity and diffusion. Long-wave instability is studied analytically and instability to the perturbations with finite wavelength—numerically.

Description: The computational and experimental studies have been performed to investigate the hydrodynamic process of liquid propellant reorientation for the launch vehicle series fuel tanks in microgravity environment. The VOF method was used to simulate the free surface flow of gas-liquid. The process of the liquid propellant reorientation started from initially curved interface at low Bond number. The propellant reorientation flow procedure at high Bond number was obtained from numerical simulation and scale model experiment in drop tower. The numerical results agreed well with the experiments. The results can be used to adjust the engineering reorientation parameters.

Description: Recent measurements of the temperature profiles across the liquid-vapor interface of a steady evaporating liquid were performed in a thin planar liquid layer subjected to externally imposed horizontal temperature differences when the interface was open to air. Temperature discontinuities have been found to exist at the interface with an growing tendency as the imposed horizontal temperature difference increasing. Under the co-influence of thermocapillary convection and evaporation effect, a thin layer of 0.5 mm thick with approximate uniform temperature was found just below the liquid-vapor interface. Repeated experiments and further comparisons of the interfacial temperature profiles for different spatial positions along the streamwise center line and varying depths of the liquid layer were also carried out. And the temperature discontinuity was found related to the temperature in liquid phase, which was strongly influenced by the coupling of thermocapillary convection and evaporation effect.

Description: The ability of a micro-groove to prevent the spreading of HFE-7100 fluid (C 4 F 9 OCH 3 ) having low surface tension (γ = 13.6 mN/m) on a surface is studied. In this study, micro-grooves were made around square openings of a plate made of either polycarbonate or 316 stainless steel. To verify effectiveness of micro-grooves to stop the spread of HFE-7100, experiments were done under non-saturated and saturated conditions. Under non-saturated conditions the micro-grooves on both materials confined the liquid up to apparent angle of 55 ± 5° due to the edge effect. Saturated gas-vapor mixture with vapor mass fraction of w v = 88% and w v = 97% did not significantly influence the confinement of the liquid by the micro-groove. This result is promising for application of micro-grooved plates in CIMEX experiment planned for ISS.

Description: There exists an instrument SODI (Selected Optical Diagnostic Instrument) on the ISS where series of the DCMIX (Diffusion Coefficients in Mixtures) experiments are conducted by members of the ESA Topical Team. The study is addressed to the performance of thermal design of SODI instrument for DCMIX configuration. We report the results on the temperature fields which were measured interferometrically both in two ground setups (one thermally optimized; the other one, the engineering model of the ISS SODI-DCMIX experiment: non optimized) and in the ISS experiment itself with the respective numerical simulations. Even though monitoring of the cell with binary mixture $THN-nC_{12}$ employs only an interferometer with one wave length instead of two for other cells with ternary mixtures, it gives valuable information about the instrument performance. Temperature and concentration fields observed during the tests in the engineering model are compared with those obtained in laboratory experiments with the same liquid, with numerical simulations and with first results from the ISS in Run #16. The thermal design of the microgravity cell, being not optimized for ground experiments, exhibits a promising performance in the weightlessness condition.

Description: Motility and aging in Drosophila have proven to be highly modified under altered gravity conditions (both in space and ground simulation facilities). In order to find out how closely connected they are, five strains with altered geotactic response or survival rates were selected and exposed to an altered gravity environment of 2 g . By analysing the different motile and behavioural patterns and the median survival rates, we show that altered gravity leads to changes in motility, which will have a negative impact on the flies’ survival. Previous results show a differential gene expression between sessile samples and adults and confirm that environmentally-conditioned behavioural patterns constrain flies’ gene expression and life span. Therefore, hypergravity is considered an environmental stress factor and strains that do not respond to this new environment experience an increment in motility, which is the major cause for the observed increased mortality also under microgravity conditions. The neutral-geotaxis selected strain (strain M) showed the most severe phenotype, unable to respond to variations in the gravitational field. Alternatively, the opposite phenotype was observed in positive-geotaxis and long-life selected flies (strains B and L, respectively), suggesting that these populations are less sensitive to alterations in the gravitational load. We conclude that the behavioural response has a greater contribution to aging than the modified energy consumption in altered gravity environments.

Description: Previous studies indicated that human Adipose Tissue-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (AT-MSCs) cultured in simulated microgravity (sim-μg) in standard laboratory incubators alter their proliferation and differentiation. Recent studies on the stem cell (SC) niches and the influence of oxygen on SC proliferation, senescence, and differentiation point to oxygen level as one of the key regulators of SC fate. Here we present the results of a study that focussed at the evaluation of the influence of oxygen level in the cultivation of AT-MSCs in sim-μg. In detail, cells were cultured for 14 days in sim-μg using the Random Positioning Machine (RPM) and two different oxygen concentrations: 5 % and 20 %. The results were compared with those obtained at 1g in the same conditions. Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST array and Gene Ontology (GO) analysis were performed. The results confirmed that in all of the sim-μg experiments oxygen concentration modulates cell signalling and adhesion, in line with the knowledge that sim-μg affects cell shape and cytoskeletal organization.

Description: Experiments with gas shear-driven rivulet flows in a minichannel of height 1.4 mm and of width 30 mm were conducted during several parabolic flights campaigns organized by the European Space Agency (ESA). Rivulet flow is defined as a particular case of liquid film flow when the film occupies only a part of the substrate without touching to the lateral walls of the channel. A high frequency schlieren technique has been used for visualization of the two-phase flows. It is shown that surface tension becomes the dominating force with decreasing of the gravity level, which results in reducing of the rivulet width. The width increases with the gravity level and with the liquid flow rate growth and reduces with the gas flow rate growth.

Description: The objective of this study was to explore the potential interaction between gravity and growth hormones on isoflavonoid accumulation. Soybean callus ( Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. ‘Acme’) was grown in the dark for 16 days at 22 °C in a growth medium supplemented with four different combinations of phytohormones and subjected to 4- g and 8- g forces simulated in a centrifuge and 1- g in an adjacent stationary control. Isoflavonoid aglycones and their glycoside concentrations (daidzein, genistein, daidzin, 6″-O-malonyl-7-O-glucosyl daidzein, genistin, 6″-O-malonyl-7-O-glucosyl genistein) were determined in the resulting tissues. Although gravity had no significant impact on callus growth, increasing gravity reduced isoflavonoid accumulation in three out of the four phytohormone-supplemented culture media. The ratio of the auxin naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) to the cytokinin benzylaminopurine (BAP) was found to have profound effect on both callus growth and isoflavonoid accumulation. The cytokinin BAP promoted callus tissue growth, but reduced callus isoflavonoid suggesting the isoflavonoid accumulation was not keeping pace with the cell growth in the elevated concentration of BAP. On the other hand, NAA had little or no effect on callus growth, but greatly enhanced isoflavonoid accumulation. Interactive effects of gravity and hormone on isoflavonoid accumulation were evident and its implication to the mechanism by which gravity exerts the effect on plant secondary metabolites is discussed.

Description: Microgravity-induced muscle atrophy is a problem of utmost importance for the impact it may have on the health and performance of astronauts. Therefore, appropriate countermeasures are needed to prevent disuse atrophy and favour muscle recovery. Muscle atrophy is characterized by loss of muscle mass and strength, and a shift in substrate utilization from fat to glucose, that leads to a reduced metabolic efficiency and enhanced fatigability. Laser therapy is already used in physical medicine and rehabilitation to accelerate muscle recovery and in sports medicine to prevent damages produced by metabolic disturbances and inflammatory reactions after heavy exercise. The aim of the research we present was to get insights on possible benefits deriving from the application of an advanced infrared laser system to counteract deficits of muscle energy metabolism and stimulate the recovery of the hypotrophic tissue. The source used was a Multiwave Locked System (MLS) laser, which combines continuous and pulsed emissions at 808 nm and 905 nm, respectively. We studied the effect of MLS treatment on morphology and energy metabolism of C2C12 cells, a widely accepted myoblast model, previously exposed to microgravity conditions modelled by a Random Positioning Machine. The MLS laser treatment was able to restore basal levels of serine/threonine protein phosphatase activity and to counteract cytoskeletal alterations and increase in glycolytic enzymes activity that occurred following the exposure to modelled microgravity. In conclusion, the results provide interesting insights for the application of infrared laser in the treatment of muscle atrophy.

Description: The long-duration fluid physics experiments on a thermocapillary-driven flow have been carried out on the Japanese Experiment Module ‘Kibo’ aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since 2008. In these experiments, various aspects of thermocapillary convection in a half-zone (HZ) liquid bridge of high Prandtl number fluid have been examined under the advantages of the long-duration high-quality microgravity environment. In 2010, the authors succeeded to realize nonlinear convective fields in the HZ liquid bridge of rather high aspect ratio. Special attention was paid on to the complex convective fields, especially on the behaviors of the hydrothermal wave (HTW) over the free surface visualized by an infrared camera. In order to evaluate the characteristics of the nonlinear convective behaviors and their transition processes, the authors indicate the images taken by the infrared camera describing the time evolution of HTW, the spatio-temporal diagram, the Fourier analysis, and the pseudo-phase space, reconstructed from the time series of the scalar information of the liquid bridge, that is, surface temperature variation. In this paper, the authors introduce the signature of complex HTW behaviors observed at the long-duration on-orbit experiments, and make comparisons with some previous terrestrial and microgravity experiments.

Description: The paper deals with the investigation of a behavior of a system of particles suspended in a fluid in a container subjected to high frequency translational vibrations of linear polarization. Pair interaction forces act on the particles under these conditions. These forces decrease with the distance and depend on the interacting particles orientation with respect to the vibration direction. The presence of these forces leads to the formation of structures in space. The problem is solved numerically using molecular dynamics method with pair interaction approximation. It is shown that the process of the structures formation consists of the fast stage of compact cluster formation and slow evolution of these clusters. It is found that for vibrations of linear polarization the particles form the chains oriented perpendicular to the direction of vibrations. At long time-scales these chains form the layers perpendicular to the direction of the vibrations and located almost periodically all over the fluid volume.

Description: Boiling in porous media is an active topic of research since it is associated with various applications, e.g. microelectronics cooling, wetted porous media as thermal barriers, food frying. Theoretical expressions customary scale boiling heat and mass transfer rates with the value of gravitational acceleration. Information obtained at low gravity conditions show a deviation from the above scaling law but refers exclusively to non-porous substrates. In addition, the role of buoyancy in boiling at varying gravitational levels (i.e. from microgravity—important to satellites and future Lunar and Martial missions, to high-g body forces—associated with fast aerial maneuvers) is still unknown since most experiments were conducted over a limited range of g-value. The present work aims at providing evidence regarding boiling in porous media over a broad range of hypergravity values. For this, a special device has been constructed for studying boiling inside porous media in the Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC at ESA/ESTEC). LDC offers the unique opportunity to cancel the shear stresses and study only the effect of increased normal forces on boiling in porous media. The device permits measurement of the temperature field beneath the surface of the porous material and video recordings of bubble activity over the free surface of the porous material. The preliminary results presented from experiments conducted at terrestrial and hypergravity conditions, reveal for the first time the influence of increased levels of gravity on boiling in porous media.

Description: In this paper we report about the BIOKIS payload: a multidisciplinary set of experiments and measurements in the fields of Biology (4) and Dosimetry (3) performed in microgravity. BIOKIS took advantage of the last STS-134 Endeavour mission and engineering state of the art in Space Life Science. The BIOKIS payload is compact, efficient, and capable to host experiments with different samples and science disciplines. Moreover, the time overlap of biological experiments and dosimetry measurements will produce more insightful information.

Description: Aircraft parabolic flights provide repetitively short periods of reduced gravity and are used to conduct scientific and technology microgravity investigations, to test instrumentation prior to space flights and to train astronauts before a space mission. Since 1997, ESA, CNES and DLR use the Airbus A300 ZERO-G, currently the largest airplane in the world for this type of experimental research flight. This mean is managed by the French company Novespace. Since 2010, Novespace offers the possibility of flying reduced gravity levels equivalent to those on the Moon and Mars achieved repetitively for periods of more than 20 s. ESA, CNES and DLR issued an international call for experiments inviting European Scientists to submit experiment proposals to be conducted at these partial gravity levels. The scientific objectives are on one hand to obtain results at intermediate levels of gravity (between 0 and 1 g) allowing a better study of the influence of gravity, and on the other hand to give them some elements to prepare for research and exploration during space flights and future planetary exploration missions. ESA, CNES and DLR jointly organised in June 2011 the first Joint European Partial-G Parabolic Flight campaign with 13 experiments selected among 42 received proposals. Parabolas were flown during three flights providing micro-, Moon and Mars gravity levels with duration typically of 20 s, 25 s and 32 s with a mixed complement of investigations in physical and life sciences and in technology. The paper presents the approach taken to organise this campaign and the 13 selected experiments with some preliminary results are presented to show the interest of this unique research tool for microgravity and partial gravity investigations.

Description: Planarians of the species Schmidtea mediterranea are a well-established model for regeneration studies. In this paper, we first recall the morphological characters and the molecular mechanisms involved in the regeneration process, especially focussing on the Wnt pathway and the establishment of the antero-posterior axial polarity. Then, after an assessment of a space-experiment (run in 2006 on the Russian Segment of the International Space Station) on planarians of the species Girardia tigrina , we present our experimental program to ascertain the effects that altered-gravity conditions may have on regeneration processes in S. mediterrnea at the molecular and genetic level.

Description: Numerical modeling of thermodiffusion experiment for a binary mixture of water and isopropanol under micro-vibrations condition is presented. The vibrations obtained onboard ISS and FOTON-M3 are due to different activities. The effect of micro-gravity vibration level on the variation of mixture properties were investigated in detail. In this paper, the thermodiffusion experiment was investigated for two different g-jitter vibrations in the presence of a thermal gradient. The cavity is filled with a binary mixture of water and isopropanol with negative Soret. All physical properties including density, mass diffusion and thermodiffusion coefficients were assumed as functions of temperature and concentration. In order to understand the behavior of the mixture during the course of the experiment, five locations in the domain were chosen. It was found that a similarity between g-jitter vibration and induced velocity pattern exist. Micro vibration was found to have a minimal effect on the molecular and thermodiffusion coefficients.

Description: Seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana -ABD2-GFP were grown under slow clinorotation (2 rpm) and treated with actin and tubulin disrupting drugs in order to characterize the role of actin microfilaments in cell growth and gravisensing. Changes in microfilament organization and cell parameters have shown that the transition root zone (TZ) is rather sensitive to microfilament disruption in control plants. It is assumed that under clinorotation, organization of actin cytoskeleton in the TZ is coordinated in a different way than in the control. Organization of microfilaments depends upon organization of microtubules and clinorotation does not influence this interrelation significantly.

Description: The need for an in-orbit 1×g control originated from the fact that Space radiation or other environmental factors of Space flight could not be excluded as cause for the effects on biological systems that were mainly interpreted as effects of the weightlessness environment. Indeed, in many experiments the 1×g reference centrifuge on board revealed the same data as the 1×g controls on ground, proving the lack of gravity was causing the results. In other cases, the reference centrifuge data were intermediate or clearly different to the ground data which was either due to interrupted 1×g conditions on board or to other, sometimes not well understood factors. This triggered also the development of sophisticated hardware allowing the start, i.e. the transition from 1×g to 0×g, or the termination of the experiment without stopping the centrifuge. Recently developed facilities provide also a complete life support system on the centrifuge rotor. Besides the in-flight 1×g control, acceleration experiments required a centrifuge for determination of threshold values in orbit.

Description: Seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana were exposed to hypergravity environments (2 g and 6 g ) and germinated during centrifugation. Seedlings grew for 2 and 4 days before fixation. In all cases, comparisons were performed against an internal (subjected to rotational vibrations and other factors of the machine) and an external control at 1 g . On seedlings grown in hypergravity the total length and the root length were measured. The cortical root meristematic cells were analyzed to investigate the alterations in cell proliferation, which were quantified by counting the number of cells per millimeter in the specific cell files, and cell growth, which were appraised through the rate of ribosome biogenesis, assessed by morphological and morphometrical parameters of the nucleolus. The expression of cyclin B1, a key regulator of entry in mitosis, was assessed by the use of a CYCB1:GUS genetic construction. The results showed significant differences in some of these parameters when comparing the 1 g internal rotational control with the 1 g external control, indicating that the machine by itself was a source of alterations. When the effect of hypergravity was isolated from other environmental factors, by comparing the experimental conditions with the rotational control, cell proliferation appeared depleted, cell growth was increased and there was an enhanced expression of cyclin B1. The functional meaning of these effects is that cell proliferation and cell growth, which are strictly associated functions under normal 1 g ground conditions, are uncoupled under hypergravity. This uncoupling was also described by us in previous experiments as an effect of microgravity, but in an opposite way. Furthermore, root meristems appear thicker in hypergravity-treated than in control samples, which can be related to changes in the cell wall induced by altered gravity.

Description: In addition to the presence of specific gravity receptors in living organisms, biological membranes were found to directly respond to gravity changes. Among others, changes in membrane permeability and as a consequence in membrane potential and intracellular ion concentrations have been demonstrated mainly by using electrophysiological techniques. However, the acquired amount of data up to now is low due to technical limitations of electrophysiology in microgravity platforms. Optical techniques will be able to deliver much higher amounts of data here, especially in case high throughput techniques based on 96 well plate (or higher numbers of wells) readers can be used. In this manuscript we present a new set-up for parabolic flight campaigns based on a multi-purpose plate reader for photometric, luminescent and fluorometric measurements. In a first series of experiments during a parabolic flight campaign the system was verified for membrane potential and intracellular calcium concentration measurements of neuronal cells using fluorescent dyes.

Description:    This paper reviews the dynamics of breaking or oscillating axisymmetric liquid bridges, and estimates of the energy which is needed to break a liquid bridge. We consider a liquid bridge spanning two coaxial equal disks with sharp edges and held by surface-tension forces. The liquid volume is assumed to be conserved under perturbations, and the contact lines are pinned to the disk edges. The perturbations are finite and axisymmetric. An analysis is based on the one-dimensional models previously used in capillary jet theory and last several decades for study a liquid bridge dynamics. According to the scientific project JEREMI (Japanese and European Research Experiment on Marangoni Instabilities), the first stage of the space experiment on ISS will involve an isothermal liquid bridge with a gas blowing parallel to the axial direction of the bridge. The geometry corresponds to a cylindrical volume liquid bridge coaxially placed into an outer cylinder with solid walls. The gas enters the annular duct bounded by the outer cylinder and the internal system consisting of supporting vertical rods and the liquid bridge. Considering that the bridge is small (the rod’s radii are 3 mm) and the gas velocity is typically (0.25 ÷ 0.37) m/s, the perturbations cannot be considered small. Thus, one may assume that the amplitude of the liquid bridge perturbations is sufficiently large that departures from linearity must be considered. Content Type Journal Article Category Review Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9290-5 Authors Lev A. Slobozhanin, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA Valentina M. Shevtsova, Service de Chimie Physique EP, Université libre de Bruxelles, CP165-62 Brussels, Belgium J. Iwan D. Alexander, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA José Meseguer, IDR/UPM, E.T.S.I. Aeronáuticos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain José M. Montanero, Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de los Materiales, Universidad de Extremadura, 06071 Badajoz, Spain Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    Microgravity-induced muscle atrophy is a problem of utmost importance for the impact it may have on the health and performance of astronauts. Therefore, appropriate countermeasures are needed to prevent disuse atrophy and favour muscle recovery. Muscle atrophy is characterized by loss of muscle mass and strength, and a shift in substrate utilization from fat to glucose, that leads to a reduced metabolic efficiency and enhanced fatigability. Laser therapy is already used in physical medicine and rehabilitation to accelerate muscle recovery and in sports medicine to prevent damages produced by metabolic disturbances and inflammatory reactions after heavy exercise. The aim of the research we present was to get insights on possible benefits deriving from the application of an advanced infrared laser system to counteract deficits of muscle energy metabolism and stimulate the recovery of the hypotrophic tissue. The source used was a Multiwave Locked System (MLS) laser, which combines continuous and pulsed emissions at 808 nm and 905 nm, respectively. We studied the effect of MLS treatment on morphology and energy metabolism of C2C12 cells, a widely accepted myoblast model, previously exposed to microgravity conditions modelled by a Random Positioning Machine. The MLS laser treatment was able to restore basal levels of serine/threonine protein phosphatase activity and to counteract cytoskeletal alterations and increase in glycolytic enzymes activity that occurred following the exposure to modelled microgravity. In conclusion, the results provide interesting insights for the application of infrared laser in the treatment of muscle atrophy. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-8 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9329-2 Authors Monica Monici, ASAcampus Joint Laboratory, ASA Research Division, ASA- Department Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Florence, Italy Francesca Cialdai, ASAcampus Joint Laboratory, ASA Research Division, ASA- Department Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Florence, Italy Giovanni Romano, ASAcampus Joint Laboratory, ASA Research Division, ASA- Department Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Florence, Italy Paola Antonia Corsetto, Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy Angela Maria Rizzo, Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy Anna Caselli, Department Biochemical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy Francesco Ranaldi, Department Biochemical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    The objective of this study was to explore the potential interaction between gravity and growth hormones on isoflavonoid accumulation. Soybean callus ( Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. ‘Acme’) was grown in the dark for 16 days at 22 °C in a growth medium supplemented with four different combinations of phytohormones and subjected to 4- g and 8- g forces simulated in a centrifuge and 1- g in an adjacent stationary control. Isoflavonoid aglycones and their glycoside concentrations (daidzein, genistein, daidzin, 6″-O-malonyl-7-O-glucosyl daidzein, genistin, 6″-O-malonyl-7-O-glucosyl genistein) were determined in the resulting tissues. Although gravity had no significant impact on callus growth, increasing gravity reduced isoflavonoid accumulation in three out of the four phytohormone-supplemented culture media. The ratio of the auxin naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) to the cytokinin benzylaminopurine (BAP) was found to have profound effect on both callus growth and isoflavonoid accumulation. The cytokinin BAP promoted callus tissue growth, but reduced callus isoflavonoid suggesting the isoflavonoid accumulation was not keeping pace with the cell growth in the elevated concentration of BAP. On the other hand, NAA had little or no effect on callus growth, but greatly enhanced isoflavonoid accumulation. Interactive effects of gravity and hormone on isoflavonoid accumulation were evident and its implication to the mechanism by which gravity exerts the effect on plant secondary metabolites is discussed. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-7 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9322-9 Authors Peter J. Downey, CELLS Research Group at Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre, Limerick Institute of Technology, Limerick, Ireland Lanfang H. Levine, Enterprise Advisory Services, Inc., Team QinetiQ North America for Engineering Services Contract, Kennedy Space Center, Orlando, FL 32899, USA Mary E. Musgrave, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA Michelle McKeon-Bennett, Department of Applied Science, Limerick Institute of Technology, Limerick, Ireland Siobhán Moane, Department of Applied Science, Limerick Institute of Technology, Limerick, Ireland Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    This paper deals with fractal quality of microaccelerations which occur in the indoor environment of space laboratory. Change in size of space laboratory results in the fact that dynamics of microaccelerations possess the quality corresponding to self-affinity of fractal functions in the task statement considered. We suggest forming of mass inertia characteristics of space laboratory with predetermined microaccelerations level with the help of the microaccelerations model based on the real part of Weierstrass–Mandelbrot fractal function. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-6 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9326-5 Authors A. V. Sedelnikov, Samara State Aerospace University, p/b 1253, Samara, 443026 Russia Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    The nonlinear analysis of Rayleigh–Taylor instability of two viscous fluids is studied when there is heat and mass transfer across the interface, using viscous potential flow theory. The fluids are considered to be viscous and incompressible with different kinematic viscosities. The analysis is based on the method of multiple scale perturbation and the nonlinear stability is governed by first-order nonlinear partial differential equation. The stability conditions are obtained and stability is discussed theoretically as well as numerically. Regions of stability and instability have been shown graphically indicating the effect of various parameters. It has been observed that the heat and mass transfer has stabilizing effect on the stability of the system in the nonlinear analysis. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9327-4 Authors Mukesh Kumar Awasthi, Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667 India Rishi Asthana, Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667 India G. S. Agrawal, Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667 India Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    The complex space environments can influence cell structure and function. The research results on space biology have shown that the major mutagenic factors in space are microgravity and ionizing radiation. In addition, possible synergistic effects of radiation and microgravity on human cells are not well understood. In this study, human immortal lymphoblastoid cells were established from human peripheral blood lymphocytes and the cells were treated with low dose (0.1, 0.15 and 0.2 Gy) cumulative 60 Co γ -irradiation and simulated weightlessness [obtained by culturing cells in the Rotating Cell Culture System (RCCS)]. The commonly used indexes of cell damage such as micronucleus rate, cell cycle and mitotic index were studied. Previous work has proved that Gadd45 (growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein 45) gene increases with a dose-effect relationship, and will possibly be a new biological dosimeter to show irradiation damage. So Gadd45 expression is also detected in this study. The micronucleus rate and the expression of Gadd45α gene increased with irradiation dose and were much higher after incubation in the rotating bioreactor than that in the static irradiation group, while the cell proliferation after incubation in the rotating bioreactor decreased at the same time. These results indicate synergetic effects of simulated weightlessness and low dose irradiation in human cells. The cell damage inflicted by γ -irradiation increased under simulated weightlessness. Our results suggest that during medium- and long-term flight, the human body can be damaged by cumulative low dose radiation, and the damage will even be increased by microgravity in space. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-10 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9324-7 Authors Lijun Wei, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Room 310, Building 2E, Science Park of Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 2 Yi Kuang Street, Harbin, 150001 China Fang Han, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Room 310, Building 2E, Science Park of Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 2 Yi Kuang Street, Harbin, 150001 China Lei Yue, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Room 310, Building 2E, Science Park of Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 2 Yi Kuang Street, Harbin, 150001 China Hongxia Zheng, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Room 310, Building 2E, Science Park of Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 2 Yi Kuang Street, Harbin, 150001 China Dan Yu, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Room 310, Building 2E, Science Park of Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 2 Yi Kuang Street, Harbin, 150001 China Xiaohuan Ma, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Room 310, Building 2E, Science Park of Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 2 Yi Kuang Street, Harbin, 150001 China Huifang Cheng, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Room 310, Building 2E, Science Park of Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 2 Yi Kuang Street, Harbin, 150001 China Yu Li, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Room 310, Building 2E, Science Park of Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 2 Yi Kuang Street, Harbin, 150001 China Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    This paper examines the evaporation rate through the interface of a evaporating—convecting non-isothermal cylindrical column (liquid bridge). The liquid phase is subject to a vigorous thermocapillary convection. Experiments were performed in a wide range of the imposed temperature difference. The obtained data are compared to a theoretical model of mass transport that does not account for the bulk fluid flow. The analytical results obtained for the real experimental conditions reveal an important role of the convective heat and mass transport in evaporization. The convective process is found responsible for enhancing the evaporation rate by several times with respect to the conductive regime. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-8 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9319-4 Authors Denis Melnikov, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), MRC, CP-165/62, 50, Ave. F.D. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tomohiko Takakusagi, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba, Japan Valentina Shevtsova, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), MRC, CP-165/62, 50, Ave. F.D. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    Planarians of the species Schmidtea mediterranea are a well-established model for regeneration studies. In this paper, we first recall the morphological characters and the molecular mechanisms involved in the regeneration process, especially focussing on the Wnt pathway and the establishment of the antero-posterior axial polarity. Then, after an assessment of a space-experiment (run in 2006 on the Russian Segment of the International Space Station) on planarians of the species Girardia tigrina , we present our experimental program to ascertain the effects that altered-gravity conditions may have on regeneration processes in S. mediterrnea at the molecular and genetic level. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-7 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9317-6 Authors G. Auletta, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy T. Adell, Department of Genetics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain I. Colagè, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy P. D’Ambrosio, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy E. Salò, Department of Genetics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    Seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana -ABD2-GFP were grown under slow clinorotation (2 rpm) and treated with actin and tubulin disrupting drugs in order to characterize the role of actin microfilaments in cell growth and gravisensing. Changes in microfilament organization and cell parameters have shown that the transition root zone (TZ) is rather sensitive to microfilament disruption in control plants. It is assumed that under clinorotation, organization of actin cytoskeleton in the TZ is coordinated in a different way than in the control. Organization of microfilaments depends upon organization of microtubules and clinorotation does not influence this interrelation significantly. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-7 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9318-5 Authors Galina Shevchenko, Cell Biology Department, Institute of Botany, 2, Tereshchenkivska St., 01004 Kiev, Ukraine Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    During the period of March–May 2011, a series of boiling experiments was carried out in the Boiling Experimental Facility (BXF) located in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) of the International Space Station (ISS). The BXF Facility was carried to ISS on Space Shuttle Mission STS–133 on February 24, 2011. Nucleate Pool Boiling Experiment (NPBX) was one of the two experiments housed in the BXF. Results of experiments on single bubble dynamics (e.g., inception and growth), multiple bubble dynamics (lateral merger and departure, if any), nucleate pool boiling heat transfer, and critical heat flux are described. In the experiments Perfluoro-n-hexane was used as the test liquid. The system pressure was varied from 51 to 243 kPa, pool temperature was varied from 30° to 59°C, and test surface temperature was varied from 40° to 80°C. The test surface was a polished aluminum disc (1 mm thick, 89.5 mm in diameter) heated from below with strain gage heaters. Five cylindrical cavities were formed on the surface with four cavities located at the corners of a square and one in the middle. During experiments the magnitude of mean gravity level normal to the heater surface varied from 1.2 × 10  − 7 g e to 6 × 10  − 7 g e . The results of the experiments show that a single bubble continues to grow to occupy the size of the chamber without departing from the heater surface. During lateral merger of bubbles, at high superheats a large bubble may lift off from the surface but continues to hover near the surface. Neighboring bubbles are continuously pulled into the large bubble. At low superheats bubbles at neighboring sites simply merge to yield a larger bubble. The larger bubble mostly locates in the middle of the heated surface and serves as a vapor sink. The latter mode continues to persist when boiling is occurring all over the heater surface. Heat fluxes for steady state nucleate boiling and critical heat fluxes are found to be much lower than those obtained under earth normal gravity conditions. The data are useful for calibration of results of numerical simulations. Any correlations that are developed for nucleate boiling heat transfer under microgravity condition must account for the existence of vapor escape path (sink) from the heater, size of the heater, and the size and geometry of the chamber. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-19 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9315-8 Authors Vijay Kumar Dhir, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA Gopinath R. Warrier, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA Eduardo Aktinol, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA David Chao, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, USA Jeffery Eggers, Zin Technologies, Cleveland, OH, USA William Sheredy, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, USA Wendell Booth, Zin Technologies, Cleveland, OH, USA Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    We present results of an extensive numerical study on the thermocapillary (Marangoni) convection and a heat transfer through the interface in a liquid bridge of Pr  = 68. The geometry of the physical problem is a cylindrical and non-deformable liquid bridge concentrically surrounded by an annular gas channel under conditions of zero gravity. The gas flow is co- or counter-directed with respect to the Marangoni flow. The forced gas flow along the interface provides two actions: via shear stresses and heat exchange. Usually the cooling of the interface enhances the flow while the heating slows down. This general trend may not hold when shear and thermocapillary stresses are comparable. The results show that when gas enters from the cold side the heat transfer through the interface is considerably larger than that when gas enters from the hot side. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-10 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9316-7 Authors Yuri Gaponenko, MRC-Microgravity Research Centre, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), EP - CP165/62, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Valentina Shevtsova, MRC-Microgravity Research Centre, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), EP - CP165/62, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    Photosystem efficiency and the characteristic on oxidative stress were examined to elucidate the metabolic responses of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 to short-term clinorotation. Results compiled when using clinostat to simulate microgravity for 60 h, showed that clinorotation clearly prohibited the photochemical quantum yield, but promoted the synthesis of chlorophyll and total protein. This may be a compensatory mechanism for the algal cell to maintain its normal metabolism. An increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content of algal cell upon clinorotation, together with an enhanced catalase (CAT) activity was observed during the whole period of clinorotation. One conclusion is that short-term clinorotation acts as a kind of stress, and that these physiological responses may be a special way for an algal cell to adapt itself to a different environment other than earth gravity. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-6 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9311-z Authors Yu Zhang, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072 China Xiao-yan Li, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072 China Gao-hong Wang, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072 China Chun-xiang Hu, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072 China Yong-ding Liu, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072 China Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    In this paper we report about the BIOKIS payload: a multidisciplinary set of experiments and measurements in the fields of Biology (4) and Dosimetry (3) performed in microgravity. BIOKIS took advantage of the last STS-134 Endeavour mission and engineering state of the art in Space Life Science. The BIOKIS payload is compact, efficient, and capable to host experiments with different samples and science disciplines. Moreover, the time overlap of biological experiments and dosimetry measurements will produce more insightful information. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9309-6 Authors Marco Vukich, Kayser Italia S.r.l., Livorno, Italy Pier Luigi Ganga, Kayser Italia S.r.l., Livorno, Italy Duccio Cavalieri, Department of Preclinical and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy Lisa Rizzetto, Department of Preclinical and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy Damariz Rivero, Department of Preclinical and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy Susanna Pollastri, Dept. Plant, Soil and Environment, University of Florence, Florence, Italy Sergio Mugnai, Dept. Plant, Soil and Environment, University of Florence, Florence, Italy Stefano Mancuso, Dept. Plant, Soil and Environment, University of Florence, Florence, Italy Sandro Pastorelli, Institute of Crystallography, National Research Council, Monterotondo, Italy Maya Lambreva, Institute of Crystallography, National Research Council, Monterotondo, Italy Amina Antonacci, Institute of Crystallography, National Research Council, Monterotondo, Italy Andrea Margonelli, Institute of Crystallography, National Research Council, Monterotondo, Italy Ivo Bertalan, Plant Physiology Institute, Martin-Luther-University, Halle (Saale), Germany Udo Johanningmeier, Plant Physiology Institute, Martin-Luther-University, Halle (Saale), Germany Maria Teresa Giardi, Institute of Crystallography, National Research Council, Monterotondo, Italy Giuseppina Rea, Institute of Crystallography, National Research Council, Monterotondo, Italy Mariagabriella Pugliese, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy Maria Quarto, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy Vincenzo Roca, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy Alba Zanini, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare sez., Torino, Italy Oscar Borla, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare sez., Torino, Italy Lorena Rebecchi, Department of Biology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy Tiziana Altiero, Department of Education and Human Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy Roberto Guidetti, Department of Biology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy Michele Cesari, Department of Biology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy Trevor Marchioro, Department of Biology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy Roberto Bertolani, Department of Biology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy Emanuele Pace, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy Antonio De Sio, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy Massimo Casarosa, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy Lorenzo Tozzetti, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy Sergio Branciamore, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy Enzo Gallori, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy Monica Scarigella, Dipartimento di Energetica, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy Mara Bruzzi, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy Marta Bucciolini, Dipartimento di Energetica, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy Cinzia Talamonti, Dipartimento di Energetica, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy Alessandro Donati, Kayser Italia S.r.l., Livorno, Italy Valfredo Zolesi, Kayser Italia S.r.l., Livorno, Italy Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    This study has been performed in the frame of preparing the space experiment JEREMI (Japanese and European Research Experiment on Marangoni Instabilities). The use of forced coaxial gas flow is proposed as a way to stabilize the Marangoni convection in liquid bridges, which might have important technological applications in the floating zone technique. A new set-up is under development and all sub-systems have passed severe tests. Here we present the design of this set-up and preliminary results of experiments for shear-driven two-phase flows in a confined volume of liquid under conditions of normal gravity. The geometry corresponds to a cylindrical liquid bridge concentrically surrounded by an annular gas channel with external solid walls. Gas enters into the annular duct, flows between solid walls and upon reaching the liquid zone entrains initially quiescent liquid. The test liquids are ethanol, n-decane and 5 cSt silicone oil, which have different degrees of viscosity and of volatility. The gas flow along the interface strongly enhances the evaporation and, correspondingly, affects the interface shape. Silhouette measurements are used for optical determination of the interface shape. From the digital images the variation of the liquid volume as a function of flow rate is calculated. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-8 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9314-9 Authors V. Yasnou, Microgravity Research Center, Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 165/62, Av. F.D. Roosevelt, 50, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium A. Mialdun, Microgravity Research Center, Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 165/62, Av. F.D. Roosevelt, 50, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium V. Shevtsova, Microgravity Research Center, Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 165/62, Av. F.D. Roosevelt, 50, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    An ice crystal growth experiment was performed on board the International Space Station. The experiment was repeated 134 times with various undercooling conditions. Dendrite crystal growth velocity and tip radius were precisely measured by using a newly developed software. The results are compared with those obtained previously on the ground as well as with those reported by Glicksman et al. for Succinonitrile (SCN). The plot of the dimensionless velocity V as a function of the dimensionless undercooling Δ under microgravity revealed values that were consistently lower than those obtained under 1-G which indicates that thermal convection was suppressed. The plot of the dimensionless radius R 0 as a function of Δ showed a less scattered value. The stability factor σ * became close to that of SCN when it was calculated using the geometrical mean radius. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-9 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9306-9 Authors Izumi Yoshizaki, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, ISS Science Project Office, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 2-1-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, 305-8505 Japan Takehiko Ishikawa, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, ISS Science Project Office, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 2-1-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, 305-8505 Japan Satoshi Adachi, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, ISS Science Project Office, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 2-1-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, 305-8505 Japan Etsuro Yokoyama, Computer Centre, Gakushuin University, 1-5-1 Mejiro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-8588, Japan Yoshinori Furukawa, Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-19, Nishi-8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0819, Japan Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    The present work describes the response of a heated solid surface during nucleation, growth and departure of a single bubble. Two dimensional, axisymmetric, finite difference schemes are used to solve the governing equations in the liquid, vapor and solid phases. The interface between liquid and vapor phases is tracked by a level set method. An iterative procedure is used at the interface between the solid and fluid phases in order to match temperatures and heat fluxes. Time and space invariant heat fluxes are supplied at the solid base and calculations are carried out for solids with different thermo-physical properties and thicknesses. Near the three-phase contact line, temperatures in the solid are observed to fluctuate significantly over short periods as the bubble base first expands outwards then contracts inwards before departure. The results show that waiting and growth periods can be related directly to wall superheat. The functional relationship between waiting time and wall superheat is found to agree well with the correlations based on experimental data reported in the literature. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-11 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9308-7 Authors Eduardo Aktinol, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA Vijay Kumar Dhir, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    Seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana were exposed to hypergravity environments (2 g and 6 g ) and germinated during centrifugation. Seedlings grew for 2 and 4 days before fixation. In all cases, comparisons were performed against an internal (subjected to rotational vibrations and other factors of the machine) and an external control at 1 g . On seedlings grown in hypergravity the total length and the root length were measured. The cortical root meristematic cells were analyzed to investigate the alterations in cell proliferation, which were quantified by counting the number of cells per millimeter in the specific cell files, and cell growth, which were appraised through the rate of ribosome biogenesis, assessed by morphological and morphometrical parameters of the nucleolus. The expression of cyclin B1, a key regulator of entry in mitosis, was assessed by the use of a CYCB1:GUS genetic construction. The results showed significant differences in some of these parameters when comparing the 1 g internal rotational control with the 1 g external control, indicating that the machine by itself was a source of alterations. When the effect of hypergravity was isolated from other environmental factors, by comparing the experimental conditions with the rotational control, cell proliferation appeared depleted, cell growth was increased and there was an enhanced expression of cyclin B1. The functional meaning of these effects is that cell proliferation and cell growth, which are strictly associated functions under normal 1 g ground conditions, are uncoupled under hypergravity. This uncoupling was also described by us in previous experiments as an effect of microgravity, but in an opposite way. Furthermore, root meristems appear thicker in hypergravity-treated than in control samples, which can be related to changes in the cell wall induced by altered gravity. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-9 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9301-1 Authors Ana I. Manzano, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Ramiro de Maeztu, 9 28040-E Madrid, Spain Raúl Herranz, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Ramiro de Maeztu, 9 28040-E Madrid, Spain Jack J. W. A. van Loon, European Space Research & Technology Center–European Space Agency (ESTEC-ESA), Noordwijk, Netherlands F. Javier Medina, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Ramiro de Maeztu, 9 28040-E Madrid, Spain Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    Bacteria, in response to changes in their environment, quickly regulate gene expression; hence, transcriptional profiling has been widely used to characterize bacterial responses to various environmental conditions. In this study, we used clinorotation to grow bacteria under low-sedimentation, -shear, and -turbulence conditions (referred to as modeled reduced gravity, MRG, below) which profoundly impacts bacteria including causing elevated resistance to multiple environmental stresses. To explore potential mechanisms behind the multiple stress resistance response to MRG, we assessed expression levels of E. coli genes, using reverse transcription followed by real-time-PCR, involved in specific stress and general stress responses under MRG and normal gravity (NG) in nutritionally rich and minimal media, and during exponential and stationary phases of growth. In addition, growth rates as well as physico-chemical parameters of culture media were examined. Over-expression of stress response genes (csiD, cstA, katE, otsA, treA) occurred under MRG compared to NG controls, but only during the later stages of growth in rich medium demonstrating that bacterial response to MRG varies with growth-medium and -phase. At stationary phase in rich medium under MRG and NG, E. coli had similar growth rates (based on rRNA-leader abundance) and yields (cell mass and numbers); this coupled, with observations of simultaneous induction of starvation response genes (csiD and cstA) suggests the multiple stress resistance phenotype under MRG could be attributable to microzones of nutrient unavailability around cells. Overall, in rich medium, the response resembled the general stress response (GSR) that E. coli develops during stationary phase of growth. Along these same lines, induction of genes coding for GSR was reversed by improving nutritional conditions under MRG. The reversal of GSR under MRG suggests that the multiple stress response exhibited is not specific to MRG but may result from nutrient limitation experienced by bacteria after incubation in nutrient-rich media under these conditions. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9310-0 Authors Raja Vukanti, Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, P. O. Box: 5190, Kent, OH 44242, USA Laura G. Leff, Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, P. O. Box: 5190, Kent, OH 44242, USA Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    This paper focuses on the analysis of multi-component droplet heating and evaporation under microgravity and normal gravity conditions. This analysis is based on the conventional conservation equations of species and energy for the gas phase, and the energy balance equation at the liquid–gas interface. The species diffusion is based on the Hirschfelder law, rather than on the less general Fick’s equation. Moreover, the heat flux due to species diffusion is taken into account in addition to the classical conduction heat flux between the gas and the liquid droplets. The liquid phase analysis is based on the infinite thermal conductivity liquid phase model, which has been justified by a reasonably good agreement between the predicted and experimental results. Indeed, the developed evaporation model has been validated against experimental data reported by Chauveau et al. ( 2008 ), where the droplets evaporation has been observed in microgravity and normal gravity conditions. The effects of gravity have been taken into account by introducing the Grashof number in the expressions of the Sherwood and Nusselt numbers. This model has been implemented in the multidimensional IFP-C3D industrial software. The modeling and experimental results have been shown to be reasonably close and the gravitational effects have been revealed to be significant especially for multi-component liquids including heavy components. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-7 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9303-z Authors Chawki Habchi, IFP Energies nouvelles, 1 & 4, Avenue Bois-Préau, 92852 Rueil-Malmaison, France Vahid Ebrahimian, IFP Energies nouvelles, 1 & 4, Avenue Bois-Préau, 92852 Rueil-Malmaison, France Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    Nonlinear oscillatory convective flows, developed under the joint action of buoyant and thermocapillary effects in the 47 v2 silicone oil–water system with different layers thicknesses, are investigated. Nonlinear simulations have been performed for two-dimensional flows. Transitions between oscillatory convective regimes with different symmetry properties and steady flows, have been studied. It is found that the oscillatory motion is observed in a finite interval of the Grashof number values. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-11 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9305-x Authors Ilya B. Simanovskii, Department of Mathematics, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel Oleg A. Kabov, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Service de Chimie Physique EP, CP165-62, 50 Av. F.D. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    Aircraft parabolic flights provide repetitively short periods of reduced gravity and are used to conduct scientific and technology microgravity investigations, to test instrumentation prior to space flights and to train astronauts before a space mission. Since 1997, ESA, CNES and DLR use the Airbus A300 ZERO-G, currently the largest airplane in the world for this type of experimental research flight. This mean is managed by the French company Novespace. Since 2010, Novespace offers the possibility of flying reduced gravity levels equivalent to those on the Moon and Mars achieved repetitively for periods of more than 20 s. ESA, CNES and DLR issued an international call for experiments inviting European Scientists to submit experiment proposals to be conducted at these partial gravity levels. The scientific objectives are on one hand to obtain results at intermediate levels of gravity (between 0 and 1 g) allowing a better study of the influence of gravity, and on the other hand to give them some elements to prepare for research and exploration during space flights and future planetary exploration missions. ESA, CNES and DLR jointly organised in June 2011 the first Joint European Partial-G Parabolic Flight campaign with 13 experiments selected among 42 received proposals. Parabolas were flown during three flights providing micro-, Moon and Mars gravity levels with duration typically of 20 s, 25 s and 32 s with a mixed complement of investigations in physical and life sciences and in technology. The paper presents the approach taken to organise this campaign and the 13 selected experiments with some preliminary results are presented to show the interest of this unique research tool for microgravity and partial gravity investigations. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9304-y Authors Vladimir Pletser, ISS Utilisation and Astronaut Support Dept, Human Spaceflight & Operations Directorate, ESA-ESTEC, P.O. Box 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Josef Winter, ISS Utilisation and Astronaut Support Dept, Human Spaceflight & Operations Directorate, ESA-ESTEC, P.O. Box 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Fabienne Duclos, Launchers, Orbit Infrastructure and ISS Office, Directorate for Strategy and Programmes, CNES, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France Thierry Bret-Dibat, Microgravity Experiments Office, Toulouse Center Directorate, CNES, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France Ulrike Friedrich, Microgravity Research and Life Sciences, German Space Administration, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V./German Aerospace Center DLR, Königswinterer Str. 522-524, 53227 Bonn, Germany Jean-Francois Clervoy, Novespace, Av. Marcel Issartier, 33700 Bordeaux – Mérignac, France Thierry Gharib, Novespace, Av. Marcel Issartier, 33700 Bordeaux – Mérignac, France Frederic Gai, Novespace, Av. Marcel Issartier, 33700 Bordeaux – Mérignac, France Olivier Minster, ISS Utilisation and Astronaut Support Dept, Human Spaceflight & Operations Directorate, ESA-ESTEC, P.O. Box 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Patrik Sundblad, ISS Utilisation and Astronaut Support Dept, Human Spaceflight & Operations Directorate, ESA-ESTEC, P.O. Box 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    The numerical simulation has been conducted to investigate the flow structure and surface deformation in a liquid bridge of high Prandtl number fluid under reduced gravity and microgravity. The Navier–Stokes equations coupled with the energy conservation equation are solved on a staggered grid, and the mass conserving level set approach is used to capture the free surface deformation of the liquid bridge. The effect of reduced gravity and thermocapillary convection on the surface deformation of the liquid bridge is investigated, and the results show that the amplitude of the surface horizontal vibration decreases gradually, and the thermocapillary convection inside the liquid bridge starts to turn into a steady state after the initial period. Moreover, the shift of the center of the recirculating flow inside the liquid bridge under horizontal external acceleration and zero gravity is also studied, and the results indicate that the vortex centers move initially toward the cold disk and reach an equilibrium position, and then the vortex centers vibrate around the equilibrium position periodically. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 113-121 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9278-1 Authors Ruquan Liang, Key Laboratory of National Education Ministry for Electromagnetic Processes of Materials, Northeastern University, No.3-11, Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110819, China Guangdong Duan, Key Laboratory of National Education Ministry for Electromagnetic Processes of Materials, Northeastern University, No.3-11, Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110819, China Fusheng Yan, Research Institute, Northeastern University, No.3-11, Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110819 China Junhong Ji, Key Laboratory of National Education Ministry for Electromagnetic Processes of Materials, Northeastern University, No.3-11, Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110819, China Masahiro Kawaji, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3E5, Canada Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    Introducing of additional terms into the balance equations to specify the conditions at the interface allows to study physical phenomena in the diffusion evaporation (condensation) of the liquid into the neutral gas. We have taken into account the vapour dynamic effects on evaporating liquid, as well as the waste of energy on deformation of the boundary, changing of the interfacial temperature (the interface has an internal energy and therefore heat capacity), to overcome the surface tension etc. This paper presents the balance conditions at the interface with the diffusion evaporation of the liquid into the neutral gas, for the case when the vapour is considered as an impurity in the gas phase. The analysis of the dimensionless criteria is carried out. The areas of parameters for which the effect of some physical factors take a place have been defined. The exact solution of the diffusion evaporation for a spherical drop at zero gravity conditions has been constructed. The explicit expression for the interfacial temperature and evaporation rate were derived. Solution for evaporation rate coincides with the solution obtained by Maxwell ( 1890 ). Content Type Journal Article Category Original Research Pages 17-31 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9285-2 Authors Vladimir V. Kuznetsov, Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics, Russian Academy of Sciences, prosp. Lavrentyev 15, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia Maria V. Bartashevich, Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics, Russian Academy of Sciences, prosp. Lavrentyev 15, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia Oleg A. Kabov, Institute of Thermophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, prosp. Lavrentyev 1, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 24 Journal Issue Volume 24, Number 1

Description:    In this paper, we investigate the motion of a particle confined between the oscillating and fixed walls. As the particle collides with the moving wall in the phase of oscillations, when the wall velocity grows, the wall after collision catches up with the particle. This process can be repeated many times until in finite time interval the particle is found lying on the wall and continues its motion together with the wall. When the sign of the wall acceleration changes the particle detaches from the wall with zero velocity, so that it looks as if the particle “sticks” to the wall. It has been found that if the collision is inelastic, “sticking” leads to convergence of close trajectories except for the case of weak decay. On the contrary, in the case of elastic collision “sticking” of the particle causes even a more rapid divergence of theses trajectories. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 99-103 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9276-3 Authors Stanislav Mingalev, Department of Theoretical Physics, Perm State University, 15, Bukireva Str., Perm, 614690 Russia Dmitriy Lyubimov, Department of Theoretical Physics, Perm State University, 15, Bukireva Str., Perm, 614690 Russia Tatyana Lyubimova, Institute of Continuous Media Mechanics UB RAS, Computational Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, 1, Koroleva Str., Perm, 614013 Russia Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    The linear-stability analysis of thermocapillary flow in the annular immiscible two-layer system of 5cSt silicone oil and HT-70 with a radial temperature gradient was carried out. The annular two-layer system is heated at the outer cylindrical wall and cooled at the inner wall, the bottom and top surfaces are bounded by two rigid and heat-insulated walls. The influences of the liquid layer depth and radius ratio between the cold inner wall and the hot outer wall on stability are thoroughly investigated. The critical Marangoni number, critical wave number and critical phase velocity are obtained. In addition, the mode of bifurcation for the hydrothermal wave is predicted at different liquid layer depth, and the temperature disturbance pattern of hydrothermal wave at interface is also exhibited. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 43-48 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9269-2 Authors Dong-Ming Mo, Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems of Ministry of Education, College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 China You-Rong Li, Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems of Ministry of Education, College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 China Wan-Yuan Shi, Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems of Ministry of Education, College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 China Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    The large-scale Marangoni convection in a liquid layer heated from below in the presence of an insoluble surfactant on its deformable free surface is considered. Nonlinear amplitude equations governing the evolution of large-scale disturbances of temperature, surfactant concentration and surface deformation are derived in the limit of small Biot number. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 59-63 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9271-8 Authors Alexander B. Mikishev, Department of Mathematics, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 32000 Israel Alexander A. Nepomnyashchy, Department of Mathematics, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 32000 Israel Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    Considering constant temperature gradients along the furnace, a mathematical model for the dewetted Bridgman growth process in zero gravity is developed, in terms of a system of two ordinary differential equations. Defining the stability of the growth by the requirement that during the process there is no reattachment of the grown crystal to the inner crucible wall it is shown that if the residual gas pressure difference across the free surface is maintained in a certain range then the process is stable i.e. the crystal-crucible gap thickness varies in a priori given range. It should be noted that this type of stability is a non-Lyapunov stability. Numerical illustration is given for InSb crystals grown by dewetted Bridgman method in zero gravity. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 49-58 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9270-9 Authors Stefan Balint, Computer Science Department, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timisoara, Romania Simona Epure, Computer Science Department, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timisoara, Romania Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    Control of melt flow in crystal growth process by application of the magnetic field is a practical technique. In order to investigate the effects of the magnetic field on the thermocapillary convection in the detached solidification, the finite-difference method is adopted to carry on numerical simulation. It is assumed that the melt is incompressible, the value of the aspect ratio (height/radius) of the crucible equals to 1, and the non-dimensional width of the gas gap equals to 0.1. The growth of crystal is studied when the Hartmann number is equal to 0, 25, 50 and 75, respectively. The results indicate that the axial magnetic field can effectively inhibit the strength of the flow, and with the strength of magnetic field increasing, the inhibition effects of magnetic field further enhances. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 141-147 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9282-5 Authors Lan Peng, Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems of Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 China Hai-Yong Meng, Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems of Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 China Zhen Li, Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems of Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 China Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    An improved linear matrix inequality (LMI) model is proposed to investigate the dynamic behaviors of inverted-pendulum under microgravity environments. In this model, Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy method and parallel distributed compensation (PDC) technique are used to design the robust pole-placement controller. A set of linear matrix inequalities are utilized to keep the linear model poles in a range of specified region of complex plane, as well as a fuzzy state feedback controller is utilized to keep the stability and the desired transient responses. Numerical results showed that the stabilization of inverted pendulum is greatly affected by gravity conditions and the largest effect factor is angular position. Under microgravity conditions, inverted pendulum is easier to keep a balance status and stable time is about 18.0 s, nearly 3.0 times than those of earth gravity. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 129-139 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9280-7 Authors Guohui Li, School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Dalian Jiaotong University, Dalian, 116028 China Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    A precise balance of cupula and endolymph densities is key to the proper sensing of angular acceleration by the semicircular canals (SC). Estimates show that a density difference of cupula and endolymph (DD) as small as ~10  − 4  g/cm 3 is sufficient to make the SC sensitive to gravity and centrifugal forces provided they are comparable with gravity. As a result this might cause vestibular disorders. There are conditions under which the DD may even exceed this value. One of them is a change of intra-labyrinth pressure (IP) that may take place during a spaceflight. Here, the effect of DD on SC dynamics is considered using a simplified one-dimensional toroidal mathematical model of a canal for rotation with constant or harmonically oscillating angular velocities. The DD results in: dependence of cupula dynamics on orientation of both the gravity vector relative to the SC plane and the axis of rotation, as well as on the distance between the axis of rotation and the center of SC; shift of the cupula to a new position of equilibrium that depends on both the gravity vector and the parameters of head rotation; and onset of cupula oscillations with multiple frequencies under harmonic stimulation. The DD effect may be important under conditions of artificial gravity where the directions of centrifugal forces, the values of which are comparable with Earth’s gravity, the orientations of the axis of rotation of a space station, and the axes of the SCs change during movements of the individuals and their habitat. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Research Pages 433-438 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9265-6 Authors Alexander V. Kondrachuk, Department of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, prospekt Nauki 46, Kiev, 03028 Ukraine Richard D. Boyle, NASA BioVIS Center, Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, USA Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 4

Description:    This paper deals with modeling in a vacuum chamber of the International Space Station (ISS) contamination processes caused by its orientation thrusters (OT), namely with experimental study of joint ejection of gas and near-wall liquid film from a supersonic nozzle into vacuum. The description of experimental setup and measurement techniques is presented in the paper. Local parameters of near-wall liquid film—its thickness and velocity at the nozzle outlet are measured. It is shown that film thickness and velocity do not depend on nozzle orientation, i.e. measurement results are not influenced by gravity. The structure of droplet phase flow arising behind the exit cross-section of a supersonic nozzle in vacuum under microgravity conditions is obtained. Results are confirmed by three independent measurement techniques. Appearance of droplet phase backflows which cause contamination of space station exterior is shown. The way of space station contamination minimization is suggested. It is shown that using of special gas-dynamical protective devices—screens, mounted at the exit part of a nozzle, allows to reduce phenomenon of contaminating back flows significantly. Carried out space experiment ≪Kromka≫ showed good correspondence of real experiment results with results of model experiment. It also approved the suggested way of ISS contamination minimization. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 15-23 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9266-5 Authors Vyacheslav Yarygin, Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics SB RAS, Lavrentieva Ave 1, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia Yury Gerasimov, Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation ENERGIA, Lenin Str. 4a, Korolev, Moscow area, 141070 Russia Andrey Krylov, Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation ENERGIA, Lenin Str. 4a, Korolev, Moscow area, 141070 Russia Victor Prikhodko, Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics SB RAS, Lavrentieva Ave 1, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia Igor Yarygin, Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics SB RAS, Lavrentieva Ave 1, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    Human factors are a dominant aspect in space missions, which may strongly influence work results and efficiency. To assess their impact on future long term space missions and to attempt a general quantification, the environmental and technical conditions to which astronauts may be confronted need to be reproduced as closely as possible. Among the stressors that occur during space missions, limited resources, limited social interactions, long term living and working in confined and isolated areas are among the most important for future planetary exploration. The European Space Agency (ESA) has a strong interest in obtaining data and insights in human aspects to prepare for future studies on the definition of future Lunar and Martian planetary habitats. In this frame, ESA’s Directorate of Human Space Flight was associated to the EuroGeoMars campaign conducted by the Crews 76 and 77 in February 2009 in The Mars Society’s ‘Mars Desert Research Station’ (MDRS) in the Desert of Utah. The EuroGeoMars Campaign lasted 5 weeks and encompassed two groups of experiments, on human crew related aspects and field experiments in geology, biology and astronomy/astrophysics. The human crew related aspects covered (1) crew time organization in a planetary habitat, (2) an evaluation of the different functions and interfaces of this habitat, (3) an evaluation of man–machine interfaces of science and technical equipment. Several forms and questionnaires were filled in by all crew members: time and location evaluation sheets and two series of questionnaires. In addition, the crew participated in another on-going food study where the type of food was imposed and crew impressions were collected via questionnaires. The paper recalls the objectives of the human crew related experiments of the EuroGeoMars project and presents the first results of these field investigations. Some recommendations and lessons learnt will be presented and used as first inputs for future planetary habitat definition studies. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 199-214 DOI 10.1007/s12217-010-9251-4 Authors Vladimir Pletser, Payloads and Platforms Division, Human Space Flight Directorate; ESA-ESTEC, P.O. Box 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Bernard Foing, Science and Robotic Exploration Directorate; ESA-ESTEC, P.O. Box 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 2

Description:    The effect of gravity on the dynamics of non-isothermic ultra-thin two-layer films is studied. The problem is considered in a longwave approximation. Periodic boundary conditions have been applied on the boundaries of the computational region. The problem is solved by means of a linear stability theory and nonlinear simulations. Nonlinear wavy regimes, including two-dimensional and three-dimensional traveling waves, as well as different kinds of three-dimensional standing waves, have been studied. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 1-7 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9262-9 Authors Alexander Nepomnyashchy, Department of Mathematics, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel Ilya Simanovskii, Department of Mathematics, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    The influence of the horizontal component of the temperature gradient on nonlinear regimes of oscillatory convection developed under the joint action of buoyant and thermocapillary effects in a multilayer system, is investigated. The nonlinear two-dimensional convective regimes are studied by the finite difference method. The interfaces are assumed to be non-deforming. The rigid heat-insulated lateral walls are considered. Transitions between different oscillatory and steady flow regimes have been studied. Specifically, it is shown that the horizontal component of the temperature gradient leads to the violation of the symmetry conditions and the appearance of the asymmetric oscillatory flows. The cavities with different lengths have been considered. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 25-34 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9267-4 Authors Ilya B. Simanovskii, Department of Mathematics, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel Antonio Viviani, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Aerospaziale e Meccanica (DIAM), Seconda Universita di Napoli (SUN), via Roma 29, 81031 Aversa, Italy Frank Dubois, Service de Chimie Physique EP, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, CP165-62, 50 Av. F.D. Roosevelt 1050, Brussels, Belgium Jean–Claude Legros, Service de Chimie Physique EP, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, CP165-62, 50 Av. F.D. Roosevelt 1050, Brussels, Belgium Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    In order to understand the characteristics of thermocapillary-buoyancy convection in the annular two-layer system of 5cSt silicone oil and HT-70 with a radial temperature gradient, a set of two-dimensional numerical simulations are carried out using the finite-volume method. The annular two-layer system is heated from the outer cylindrical wall and cooled at the inner cylindrical wall. The radius ratio and the aspect ratio of the system are 0.2 and 0.05–0.1, respectively. Results show that the flow is steady for sufficiently small Marangoni number. When the Marangoni number exceeds a critical value, the additional cells appear near the interface and the cold inner wall, and then an unsteady multi-cellular structure is developed. The temperature fluctuation wave propagates from the cold inner wall to the hot outer wall. And the critical Marangoni number decreases with the increase of the aspect ratio. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 9-14 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9264-7 Authors You-Rong Li, Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems of Ministry of Education, College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 China Wen-Jie Zhang, Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems of Ministry of Education, College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 China Chun-Mei Wu, Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems of Ministry of Education, College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 China Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    This paper considers a flow of a liquid sheared by gas in a flat mini-channel with two identical heaters arranged in a row one after another in a streamwise direction at the bottom wall. The present study is focused on the investigation of influence of local heaters arrangement and size on thermocapillary deformations in a viscous film, gravity effect is also investigated. 3D one-sided model is considered, viscosity of the liquid is supposed to be temperature dependent. Numerical analysis reveals that interaction and mutual influence of 3D structures takes place. Film pattern changes qualitatively depending on the heaters arrangement and form. For rectangular heaters a middle stream exists. Minimum film thickness value increases and its location moves to heater edges for rectangular heaters. A critical backlash between two heaters, at which film thinning is the largest, exists. Gravity significantly affects on the film deformations. Decreasing of gravity level leads to a flow destabilization and film deformations, especially film thinning, essentially increases. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 105-112 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9277-2 Authors Yulia O. Kabova, Center of Smart Interfaces, TU Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 32, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany V. V. Kuznetsov, Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics, SB RAS, pr. Lavrentyev 15, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia O. A. Kabov, Center of Smart Interfaces, TU Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 32, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    A new system of equations for modeling the dynamics of long-wave perturbations on the surface of a viscous liquid film flowing down a vertical plane was investigated. It is shown that the system obtained agrees with a known system derived by the variable changing method but unlikely has a conservative form that is perfect for designing of numerical efficient conservative difference schemes. The system is reduced to a single conservative equation for the function analogous to the hydrodynamic stream function with the appropriate boundary conditions. For the case of moderate Reynolds number it is noted that the equation with boundary conditions coincide with the well known Shkadov’s model under the assumption of self-similar profile of longitudinal velocity. At small Reynolds numbers typical to the condition of microgravity it was proved that the system is reduces to one evolution equation for the film thickness. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 123-128 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9279-0 Authors Dmitriy Arkhipov, Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova Street 2, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia Oleg Yurievich Tsvelodub, Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova Street 2, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    A comprehensive literature review and analysis of recent microchannel/microgap heat transfer data for two-phase flow of refrigerants and dielectric liquids is presented. The flow regime progression in such a microgap channel is shown to be predicted by the traditional flow regime maps. Moreover, Annular flow is shown to be the dominant regime for this thermal transport configuration and to grow in importance as the channel diameter decreases. The results of heat transfer studies of single miniature channels, as well as the analysis and inverse calculation of IR images of a heated microgap channel wall, are used to identify the existence of a characteristic M-shaped heat transfer coefficient variation with quality (or superficial velocity), with inflection points corresponding to transitions in the two-phase cooling modalities. For the high-quality, Annular flow conditions, the venerable Chen correlation is shown to yield predictive agreement for microgap channels that is comparable to that attained for macrochannels and to provide a mechanistic context for the thermal transport rates attained in microgap channels. Results obtained from infrared imaging, revealing previously undetected, large surface temperature variations in Annular flow, are also reviewed and related to the termination of the favorable thin-film evaporation mode in such channels. Content Type Journal Article Category Orginal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9284-3 Authors Avram Bar-Cohen, Department of Mechanical Engineering, TherPES Laboratory, University of Maryland, 2106B Glenn Martin Hall, College Park, MD 20742, USA Jessica R. Sheehan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, TherPES Laboratory, University of Maryland, 2106B Glenn Martin Hall, College Park, MD 20742, USA Emil Rahim, Department of Mechanical Engineering, TherPES Laboratory, University of Maryland, 2106B Glenn Martin Hall, College Park, MD 20742, USA Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 24 Journal Issue Volume 24, Number 1

Description:    A number of steady-state simulations of condensation of R134a inside a 1 mm i.d. circular minichannel at two far different mass flux values are proposed. The VOF method is used to track the vapour-liquid interface. The first simulations are run at G  = 100 kg m  − 2 s  − 1 and G  = 800 kg m  − 2 s  − 1 assuming that the channel displays horizontal orientation. The effects of interfacial shear stress, gravity and surface tension are all taken into account in this case and the results are validated by means of experimental data already available. As a further step, the same simulations have been run under normal gravity conditions but vertical downflow and finally assuming zero-gravity conditions. The condensation process is found to be gravity dominated at low mass flux, and thus very different results are obtained when neglecting gravity at this mass flux. An opposite result is achieved at high mass flux, as expected from the increased relative importance of interfacial shear stress in this case. The present results also allow to verify the influence of the surface tension effect during condensation in the circular cross section minichannel. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 87-97 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9275-4 Authors Enrico Da Riva, Dipartimento di Fisica Tecnica, University of Padova, Via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, Italy Davide Del Col, Dipartimento di Fisica Tecnica, University of Padova, Via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, Italy Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    The results of activity made in the framework of preparation of the experiment SAFIR (Single fin condensAtion: FIlm local measuRements) of European Space Agency are presented. First prototype of the test cell has been developed and tested. Confocal technique has been adopted for condensate film thickness measurements. Experiments on condensation of the liquid FC-72 have been carried out. Average heat transfer coefficient has been measured in the range of 880–1440 W/m 2  K and compared to the Nusselt theory. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 65-74 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9272-7 Authors Andrey Glushchuk, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Chimie-Physique EP-CP165/62, Microgravity Research Center, Avenue F.D.Roosevelt 50, Brussels, 1050 Belgium Igor V. Marchuk, Institute of Thermophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, prosp. Lavrentyev 1, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia Oleg A. Kabov, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Chimie-Physique EP-CP165/62, Microgravity Research Center, Avenue F.D.Roosevelt 50, Brussels, 1050 Belgium Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    Three-dimensional numerical simulation was developed to investigate thermocapillary flow induced by non-uniform evaporation on the meniscus in capillary tubes. Capillary tube radiuses ranging from 0.1 to 1 mm were considered and the working liquid was methanol. The effects of tube size, evaporation heat flux and buoyancy on thermocapillary flow were investigated. The results show that the non-uniform evaporation on the meniscus leads to two opposite temperature gradients along the radial direction, which generate two thermocapillary flow vortexes under the meniscus. For horizontal capillary tubes with r 0  ≥ 0.32 mm, the path-lines in the vertical center plane are asymmetrical, which is attributed to the combined buoyancy and thermocapillary effects. For the vertical capillary tube, with increasing average evaporation heat flux, the steady axisymmetrical flow will gradually transit to a steady asymmetrical flow and eventually becomes a three-dimensional oscillatory flow. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 35-42 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9268-3 Authors Bo Lan, Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems of Ministry of Education, College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 China You-Rong Li, Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems of Ministry of Education, College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 China Deng-Fang Ruan, State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Transmission, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 China Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    Experiments of highly subcooled nucleate pool boiling of FC-72 with dissolved air were studied both in short-term microgravity condition utilizing the drop tower Beijing and in normal gravity conditions. The bubble behavior and heat transfer of air-dissolved FC-72 on a small scale silicon chip (10 × 10 × 0.5 mm 3 ) were obtained at the bulk liquid subcooling of 41 K and nominal pressure of 102 kPa. The boiling heat transfer performance in low heat flux region in microgravity is similar to that in normal gravity condition, while vapor bubbles increase in size but little coalescence occurs among bubbles, and then forms a large bubble remains attached to the heater surface during the whole microgravity period. Thermocapillary convection may be an important mechanism of boiling heat transfer in this case. With further increasing in heat flux to the fully developed nucleate boiling region, the vapor bubbles number as well as their size significantly increase in microgravity. Rapid coalescence occurs among adjacent bubbles and then the coalesced large bubble can depart from the heating surface during the microgravity period. The reason of the large bubble departure is mainly attributed to the momentum effects caused by the coalescence of small bubbles with the large one. Hence, the steady-state pool boiling can still be obtained in microgravity. In the high heat flux regime near the critical heat flux, significant deterioration of heat transfer was observed, and a large coalesced bubble forms quickly and almost covers the whole heater surface, leading to the occurrence of the critical heat flux in microgravity condition. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 75-85 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9274-5 Authors Yan-Fang Xue, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049 China Jian-Fu Zhao, Key Laboratory of Microgravity (National Microgravity Laboratory) / CAS; Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 China Jin-Jia Wei, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049 China Jing Li, Key Laboratory of Microgravity (National Microgravity Laboratory) / CAS; Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 China Dong Guo, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049 China Shi-Xin Wan, Key Laboratory of Microgravity (National Microgravity Laboratory) / CAS; Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 China Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Supplement 1

Description:    The European Space Research and Technology Center ESTEC, ESA’s premises in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, has a long lasting cooperation with the ZARM-FAB (Centre of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity—Drop Tower Operation and Service Company) in Bremen on the utilization of the Drop Tower for ground-based microgravity research and space hardware development studies. During the period January 2000 to December 2011 ESA will have procured in total some 840 drops addressing a variety of scientific and technological disciplines. The experiments are usually carried out in campaigns of 15 to 20 drops each, with an annual average of about 5 campaigns. The cooperation agreement between ESA and the ZARM-FAB includes experiment preparation advice by ZARM’s experts, the integration of the hardware into the drop capsule, dedicated safety reviews, the execution of the drop or catapult experiments, the post-flight payload de-integration as well as the handover of acquired data to the experimenters. The experiment hardware itself is provided by the scientists or has to be procured from sources outside of ESA’s drop tower utilization contract. ESA appreciates the cooperation of the ZARM-FAB in Bremen whose drop- and catapult facility provides excellent microgravity quality, is operated by a highly competent, flexible and extremely supportive expert team, allows campaign integration at relatively short notice throughout the entire year, offers real-time experiment operations and immediately after each drop delivers experiment results and provides on-site hardware modification possibilities. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Research Pages 409-425 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9261-x Authors Ewald Kufner, European Space Agency ESA/ESTEC, HSO-APF, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands J. Blum, University of Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany N. Callens, ESAC, PPC-PE, Madrid, Spain Ch. Eigenbrod, ZARM-FAB, Bremen, Germany O. Koudelka, University Graz/Joanneum Research, Graz, Austria A. Orr, ESA/ESTEC, HSO-ASP, Noordwijk, The Netherlands C. C. Rosa, University Porto, Porto, Portugal A. Vedernikov, ULB-MRC, Brussels, Belgium S. Will, University Bremen, Bremen, Germany J. Reimann, University Bremen, Bremen, Germany G. Wurm, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 4

Description:    In recent years, the development of two-phase flow cooling systems in micro-electronic as well as surface coating/patterning technologies, often based on thin films and liquid filled micro-enclosures, has renewed the interest in the classical problem of the cavity flow driven by a shear stress imposed at the gas-liquid boundary. In this paper, we study, numerically, the influence of the cavity geometry and boundaries on the three dimensional velocity field driven by a shear flow of inert gas. This study has been performed in the frame of the ESA sponsored Space Program on heat and mass transfer CIMEX-1 and it has to be considered as a contribution in the preparation of the Space experiment. The reference values for the flow parameters as well as the geometrical features encountered in the present paper target the main features of the CIMEX-1 experiment, although the main conclusions can be considered of general validity. Content Type Journal Article Category Orginal Article Pages 373-379 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9257-6 Authors Carlo S. Iorio, Microgravity Research Center, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Av. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Olga Goncharova, Microgravity Research Center, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Av. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Oleg Kabov, Microgravity Research Center, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Av. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 4

Description:    Brazil has a Microgravity Program mainly based on experiments using sounding rockets. This paper presents a brief account of the Program and the experiments made on the Brazilian rockets. Up to now three missions carrying a total of 26 experiments were made. In all flights a fast solidification furnace, capable of producing temperatures up to 900°C, was tested with semiconductor and metal alloys. This paper describes the construction and the performance of that furnace during the last parabolic flight, occurred in 2010. The solidification furnace is now qualified and ready to be used by other institutions in sounding rocket flights. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Research Pages 427-432 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9263-8 Authors Chen Y. An, Laboratório Associado de Sensores e Materiais, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, 12227-010 São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil Cesar Boschetti, Laboratório Associado de Sensores e Materiais, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, 12227-010 São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil Manuel F. Ribeiro, Laboratório Associado de Sensores e Materiais, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, 12227-010 São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil Rafael C. Toledo, Laboratório Associado de Sensores e Materiais, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, 12227-010 São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil Filipe E. Freitas, Laboratório Associado de Sensores e Materiais, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, 12227-010 São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil Iraja N. Bandeira, Laboratório Associado de Sensores e Materiais, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, 12227-010 São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 4

Description:    Annulling gravity during cell culturing triggers various types of cells to change their protein expression in a time dependent manner. We therefore decided to determine gravity sensitive proteins and their period of sensitivity to the effects of gravity. In this study, thyroid cancer cells of the ML-1 cell line were cultured under normal gravity (1 g) or in a random positioning machine (RPM), which simulated near weightlessness for 7 and 11 days. Cells were then sonicated and proteins released into the supernatant were separated from those that remained attached to the cell fragments. Subsequently, both types of proteins were fractionated by free-flow isoelectric focussing (FF-IEF). The fractions obtained were further separated by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) to which comparable FF-IEF fractions derived from cells cultured either under 1 g or on the RPM had been applied side by side. The separation resulted in pairs of lanes, on which a number of identical bands were observed. Selected gel pieces were excised and their proteins determined by mass spectrometry. Equal proteins from cells cultured under normal gravity and the RPM, respectively, were detected in comparable gel pieces. However, many of these proteins had received different Mascot scores. Quantifying heat shock cognate 71 kDa protein, glutathione S-transferase P, nucleoside diphosphate kinase A and annexin-2 by Western blotting using whole cell lysates indicated usefulness of Mascot scores for selecting the most efficient antibodies. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 381-390 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9258-5 Authors Jessica Pietsch, Division of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy, FU Berlin, Takustr. 3, 14195 Berlin, Germany Johann Bauer, Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18a, 82152 Martinsried, Germany Gerhard Weber, FFE-Service, 85551 Kirchheim, Germany Mikkel Nissum, Becton&Dickinson, Martinsried, Klopferspitz 19a, 82152 Martinsried, Germany Kriss Westphal, Space Biology Group, ETH Zurich, Technoparkstr. 1, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland Marcel Egli, Space Biology Group, ETH Zurich, Technoparkstr. 1, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland Jirka Grosse, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Regensburg, 93042 Regensburg, Germany Johann Schönberger, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Regensburg, 93042 Regensburg, Germany Christoph Eilles, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Regensburg, 93042 Regensburg, Germany Manfred Infanger, Breast Center, Plastic Surgery, CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Charité-Platz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany Daniela Grimm, Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, CBF/CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Garystr. 5, 14195 Berlin, Germany Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 4

Description:    The number of astronauts involved in long-lasting missions and extra-vehicular activities is going to increase in the future. Consequently, the chance of injury due to traumatic events or unexpected emergency surgery will also increase and medical evacuation times to earth will be prolonged. Hence, the need to address requirements for surgery and trauma care in non terrestrial environments will be a priority. Tissue repair in weightlessness should therefore be regarded as a major issue not enough studied to date. Wound healing is a complex multi-step process, crucial to the survival of the organism. It starts with an inflammatory phase followed by a remodelling phase. During repair, the extracellular matrix (ECM) is sequentially remodelled by the concerted action of different cell types, in order to rebuild a functional tissue. The available literature concerning wound healing with mechanical unloading presents controversial results. However, many studies indicate impairment of the healing processes. Here we present a study on the behaviour of cells involved in the remodelling phase of repair, e.g. fibroblasts and endothelial cells, in response to microgravity ( μg ). In particular, their adhesion/migration, cytoskeleton organization, production of ECM molecules and receptors have been investigated. Cell response to pulsed Nd: YAG laser irradiation has also been investigated in order to evaluate the possibility to use laser irradiation for counteracting the effect of μg on wound healing. In μg , we observed alterations in production/assembling of ECM molecules. Increased fibronectin (FN) and laminin (LM) could be the cause for impaired ECM rebuilding and altered cell adhesion/migration. Treatment with Nd:YAG laser pulses induced organized fibrillogenesis and favoured endothelial cell spreading and monolayer formation. These findings open the way for a better understanding of tissue repair mechanisms in space and future clinical applications on earth. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Research Pages 391-401 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9259-4 Authors Monica Monici, ASAcampus Joint Laboratory, ASA Research Division, Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Florence, Italy Francesca Cialdai, Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy Giovanni Romano, Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy Franco Fusi, Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy Marcel Egli, Space Biology Group, ETH-Technopark, Zurich, Switzerland Silvia Pezzatini, Section of Pharmacology, Department of Molecular Biology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy Lucia Morbidelli, Section of Pharmacology, Department of Molecular Biology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 4

Description:    Superfluid 4 He was produced on a small jet plane for the first time using a small GM-refrigerator to condense the liquid and a scroll pump to get the superfluid by evaporation. The surface wave on superfluid under 0.5 g E , 0.1 g E and 0.05 g E , together with 2 g E and 1 g E , was successfully examined by an optical method utilizing parabolic flight. Here, g E is the gravitational constant on the ground. Assuming that only the fundamental mode was excited as determined by the sample cell width, the resonance peak in the frequency domain was well reproduced by the gravity wave with corresponding gravity constant. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 365-372 DOI 10.1007/s12217-010-9256-z Authors Takuya Takahashi, Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan Motoya Suzuki, Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan Ryuji Nomura, Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan Yuichi Okuda, Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan Koji Kamiya, National Institute of Material Science, 13 Sakura, Tsukuba, Japan Takenori Numazawa, National Institute of Material Science, 13 Sakura, Tsukuba, Japan Peter Shirron, NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 552 Greenbelt, MD, 20771 USA Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 4

Description:    The Materials Science Laboratory is a unique tool designed to perform high temperature experiments from various fields of physics on board the International Space Station. During the first operating phase initiated in November 2009 the directional solidification of aluminum-silicon alloys is investigated. The experiments shall elucidate the influence of fluid flow within the melt on the microstucture of the casting. In contrast to terrestrial experiments fluid flow induced by convection is virtually absent under microgravity conditions. The Materials Science Laboratory allows for solidification under both diffusive and stimulated convective conditions. After processing on orbit samples are returned to earth for detailed analyses. A short description of the experimental setup is given to familiarize with the capability of the facility. One of the experiments is specified in detail including the preparations performed on ground and the execution on orbit. Corresponding telemetry data is analyzed and first results of the metallographic examination are presented. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 345-353 DOI 10.1007/s12217-010-9254-1 Authors Thorsten Enz, Institut für Materialphysik im Weltraum, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), 51170 Köln, Germany Sonja Steinbach, Institut für Materialphysik im Weltraum, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), 51170 Köln, Germany Dejan Simicic, Institut für Materialphysik im Weltraum, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), 51170 Köln, Germany Galina Kasperovich, Institut für Materialphysik im Weltraum, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), 51170 Köln, Germany Lorenz Ratke, Institut für Materialphysik im Weltraum, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), 51170 Köln, Germany Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 3

Description:    November 20, 2010, marked a significant milestone in the annals of human endeavors in space since it was the twelfth anniversary of one of the most challenging and complex construction projects ever attempted by humans away from our planet: The construction of the International Space Stations. On November 20, 1998, the Zarya Control Module was launched. With this simple, almost unnoticed launch in the science community, the construction of a continuously staffed research platform, in Low Earth Orbit, was underway. This paper discusses the research that was performed by many occupants of this research platform during the year celebrating its twelfth anniversary. The main objectives of this paper are fourfold: (1) to discuss the integrated manner in which science planning/replanning and prioritization during the execution phase of an increment is carried out across the United States Orbital Segment since that segment is made of four independent space agencies; (2) to discuss and summarize the research that was performed during increments 16 and 17 (October 2007 to October 2008). The discussion for these two increments is primarily focused on the main objectives of each investigation and its associated hypotheses that were investigated. Whenever available and approved, preliminary research results are also discussed for each of the investigations performed during these two increments; (3) to compare the planned research portfolio for these two increments versus what was actually accomplished during the execution phase in order to discuss the challenges associated with planning and performing research in a space laboratory located over 240 miles up in space, away from the ground support team; (4) to briefly touch on the research portfolio of increments 18 and 19/20 as the International Space Station begins its next decade in Low Earth Orbit. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 311-343 DOI 10.1007/s12217-010-9253-2 Authors Kenol Jules, NASA, Johnson Space Center, Mail Code OZ-4, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, TX 77058, USA Eric Istasse, ESA, ESA Mission Science Office, ESTEC HME-GAC, Keplerlaan 1, Postbus 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Hilde Stenuit, ESA, ESA Mission Science Office, ESTEC HME-GAC, Keplerlaan 1, Postbus 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Keiji Murakami, JAXA, Space Environment Utilization Center, 2-1-1, Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8505, Japan Izumi Yoshizaki, JAXA, Space Environment Utilization Center, 2-1-1, Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8505, Japan Perry Johnson-Green, CSA, John H. Chapman Space Centre, 6767 route de l’Aeroport, St. Hubert, QC J3Y 8Y9, Canada Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 3

Description:    Pattern formation, oscillations and wave propagation as processes in excitable media can be controlled by small external forces including gravity. The Belousov–Zhabothinsky (BZ) reaction is possibly the best studied system and exhibits temporal as well as spatial patterns. Wave propagation in BZ systems already has been shown to depend on gravity, due to interactions with diffusion and convection. In a stirred bulk BZ system stable oscillations exist in the absence of diffusion, sedimentation, buoyancy and convection with a period in the minute range. In parabolic flight missions such a system can be investigated under gravity conditions changing between 1 g, 1.8 g and μ-g just on this timescale. Here we have found that the temporal pattern formation of an oscillating BZ reaction locks to the period of the gravity changes but is also destabilized due to the partially stochastic nature of the gravity changes. This points out to a gravity dependence of chemical rate constants as given in a formal description of the BZ-system. The BZ-reaction is the perfect system for such studies and serves as a model for self-organization and pattern formation, also in biological systems. The possibility to study the lack of gravity or changes in gravity destabilizing self-organization and pattern formation is of major interest to identify the underlying mechanisms. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Research Pages 403-408 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9260-y Authors Oliver Klink, Institut für Physiologie 230, Universität Hohenheim, Garbenstrasse 30, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany Wolfgang Hanke, Institut für Physiologie 230, Universität Hohenheim, Garbenstrasse 30, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany Vera Maura Fernandes de Lima, FUNREI, Campus Divinopolis, Divinopolis, MG, Brazil Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 4

Description:    The interaction of two rigid cylinders with parallel axes in a viscous liquid subjected to translational vibrations perpendicular to the plane containing the cylinder axes is considered in the framework of the low Reynolds number approximation. It is shown that the interaction type substantially depends on the distance between the cylinders. If this distance exceeds the viscous Stokes length, then the vibrations lead to the cylinder attraction. For the distances shorter than the Stokes length, the behaviour is opposite. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 305-309 DOI 10.1007/s12217-010-9252-3 Authors Tatyana Lyubimova, Institute of Continuous Media Mechanics UB RAS, Koroleva Str., 614013 Perm, Russia Dmitriy Lyubimov, Perm State University, Bukireva Str., 614990 Perm, Russia Mikhail Shardin, Perm State University, Bukireva Str., 614990 Perm, Russia Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 3

Description:    The gravireception of the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus and seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana is accompanied by gravity-induced absorption changes (GIACs) that occur very fast and most likely represent primary responses of gravireception. GIACs that were analyzed during parabolic flights in micro- and hypergravity invariably display hysteretic behavior. Even though the identity of the pigments generating the GIACs remain presently unknown, it is nevertheless clear that they are specific for gravireception. This is strongly suggested by the fact that hystereses loops of wild-type specimen are significant larger than of gravitropic mutants. Hystereses are largely kinetically determined, are specific for the different organisms and stimulus programs, and thus aid in characterizing the requisite transduction chains of gravireception. The fact that monocot as well as dicot plants display GIACs just in the area of highest gravitropic sensitivity at the tip supports the conclusion that gravireception is generally associated with primary reactions. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 355-364 DOI 10.1007/s12217-010-9255-0 Authors Werner Schmidt, Fachbereich Biologie, Philipps-Universität, Karl-von-Frisch Str. 8, 35032 Marburg, Germany Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue Volume 23, Number 3

Description:    Various spectroscopic experiments performed on the AIRBUS ZERO G in the years 2002 to 2011 clearly exhibited optical reflection/absorption changes as a result of gravitational changes (GIACs) in Arabidopsis, Phycomyces sporangiophores, avena or maize coleoptiles. Minute differential absorption/ reflection changes (Δ GIAC) between the upper and lower site of horizontally placed maize coleoptiles were detected at the gravisensing tip during flight parabolas in response to hyper- and microgravity. For this purpose we had developed a Single Wavelength Space Discriminator (SWSD) as based on the former Micro Dual Wavelength Spectrophotometer (MDWS). The SWSD allows to tilt and rotate the coleoptile and the sensing light fiber tips independently in all directions. Thus we were able to discriminate between asymmetrical/vertical, i.e. sensitive, and symmetrical/ horizontal, i.e. non-sensitive arrangement of the light fiber tips. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-10 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9299-4 Authors Werner Schmidt, Fachbereich Biologie, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Str.8, 35032 Marburg, Germany Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description: This paper reports an experimental and numerical study of rapid solidification of a water droplet due to depressurization. During the experiment, a distilled water droplet was suspended on a thermocouple, which was also used to measure the droplet temperature, and the droplet surface temperature was captured by an infrared thermograph. The experimentally measured data indicates that freezing occurs from the droplet surface when the droplet temperature reaches a certain subcooling. A mathematical model was constructed to simulate the temperature transition and the temperature distribution within the sphere. The model considers the pressure reduction in the test vessel, the kinetic condition for undercooled solidification, and the heat transfers due to convection and sublimation at the ice surface. A coordinate transformation method was used to capture the two moving boundaries within the droplet, which are internal solidification interface and surface sublimation interface. The model-predictions agree well with the measured temperature data, demonstrating the soundness of the present model. The results show that the rapid solidification of a water droplet due to depressurization is a typical non-equilibrium phase transition, with a lower ambient pressure, the solidification speed will be faster, and the duration time for droplet center temperature keeps constant will be shorter.

Description: We describe the first measurements of the critical Marangoni number of thermocapillary flow in liquid bridges under microgravity. The experiments were conducted during the ballistic flight of rockets with small liquid bridges established by melting the equivalent cylindrical rod of solid sodium nitrate under microgravity. Fine thermocouples in the melt indicated the onset of flow oscillations by the increase of temperature oscillations. The critical Marangoni number M a c was measured to be approximately 1·10 4 for Prandtl number P r = 9. This type of experiment was especially simple, effective and suitable for execution during the short microgravity–time available during sounding rockets flights. The lessons learned from these experiments have been collected. In a second part of this paper we review five more sophisticated microgravity experiments in sounding rockets in which the surface tension driven flow was visualized by tracers and suitable illumination. Two experiments are devoted to the very first demonstration of the classical cellular Bénard-Marangoni instability of thin liquid layers with free surface, heated from below. We could demonstrate in another experiment chaotic thermocapillary flow in a cubic cuvette filled with oil up to a flat free surface. Two experiments dealt with liquid bridges (LBs); in one the LB was nearly as long as possible at all. Here we could observe the helical nature of the hydrothermal wave in the geometry of the LB and measured a much smaller critical Marangoni number than in the short liquid bridges on ground. In the other experiment we investigated particle accumulation structures (PAS) and could show that PAS develops independently from gravity forces though it was indicated that gravity has an influence on PAS–formation by changing the flow field.

Description: Effects of Marangoni number, aspect ratio and gravity level on thermocapillary convection in a liquid layer is investigated numerically, in which the level set method is employed to capture free surface deformation. The computational results show that, with the increase of Marangoni number the free surface deformation is increased and it can lead to free surface rupture if the Marangoni number is large enough. The end walls has a damping effect on the free surface deformation, and as the aspect ratio (A =L/(0.5H)) decreases the deformability of free surface is reduced. The gravity can damp the free surface deformation, particularly as gravity level varies from 0.0001g 0 to g 0 the free surface deformability decreases steeply.

Description:    A compressible model is developed with kinetics based on the Wang–Mou five-step global kinetic scheme and used to evaluate the temperature, concentration, and velocity fields characteristic of low-temperature combustion in unstirred static reactors. This work relaxes the assumption of small exothermicity that enabled prior studies to employ the Boussinesq approximation, valid for cases where β Δ T  〈 〈 1, i.e., slow reactions and cool flames. In this study, the range of validity of the model is extended to cases with large temperature excursions, including multi-stage ignition. For the weakly exothermic cases considered, including modes of slow reaction and cool flames, the Boussinesq approximation is completely adequate. However, it overpredicts the density change and underpredicts the ignition delay time for high-temperature ignitions. Qualitative comparison with experimental results acquired at microgravity conditions are also discussed. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9302-0 Authors Michael R. Foster, Department of Engineering, George Fox University, 414 N. Meridian St., Box 6141, Newberg, OR 97132, USA Howard Pearlman, Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc., Lancaster, PA 17601, USA Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    The need for an in-orbit 1×g control originated from the fact that Space radiation or other environmental factors of Space flight could not be excluded as cause for the effects on biological systems that were mainly interpreted as effects of the weightlessness environment. Indeed, in many experiments the 1×g reference centrifuge on board revealed the same data as the 1×g controls on ground, proving the lack of gravity was causing the results. In other cases, the reference centrifuge data were intermediate or clearly different to the ground data which was either due to interrupted 1×g conditions on board or to other, sometimes not well understood factors. This triggered also the development of sophisticated hardware allowing the start, i.e. the transition from 1×g to 0×g, or the termination of the experiment without stopping the centrifuge. Recently developed facilities provide also a complete life support system on the centrifuge rotor. Besides the in-flight 1×g control, acceleration experiments required a centrifuge for determination of threshold values in orbit. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-8 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9300-2 Authors Enno Brinckmann, European Space Agency, Eschenweg 16, 26789 Leer, Germany Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    The aim of the present paper is to describe the results of flow boiling heat transfer at low gravity and compare them with those obtained at earth gravity, evaluating possible differences. The experimental campaigns at low gravity have been performed with parabolic flights. The paper will show the analysis of differences between the heat transfer coefficients at normal and at zero gravity, and the study of the effects of mass flux, heat flux, and tube diameter on boiling phenomena at microgravity. Three tube diameters are tested: 6.0, 4.0, and 2.0 mm. With respect to terrestrial gravity, both heat transfer rate enhancement (up to 15–20%) and deterioration (up to 35%) have been observed. Heat transfer differences for the two gravity conditions may be related to the different bubble size in each of them. The size of a bubble in flow boiling is generally affected by the gravity level, being larger at low gravity, unless inertial forces are largely predominant over buoyancy and other forces acting on the bubble itself when detaching from a heating wall. Heat transfer enhancements at low gravity, are observed in those conditions where the flow pattern is bubbly flow at normal gravity and intermittent flow at low gravity. The results are presented in a flow boiling gravity influence map, which can be considered a useful tool for designing boiling systems for space applications. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-11 DOI 10.1007/s12217-012-9298-5 Authors Coen Baltis, Eindhoven University, Eindhoven, The Netherlands Gian Piero Celata, ENEA, Division of Advanced Technologies for Energy and Industry, Rome, Italy Maurizio Cumo, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy Luca Saraceno, ENEA, Division of Advanced Technologies for Energy and Industry, Rome, Italy Giuseppe Zummo, ENEA, Division of Advanced Technologies for Energy and Industry, Rome, Italy Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    The Closed Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe (CLPHP) is a very promising passive two-phase heat transfer device for relatively high heat fluxes (up to 30 W/cm 2 ) patented by Akachi ( 1990 , 1993 ). Although the CLPHP has a simple structure, its working principles are very complex compared to the standard heat pipe with a porous wick. One of the most debated issues deals on how the thermal performance is affected by the inclination and by the action of different gravity fields (terrestrial, lunar, martian and microgravity). Even if the internal tube diameter satisfies the conventional slug flow regime requirement on the Bond number, gravity force still plays an important role on the PHP behaviour. Heat input and the number of turns are two of the most important indirect parameters linked to the gravity issue. A complete numerical campaign has been performed by means of a FORTRAN code at different inclination angles and gravity levels on various PHP. The numerical model is able to estimate both the hydrodynamic and the thermal performance of a CLPHP with different working fluids. The analysis shows that the effect of local pressure losses due to bends is important and must be taken into account, in particular in the horizontal operation which is the reference point for space applications. Numerical results are matched with the experimental data quoted in literature and both good qualitative and quantitative agreement have been found. Content Type Journal Article Category Topical Issue Two-Phase Systems Italy Pages 1-14 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9293-2 Authors Mauro Mameli, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bergamo, Viale Marconi 5, 24044 Dalmine (BG), Italy Marco Marengo, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bergamo, Viale Marconi 5, 24044 Dalmine (BG), Italy Stefano Zinna, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bergamo, Viale Marconi 5, 24044 Dalmine (BG), Italy Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    This paper presents initial work performed to develop a database of contact angles of sessile drops in reduced gravity. Currently, there is no database of wettability of sessile drops in reduced gravity. The creation of such a database is imperative for continued investigations of heat and/or mass transfer in reduced gravity and future engineering designs. In this research, liquid drops of water and ethanol were created on aluminum and PTFE substrates. The formed drops were characterized by their dimensions including contact angle, wetted perimeter and droplet shape in both normal gravity and reduced gravity. The droplets were recorded during testing with high definition video and the images obtained digitally analyzed, post-test, to determine their characteristics as a function of the experimental parameters. The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Drop Tower Facility was utilized for the reduced gravity experimentation. For droplets with diameters above their capillary length, the changes in drop dimensions and/or wettability was observed. The Young-Laplace equation was validated to accurately predict the contact angle in reduced gravity for small droplets, however it was not adequate to describe the contact angle for larger drops (above the drops associated capillary length). Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-8 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9295-0 Authors Antoine Diana, Phenomena in Reduced Gravity Laboratory, Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Martin Castillo, Phenomena in Reduced Gravity Laboratory, Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia David Brutin, Aix-Marseille University - IUSTI, Technopôle de Château-Gombert, Marseille, France Ted Steinberg, Phenomena in Reduced Gravity Laboratory, Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    The problem of spreading behaviors of pendant and sessile drops was studied experimentally and numerically under the action of gravity force and surface tension. Bond number was considered to be a main factor of the influence on shape behaviors of liquid drops. This study was performed in the framework of an experimental investigation of drop behaviors in microgravity onboard a Chinese satellite in future. The experiments were carried out in the Drop Tower of Beijing, which could supply about 3.6 s of microgravity (free-fall) time. The surface shape change of liquid drops was investigated and the contact angle variety in sessile and pendant drops were measured from normal gravity to microgravity. A sharp decrease and oscillatory variation of the contact angle for both sessile and pendant drops were found with the sudden decrease of Bond number. The succedent comparison between experimental and numerical results suggests that Bond number has a significant influence on the drop contact angle. Additionally, the drop shapes and the bulk flows inside sessile and pendant drops were analyzed numerically, and it was found that the bulk flows could affect the free-surface shape of liquid drops apparently. Comparison of the moving velocity of contact line between sessile and pendant drops indicated that the pendant drops had a faster response to Bond number. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-8 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9294-1 Authors Zhi-Qiang Zhu, Key Laboratory of Microgravity (National Microgravity Laboratory), Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 China Yang Wang, Key Laboratory of Microgravity (National Microgravity Laboratory), Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 China Qiu-Sheng Liu, Key Laboratory of Microgravity (National Microgravity Laboratory), Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 China Jing-Chang Xie, Key Laboratory of Microgravity (National Microgravity Laboratory), Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 China Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    The present paper is dedicated to an experimental study of the effect of gravity forces during condensation of R134a in an 8.38 mm inner diameter smooth tube in inclined orientations. Flow pattern, heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop are presented as a function of the inclination angle for different mass fluxes ( G  = 200 − 400 kg/m 2 s) and different vapour qualities ( x  = 0.1 − 0.9). An apparent void fraction was also defined from the pressure drop measurements. Maps of the inclination effect on the flow pattern, heat transfer coefficient and apparent void fraction were drawn and a limit between the gravity-dependent and gravity-non-dependent zone was determined for each case. It was shown that the flow can be considered as gravity-non-dependent for high mass fluxes ( G  ≥ 300 kg/m 2 s) and high vapour qualities ( x  〉 0.6 − 0.7). Content Type Journal Article Category S.I. Gravitational Effects on Liquid Pages 1-8 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9292-3 Authors Stéphane Lips, Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, 0028 South Africa Josua P. Meyer, Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, 0028 South Africa Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    The article presents the approach of the European Space Agency to promote research in weightlessness and in particular onboard the International Space Station. In order to maximize the return on investments, a strong international scientific collaboration is encouraged. These Science Teams support the preparation and utilisation of the flight hardware and exploit the measurement data. In the domain of physical sciences the topics dealt with at the time of writing the present paper cover fundamental physics, fluid physics, material sciences research and specific preparatory studies in anticipation of space exploration missions. The present article focuses on two-phase (liquid-gas phase change) heat transfer related experiments. These activities cover evaporation driven thermocapillary convection, pool- and flow boiling, evaporation and condensation of films together with wettability realted issues on both reference and structured surfaces, and heat pipe systems. Some hardware are in an advanced state of development, the feasibility of some was studied or is under definition at the time of the preparation of this paper. The objectives of the experiments are described together with their expected capabilities. Beyond the understanding of mostly fundamental physical processes, the data of all the described experiments are intended to be used to validate theoretical approaches and numerical tools, which are often developed by the Science Teams in parallel with the the flight hardware design activities of space industry. Content Type Journal Article Category Review Article Pages 1-6 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9286-1 Authors Balázs Tóth, Keplerlaan 1, 2200AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands ESA’s Science Management, Payload Development and Operations teams Science Teams Space Industry, Keplerlaan 1, 2200AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    A bibliographical review on the heat and mass transfer in gravity assisted Closed Loop Two Phase Thermosyphons (CLTPT) with channels having a hydraulic diameter of the order of some millimetres and input power below 1 kW is proposed. The available experimental works in the literature are critically analysed in order to highlight the main results and the correlation between mass flow rate and heat input in natural circulation loops. A comparison of different experimental apparatuses and results is made. It is observed that the results are very different among them and in many cases the experimental data disagree with the conventional theory developed for an imposed flow rate. The paper analyses the main differences among the experimental devices and try to understand these disagreements. From the present analysis it is evident that further systematic studies are required to generate a meaningful body of knowledge of the heat and mass transport mechanism in these devices for practical applications in cooling devices or energy systems. Content Type Journal Article Category S.I. Gravitational Effects on Liquid Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9281-6 Authors Alessandro Franco, Department of Energy and System Engineering (DESE), University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy Sauro Filippeschi, Department of Energy and System Engineering (DESE), University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description:    In the present work the behavior of single vapor bubbles of FC-72, generated on a thermal capacitive heater element, has been investigated during microgravity. A newly developed heater design allows temperature measurements by highspeed infrared thermography on the backside of the heater surface at a distance of approx. 800 nm from the fluid/heater-interface. The employed heater was manufactured by Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) of a chromium based layer for better emissivity (Slomski et al., Mater Sci Technol 41:161–165, 2010 ) and a pure chromium heating layer supplying the energy required for bubble generation and sustainment by electrical heating. The thermal diffusivity of the employed Calcium Flouride (CaF) heater substrate is comparable to the thermal diffusivity of stainless steel, which makes this heater design very close to technical applications. The acquired transient temperature fields of the heater surface allow numerical determination of the local heat flux from the heater surface to the fluid. A local temperature drop and high heat fluxes have been observed in the vicinity of the 3-phase contact line. This effect has already been reported by former publications for thin stainless steel foil heaters (Stephan and Hammer, Int J Heat Mass Transfer 30:119–125, 1994 ; Wagner et al., Int J Heat Mass Transfer 42:875–883, 2006 ) and is also confirmed for heaters with significantly higher thermal capacities. Content Type Journal Article Category S.I. Gravitational Effects on Liquid Pages 1-8 DOI 10.1007/s12217-011-9273-6 Authors Sebastian Fischer, Institute for Technical Thermodynamics, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 32, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany Stefan Herbert, Institute for Technical Thermodynamics, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 32, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany Axel Sielaff, Institute for Technical Thermodynamics, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 32, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany Elena Maja Slomski, State Material Testing Institute Darmstadt, Institute for Material Technology, Surface Technology and Corrosion, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Grafenstr. 2, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany Peter Stephan, Institute for Technical Thermodynamics, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 32, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany Matthias Oechsner, State Material Testing Institute Darmstadt, Institute for Material Technology, Surface Technology and Corrosion, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Grafenstr. 2, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany Journal Microgravity Science and Technology Online ISSN 1875-0494 Print ISSN 0938-0108

Description: SJ-10 program provides a mission of space microgravity experiments including both fields of microgravity science and space life science aboard the 24th recoverable satellite of China. Scientific purpose of the program is to promote the scientific research in the space microgravity environment by operating the satellite at lower earth orbit for 2 weeks. There are totally 27 experiments, including 17 ones in the field of microgravity science (microgravity fluid physics 6, microgravity combustion 3, and space materials science 8) and 10 in the field of space life science (radiation biology 3, gravitational biology 3, and space biotechnology 4). These experiments were selected from more than 200 applications. The satellite will be launched in the end of 2015 or a bit later. It is expected that many fruitful scientific results on microgravity science and space life science will be contributed by this program.

Description: Acoustic levitation is one of the levitation technique which is expected to be used for analytical chemistry and manufacturing new materials. Thus, it is important to gather the knowledge about acoustically levitated droplet. The purpose of this study is to investigate the heat transfer and flow behavior under phase change process of an acoustically levitated droplet. The following results were obtained from experiments. Evaporation process and external flow structure of the levitated droplet is visualized by a high speed camera and it is found that they differ by the type of fluid. Toroidal vortices are observed near the surface of the ethanol solution droplet. Heat transfer coefficient is estimated from the volume change and temperature gradient. It is substantially higher than that estimated by the existing experimental correlation.

Description: Fractals are defined as geometric shapes that exhibit symmetry of scale. This simply implies that fractal is a shape that it would still look the same even if somebody could zoom in on one of its parts an infinite number of times. This property is also called self-similarity with several applications including nano-pharmacology and drug nanocarriers. We are interested in the study of the properties of fractal aggregates in a microgravity environment above an orbiting spacecraft. To model the effect we use a complete expression for the gravitational acceleration. In particular on the surface of the Earth the acceleration is corrected for the effect of oblateness and rotation. In the gravitational acceleration the effect of oblateness can be modeled with the inclusion of a term that contains the J 2 harmonic coefficient, as well as a term that depends on the square of angular velocity of the Earth. In orbit the acceleration of gravity at the point of the spacecraft is a function of the orbital elements and includes only in our case the J 2 harmonic since no Coriolis force is felt by the spacecraft. Using the fitting parameter d = 3.0 we have found that the aggregate monomer number N is not significantly affected and exhibits a minute 0.0001 % difference between the geocentric and areocentric latitudes of 90° and 0°. Finally for circular and elliptical orbits around Earth and Mars of various inclinations and eccentricities the aggregate monomer number it’s not affected at all at the orbital altitude of 300 km.

Description: Numerous studies have been carried out to investigate the hypergravity effect on plants, where seedlings (4–5 days old) were continuously exposed and grown under hypergravity condition. Here, we have used a novel ‘shortterm hypergravity exposure experimental method’ where imbibed caryopses (instead of seedlings) were exposed to higher hypergravity values ranging from 500 g to 2500 g for a short interval time of 10 minutes and post short-term hypergravity treated caryopses were grown under 1 g conditions for five days. Changing patterns in caryopsis germination and growth, along with various photosynthetic and biochemical parameters were studied. Results revealed the significant inhibition of caryopsis germination and growth in short-term hypergravity treated seeds over control. Photosynthesis parameters such as chlorophyll content, rate of photosynthesis (P N ), transpiration rate (Evap) and stomatal conductance (Gs), along with intracellular CO 2 concentration (C int ) were found to be affected significantly in 5 days old seedlings exposed to short-term hypergravity treatment. In order to investigate the cause of observed inhibition, we examined the α -amylase activity and antioxidative enzyme activities. α -amylase activity was found to be inhibited, along with the reduction of sugars necessary for germination and earlier growth in short-term hypergravity treated caryopses. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase and guaiacol peroxidase were increased in short-term hypergravity treated caryopses, suggesting that caryopses might have experienced oxidative stress upon short-term hypergravity exposure.

Description: The following article deals with the algorithm applied to recover lost microacceleration data using fractal quality of microaccelerations witch occur in the indoor environment of space laboratory. This quality was discovered by the author. Using this algorithm it is possible to check efficiency and operating conditions of measuring equipment during an orbital flight of space laboratory.

Description: We report preliminary results on experimental investigations on condensation in the framework of the European Space Agency funded programme Enhanced Condensers in Microgravity (ENCOM-2) which aims at better understanding underlying phenomena during condensation. The first experiment is a study on condensation of HFE on external curvilinear surface of 15 mm height during reduced gravity experiments. It is found that the local minimum of the film thickness exists at the conjugation area of condensed film and the meniscus at the bottom of the fin; this leads to the local maximum of the heat transfer coefficient, which we also found moves towards the fin tip. The second experiment is a study of falling films hydrodynamics inside a vertical long pipe. In particular, characteristics of wavy falling films produced employing intermittent liquid feed are examined in order to assess wave effects on film condensation. Preliminary results suggest that intermittent feed simply divides the film in two autonomous regions with the wave feature of each one depending only on its flow rate. The processing of registered film thickness data can lead to the estimation of the transverse velocity profile in the film, which is mainly responsible for heat transfer during condensation. The third experiment looks at in-tube convective condensation at low mass fluxes (typical of Loop Heat Pipes and Capillary Pumped Loops) of n-pentane inside a 0.56 mm diameter channel. The results show that the mean heat transfer in the annular zone when it is elongated may be less than the mean heat transfer when it is shorter, due to the interface deformation involved by surface tension effect. When the length of this annular zone reaches a critical value, the interface becomes unstable, and a liquid bridge forms, involving the release of a bubble. The heat transfer due to the phase-change in this isolated bubble zone appears to be very small compared to the sensible heat transfer: the bubbles evolve and collapse in a highly subcooled liquid. The last experiment concerns in-tube condensation of R134a inside a square channel of 1.23 mm hydraulic diameter at mass fluxes of 135 kg m −2 s −1 and 390 kg m −2 s −1 for three different configurations: horizontal, vertical downflow and vertical upflow. For the calculated heat transfer coefficient it is found that gravity has no effect on condensation in downflow configurations at 390 kg m −2 s −1 and in upflow conditions at both values of mass velocity. The effect of gravity on the condensation heat transfer coefficient becomes noteworthy in downflow at mass velocity G = 135 kg m −2 s −1 and vapour quality lower than 0.6.

Description: Spatial and temporal regulation of cell phenotype by mechanical forces is a growing field of research in health sciences since these stimuli influence cellular functions, such as proliferation, migration, differentiation and gene expression. In the context of the Fluolive project selected by the European Space Agency and aiming at evaluating the impact of gravity alterations on the cell phenotype, we have developed new bone-derived cell lines adapted for live-cell imaging of the cytoskeleton. Osteoblastic cells derived from human osteosarcomas were used as experimental models. U2-OS and SaoS-2 cells stably expressing TagGFP2- β -actin and mCherry- α -tubulin were established and single-cell clonal cultures were characterized in terms of recombinant proteins production and localization, fluorescence intensity, cell proliferation and migration rates. Living fluorescently-tagged cell lines allow real-time fluorescence microscopy of the cytoskeleton dynamics without bleaching and without alteration of cell morphology. U2-OS and SaoS-2 TagGFP2- β -actin and mCherry- α -tubulin clones will be used to monitor the effect of mechanical forces in models of altered gravity on Earth and possibly on the ISS.

Description: We propose a concept for future space gravity missions using cold atom interferometers for measuring the diagonal elements of the gravity gradient tensor and the spacecraft angular velocity. The aim is to achieve better performance than previous space gravity missions due to a very low white noise spectral behavior and a very high common mode rejection, with the ultimate goals of determining the fine structures of the gravity field with higher accuracy than GOCE and detecting time-variable signals in the gravity field better than GRACE.

Description: Separating gas-liquid two-phase flow is of practical importance for many space engineering systems. While droplet and bubble removal is a naturally occurring phenomenon in most terrestrial situations, the absence of buoyancy in a microgravity environment often results in situations where two disparate phases have no distinct inclination to separate from one another. Passive cyclonic separators can perform this task without moving parts and the reliability concerns of active separators. In such separation devices, separation efficiency is strongly influenced by the gas core behavior. Based on experimental and numerical investigations, the behavior of the gas core with two-phase injection is studied. A control-volume model is developed to capture the relevant physics of the flow in the separator. It is shown that the injection nozzle design, swirl number, and volumetric gas quality all have a major influence on the core size. The present investigation covers a range of volumetric quality from 0 to 0.75, and a range of swirl number from 17 to 28. Both homogeneous and non-homogeneous nozzles are used. The implications of the results are discussed in detail.

Description: The focus of the study is the estimation of the effects of microgravity on the central nervous activity and its underlying influencing mechanisms. To validate the microgravity-induced physiological and psychological effects on EEG, quantitative EEG features, cardiovascular indicators, mood state, and cognitive performances data collection was achieved during a 45 day period using a -6°head-down bed rest (HDBR) integrated approach. The results demonstrated significant differences in EEG data, as an increased Theta wave, a decreased Beta wave and a reduced complexity of brain, accompanied with an increased heart rate and pulse rate, decreased positive emotion, and degraded emotion conflict monitoring performance. The canonical correlation analysis (CCA) based cardiovascular and cognitive related EEG model showed the cardiovascular effect on EEG mainly affected bilateral temporal region and the cognitive effect impacted parietal-occipital and frontal regions. The results obtained in the study support the use of an approach which combines a multi-factor influential mechanism hypothesis. The changes in the EEG data may be influenced by both cardiovascular and cognitive effects.