Abstract
In past years, hundreds of space life sciences investigations have been conducted on board the space shuttle, Skylab, and Spacelab. Experiments are now conducted on board the ISS, where special laboratory equipment and experimental procedures are specifically designed for use in space. In addition, flight experiments must fit within physical limits of the spacecraft and its resource constraints. Yet, as many experiments as possible are to be conducted on each mission to achieve maximum scientific return. This chapter reviews the constraints of space life sciences missions and the step-by-step procedures “to fly” an experiment.
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Notes
- 1.
Overheard at space symposia:
- one case: “In my experience…”
- two cases: “Recent studies showed…”
- three cases: “Case after case after case…”
- 2.
Another mission rule states that a 1-h break must be observed after data collection during experiments on landing day exceeds 4 h.
- 3.
These Research Announcement can be found online at the following URL: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/HSF_Research/SEM0TV4KXMF_0.html [Accessed 22 October 2010].
- 4.
The Russians abide by the philosophy of “if it is not broken, don’t fix it!” The Mir space station was originally planned to stay 8 years in orbit, and was actually used for more than 15 years.
- 5.
According to NASA, approximately 40% of equipment flown in space for the first time does not work, often due to heat build-up from lack of convection, lack of dissipation of air bubbles, or designs more appropriate to normal gravity than microgravity.
- 6.
A popular poster in Houston claims “Houston, first word from the Moon”. Indeed, just after the Lunar Exploration Module had landed on the Moon in July 1969, the first communication between Astronaut Neil Armstrong and Earth began with those words: “Houston…Tranquility Base here… The Eagle has landed.”
- 7.
A plan is a high-level timeline, with activities tied to a particular day. A schedule is a detailed timeline, with activities tied to a particular time of day.
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Clément, G. (2011). An Investigator’s Guide. In: Fundamentals of Space Medicine. Space Technology Library, vol 23. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9905-4_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9905-4_9
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