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Spaceflight Procedures and Operations Utilized During the Seedling Growth Experiments

Joshua P. Vandenbrink
Joshua P. Vandenbrink
 and 
John Z. Kiss
John Z. Kiss
   | Jul 18, 2020
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Article Category: Research Article
Published Online: Jul 18, 2020
Page range: 38 - 46
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gsr-2016-0011
Keywords
© 2020 Joshua P. Vandenbrink et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1

Seed selection for the Seedling Growth experiments. A) A mature Arabidopsis seed selected for spaceflight experiment. B) Overly mature seed, which shows sign of discoloration and shriveling. C–F) Comparison of premature, mature, and overly-mature/unhealthy seeds. G) Overview of seed selection process – “*” indicates selected seeds while “X” indicates discarded seeds.
Seed selection for the Seedling Growth experiments. A) A mature Arabidopsis seed selected for spaceflight experiment. B) Overly mature seed, which shows sign of discoloration and shriveling. C–F) Comparison of premature, mature, and overly-mature/unhealthy seeds. G) Overview of seed selection process – “*” indicates selected seeds while “X” indicates discarded seeds.

Figure 2

Images of seeds placed on gridded membrane in the seed cassette of the Seedling Growth hardware. Surface sterilized seeds were selected based on physical appearance and placed on the membrane with micropyle facing up. This process ensures uniform orientation while germinating in conditions of microgravity.
Images of seeds placed on gridded membrane in the seed cassette of the Seedling Growth hardware. Surface sterilized seeds were selected based on physical appearance and placed on the membrane with micropyle facing up. This process ensures uniform orientation while germinating in conditions of microgravity.

Figure 3

Summary of the spaceflight experiment operations. A) Assembled seed cassette with cover open prior to incorporation into flight hardware. B) Seeds were selected by the principal investigator's (PI) team and hardware was assembled by NASA engineers in preparation of spaceflight. C) Hardware was loaded and launched on the SpaceX vehicle for transfer to the International Space Station (ISS). D) SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying hardware and samples docked with the International Space Station (ISS). E) Hardware containing the samples was loaded into the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) and run per the experimental timeline. Seedlings from the actual space experiment are shown. F) Experimental cassettes were removed by astronauts and G) placed into bandoliers before being frozen in the General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER) −80°C freezer. H) Samples were returned to Earth via SpaceX Dragon capsule. I) Frozen seedlings were processed by the PI's team for post-flight experiments.
Summary of the spaceflight experiment operations. A) Assembled seed cassette with cover open prior to incorporation into flight hardware. B) Seeds were selected by the principal investigator's (PI) team and hardware was assembled by NASA engineers in preparation of spaceflight. C) Hardware was loaded and launched on the SpaceX vehicle for transfer to the International Space Station (ISS). D) SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying hardware and samples docked with the International Space Station (ISS). E) Hardware containing the samples was loaded into the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) and run per the experimental timeline. Seedlings from the actual space experiment are shown. F) Experimental cassettes were removed by astronauts and G) placed into bandoliers before being frozen in the General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER) −80°C freezer. H) Samples were returned to Earth via SpaceX Dragon capsule. I) Frozen seedlings were processed by the PI's team for post-flight experiments.

Figure 4

Timeline of operations for Operations and Validations Testing (OVT) for Seedling Growth-2.
Timeline of operations for Operations and Validations Testing (OVT) for Seedling Growth-2.

Timeline for Seedling Growth-2 Operations.

LocationDates
Schedule Test (ST)Sample Prep - ARCSept. 2013
Operations - N-USOCOct. 2013
Operations Validations Test (OVT)Sample Prep - ARCNov. 2013
Operations - N-USOCDec. 2013
Spaceflight ExperimentSample Prep - ARCAug. 2014
Launch - KSCSept. 2014
Operations – ISSOct – Dec. 2014
Experiment Monitoring – ARC + N-USOCOct – Dec. 2014
Post-Flight RecoverySample Retrieval _ARCFeb. 2015
Sample Analysis – PI Laboratory2015 – 2016
eISSN:
2332-7774
Language:
English
Publication timeframe:
2 times per year
Journal Subjects:
Life Sciences, other, Materials Sciences, Physics
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