<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>High-altitude balloons (HABs) present a valuable and cost-effective tool for educators and students to access the conditions that are analogous to space and extraterrestrial environments in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Historically, HABs have been used for meteorological measurements, observation, sampling of aerosols, and exposure of samples to upper atmosphere environments. The Earth’s stratosphere allows researchers access to a unique combination of wideband solar radiation, extreme cold, rarefied air, low humidity, and acute ionizing radiation—conditions that are relevant to space biology research. Here, we describe a reproducible payload for a HAB mission that can be constructed, launched, and retrieved for about $3,000. This general standard operating procedure can be used by educators, community scientists, and research teams working with limited resources.</abstract>

A High-Altitude Balloon Platform for Space Life Sciences Education

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle made its first flight above the Kármán Line, returning safely to Earth in November 2015. At the time when this paper is being written (February 2021), the system has conducted 14 flights, including 10 with research and education payloads aboard. More than 100 payloads have exercised a wide range of capabilities and interfaces, from small cubesat-form factor student payloads to large custom payloads of nearly 100 kg. Investigations have spanned a wide range of high-altitude and microgravity research objectives, as well as raising technology readiness level (TRL) on diverse hardware. This paper summarizes New Shepard's payload missions to date, and presents standardized and custom accommodations, both in the shirtsleeve cabin and directly exposed to the space environment.
</abstract>

Research Flights on Blue Origin's New Shepard

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The increasing availability of flights on suborbital rockets creates new avenues for the study of spaceflight effects on biological systems, particularly of the transitions between hypergravity and microgravity. This paper presents an initial comparison of the responses of Arabidopsis thaliana to suborbital and atmospheric parabolic flights as an important step toward characterizing these emerging suborbital platforms and their effects on biology. Transcriptomic profiling of the response of the Arabidopsis ecotype Wassilewskija (WS) to the aggregate suborbital spaceflight experiences in Blue Origin New Shepard and Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo revealed that the transcriptomic load induced by flight differed between the two flights, yet was biologically related to traditional parabolic flight responses. The sku5 skewing mutant and 14-3-3κ:GFP regulatory protein overexpression lines, flown in the Blue Origin and parabolic flights, respectively, each showed altered intra-platform responses compared to WS. An additional parabolic flight using the F-104 Starfighter showed that the response of 14-3-3κ:GFP to flight was modulated in a similar manner to the WS line. Despite the differing genotypes, experimental workflows, flight profiles, and platforms, differential gene expression linked to remodeling of central metabolic processes was commonly observed in the flight responses. However, the timing and directionality of differentially expressed genes involved in the conserved processes differed among the platforms. The processes included carbon and nitrogen metabolism, branched-chain amino acid degradation, and hypoxic responses. The data presented herein highlight the potential for various suborbital platforms to contribute insights into biological responses to spaceflight, and further suggest that in-flight fixation during suborbital experiments will enhance insights into responses during each phase of flight.
</abstract>

Shared Metabolic Remodeling Processes Characterize the Transcriptome of <italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</italic> within Various Suborbital Flight Environments

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Cell Research Experiment In Microgravity (CRExIM) was launched aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital vehicle on Tuesday, December 12, 2017, from the West Texas Launch Site in Van Horn, Texas. One of the aims of this science experiment was to assess the effects of microgravity on murine T-cells during suborbital flight. These cells were placed in a NanoLab with a data logger that sensed the acceleration, temperature, and relative humidity during preflight, flight, and postflight operations. Some discrepancies in sensor measurement were noticed, and these errors were attributed partly to the difference in sampling rates and partly to the different locations of the sensors, which made it difficult to obtain highly accurate measurements of the accelerations and to correlate both sets of data. This paper discusses the setbacks and lessons learned, which made our team find new alternatives while meeting all milestones as mandated by NanoRacks and Blue Origin. This manuscript highlights these alternatives that led to the success of the mission and gives recommendations that will enable customers to alleviate some of these challenges in future flights.</abstract>

Challenges of ERAU’s First Suborbital Flight Aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard M7 for the Cell Research Experiment In Microgravity (CRExIM)

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>This work investigates the suitability of membrane aerated biological reactors (MABRs) for biological treatment of a space-based waste stream consisting of urine, hygiene/grey water, and humidity condensate within an overall water recycling system. Water represents a critical limiting factor for human habitation and travel within space; thus, water recycling systems are essential. Biological treatment of wastewater provides a more efficient sustainable means of stabilizing the waste stream within water recycling system architectures in comparison to current chemical stabilization processes that utilize harsh chemicals, which represent both a hazardous and an unsustainable approach. To assess the capabilities of MABRs for providing microgravity compatible biological treatment and verify long duration operation and integration with desalination processes, two full-scale MABR systems were challenged with various loading rates and operational scenarios during sustained operation for over 1 year. The MABRs were able to maintain 196 g-C/m3-d and 194 g-N/m3-d volumetric conversion rates. Additionally the systems were able to handle intermittent loading and recover rapidly from system hibernation periods of up to 27 days. Overall, the use of MABRs within a wastewater treatment system architecture provides several potential benefits including minimizing the use of toxic chemical pretreatment solutions and providing an effluent solution that is easier to desalinate and dewater.</abstract>

Assessment of Membrane-Aerated Biological Reactors (MABRs) for Integration into Space-Based Water Recycling System Architectures

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>ABSTRACT</title>
One of the challenges of human spaceflight in deep space is the harsh radiation environment. The current best practices for mitigating radiation are via design and multifunctional materials. There have been many studies over the years showing low-Z materials as the best radiation mitigators for spaceflight. In addition, there have recently been several studies investigating hydrogen-loading of materials for fuel cells. If it is possible to load a material with additional low-Z materials — such as hydrogen — it may be possible to increase the radiation mitigating potential of these materials. Thus, our work is focused on metal hydrides (MHs), metal organic frameworks (MOFs), and nanoporous carbon composites (CNTs) that can be loaded with hydrogen or methane for radiation mitigation. Our previous simulation work focused on hydrogen-loading only, and investigated the capability of these materials during a particularly hard solar particle event (SPE) in October 1989. In these simulations, we found 50% of the investigated carbon composites outperformed high-density polyethylene (HDPE) — the current standard for passive radiation shielding. We also found 10% of the investigated MOFs outperformed HDPE. Therefore, we wanted to continue our simulation study of these materials to determine whether they may also show improvement over HDPE in a galactic cosmic ray (GCR) environment. Furthermore, there are concerns with using hydrogen as a loading material — a result of its flammability and instability in thermal extremes. Thus, we are also considering methane-loading of the MOFs and CNTs. The details of this work will be discussed in the paper. Overall, the results showed several MOFs, CNTs, and MHs that performed very well when compared with our typical spacecraft material of aluminum and our standard shielding material of HDPE. This study also showed there is little difference in the dose between hydrogen-loaded and methane-loaded materials of the same base chemistry.
</abstract>

Hydrogen- and Methane-Loaded Shielding Materials for Mitigation of Galactic Cosmic Rays and Solar Particle Events

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
This short article describes the major findings from the CVB experiment performed in the LMM on the International Space Station from 2010–2012. CVB was the first experiment to run in the new facility and focused on understanding the heat transfer and fluid mechanics occurring inside a wickless miniature heat pipe. The LMM was used to map the location of the vapor-liquid interface inside the device and to measure the film thickness profile on the walls of the device. Several interesting and unexpected phenomena were observed in microgravity including flooding of the heater end with liquid as the heat input increased, explosive nucleation of vapor bubbles at the heater end in the shortest version of the heat pipe tested, condensation on highly superheated surfaces, and the spontaneous formation of rip currents as the device tried to enhance the contact line area available for evaporation of the liquid.
</abstract>

Constrained Vapor Bubble Experiment (CVB) in the Light Microscopy Module (LMM)

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Accelerated aging in space is detrimental to long-term space missions. The environmental conditions in space (e.g., microgravity and radiation) cause harmful effects similar to those seen during aging. As the mechanistic pathways underlying accelerated aging in spaceflight are not fully understood, the identification of critical targets for promoting longevity in spaceflight remains challenging. We analyzed genomics data from the GLDS-207 project to identify potential targets related to longevity. Analysis of RNA-seq data from four Drosophila variants using the GeneLab Galaxy platform indicated that spaceflight significantly affected differential gene expression in the heads of flies, specifically in the seizure (sei) mutant, which alters the voltage gated potassium channels in the cell membrane. Spaceflight induced a significant decrease in the expression of the retinal degeneration A gene (rdgA) in mutant flies that survived the 30-day space mission. This gene encodes for the protein diacylglycerol kinase (DGK), which modulates the activation of the mechanistic target of the rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway, known to negatively regulate aging. Therefore, DGK may be a potential target for promoting longevity in space conditions. Further investigation of the effects of decreased rdgA expression on the lifespan of other organisms under spaceflight conditions will clarify the role of DGK in promoting longevity.
</abstract>

Diacylglycerol kinase is downregulated in the Drosophila Seizure Mutant during Spaceflight

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
NASA's recent emphasis on human exploration of the Moon and, ultimately, Mars necessitates a transition from a focus of its research in the biological sciences from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to platforms beyond LEO. Fundamental research questions need to be addressed to enable humans to thrive in deep space. Work beyond LEO necessitates a shift in technology and the utilization of organisms in autonomous experiments, especially in the near term. The Beyond LEO Instrumentation &amp; Science Series Science Working Group (BLISS-SWG) was established to provide NASA's Space Biology Program input on its strategy for developing research priorities and tools for exploration beyond LEO. Here, we present an abridged version of the first annual report of the BLISS-SWG, which is publicly available on the NASA Technical Reports Server. Seven priority areas and pertinent research questions were identified for research beyond LEO in the coming 2–5 years. Appropriate experimental organisms and technology development needs for research addressing these questions are summarized. The BLISS-SWG aims for this review to serve as a resource for the space biology and science and engineering communities as they develop research to understand risks and mitigation strategies for deep-space stressors on human crew, plants, and their microbiomes.
</abstract>

Strategies, Research Priorities, and Challenges for the Exploration of Space Beyond Low Earth Orbit

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
There is a broad interest in both industry and academe in understanding the time-evolution in the microstructure of colloidal gels, as such changes affect the properties of the gels including product self-life and rheology. In colloidal gels, the time-evolution results from the magnitude and the relative proportions of forces—including gravity, acting on the colloidal particles. The aim of this study was to measure the magnitude of the Soret force acting on the colloidal particles in a model gel in the microgravity on the International Space Station, as a proxy for gravitational forces in Earth-based experiments. It was found that the Soret force could be used to create an effective gravitational force of between about 10 × 10−17 N (3 milli-G) and 3 × 10−17 N (1 milli-G) on the colloidal particles, where the lower limit is set by the dominance of particle flux from Brownian forces. These results should allow mapping the behavior of colloidal gels broadly described in literature on other gels—such as polymer gels of industrial interest, where the colloidal particles are much smaller.
</abstract>

Universities Space Research Association (USRA) with GEARS (Glenn Engineering and Research Support), NASA Glenn Research Center

The Magnitude of the Soret Force on Colloidal Particles Measured in Microgravity

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
In long-duration space missions, crops will supplement the astronaut diet. One proposed crop type is microgreens, the young seedlings of edible plants that are known for their high nutritional levels, intense flavors, colorful appearance, and variety of textures. While these characteristics make microgreens promising for space crop production, their small size presents a unique challenge within the microgravity environment. To address this challenge, a microgreen planting box was developed to improve microgreen harvest techniques both in 1 g and in microgravity without concern for contamination by roots. Using this microgreen planting box, three parabolic flights were conducted where two different bagging methods (attached and manual) and three different microgreen cutting methods (Guillotine, Pepper Grinder, Scissors) were tested. In flight, the microgreens were contained within a glovebox and footage of all microgreen harvests was recorded. Statistical and trade analyses revealed that the combination of Cutting &amp; Bagging method that performed the best was the Pepper Grinder with attached bagging. This was based on the following criteria: (1) average execution time, (2) microgreen debris, (3) biomass yield, (4) root debris, (5) microgreens left on the hardware, (6) number of seedlings growing under the lids, (7) hardware failure, and (8) perceived ease of use. This process allowed us to identify weaknesses and strengths of all hardware types and helped us identify major points of improvement within the hardware design to harvest microgreens in microgravity. Future directions include microgreen harvests in analog environments and further development of microgreen Cutting &amp; Bagging method.
</abstract>

Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CNRS, Institut Pascal

Design, Build and Testing of Hardware to Safely Harvest Microgreens in Microgravity

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Plant biology experiments in microgravity face many challenges, among which are the constraints of the growth platforms available on the International Space Station (ISS). Protocols for preservation and sample return to Earth often limit efficient dissection of seedlings for downstream tissue-specific analysis. The Advanced Plant Experiment (APEx)-07 spaceflight experiment required a large quantity of dissectible, well-preserved seedlings suitable for omics analysis. During preflight tests, protocols were developed for using an agar-polyethersulfone (PES) membrane platform for seedling growth that allowed for seedling germination and growth aboard the ISS and rapid freezing to provide intact seedlings for dissection and extraction of high-quality DNA, RNA, and protein. Each component of the growth setup was carefully examined: membrane color, hydration and growth substrate, capacity for delayed germination, growth duration, harvest approach, and preservation pipelines were all individually optimized. Sterilized Arabidopsis seeds were adhered to PES membrane with guar gum. Membranes were laid onto 0.8% agar containing 0.5x Murashige and Skoog (MS) in 10 cm square Petri dishes and held at 4 °C until the experiment was actuated by placing the Petri dishes at room temperature. Seedlings were grown vertically for 12 days. PES membranes were removed from the agar, placed in the Petri dish lid, wrapped in foil, and frozen at −80 °C. Seedlings were dissected into roots and shoots and provided high-quality DNA, RNA, and protein. The system is simple, potentially adaptable for seedlings of multiple species, scalable and cost effective, and offers added versatility to existing ISS plant growth capabilities.
</abstract>

Polyethersulfone (PES) Membrane on Agar Plates as a Plant Growth Platform for Spaceflight

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The first Veggie plant growth chamber was installed on the International Space Station in 2014. Crop plants can be grown in Veggie using plant pillows, small rooting packets that contain substrate, fertilizer, and germination wicks along with attached seeds. The pillows were designed to interface with the Veggie root mat reservoir watering system to provide a capillary water column to growing plants. In preparation for flight, methods of arcillite substrate washing, autoclaving, and drying were established to reduce dust and to provide a dry sterile substrate. A controlled released fertilizer mixed into arcillite substrate provides nutrition for plant growth. Methods of seed surface sterilization were tested for both germination and microbial contamination, and the optimum methods were determined for candidate flight crops. Plant pillows were prepared for flight by cutting and inserting germination wicks, filling with the substrate/fertilizer mix, and sewing closed. Following pillow filling, seeds were attached to the wicks, and the pillows were packaged for flight. Pillow preparation methods have been successfully tested in the VEG-01 hardware validation tests on the International Space Station with ‘Outredgeous’ lettuce and ‘Profusion’ zinnia, and in the VEG-03 test, using ‘Outredgeous’ lettuce and ‘Tokyo bekana’ Chinese cabbage.</abstract>

Plant Pillow Preparation for the Veggie Plant Growth System on the International Space Station

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>ABSTRACT</title>
Exposure to total-body radiation induces hematological changes, which can detriment one’s immune response to wounds and infection. Here, the decreases in blood cell counts after acute radiation doses of γ-ray or proton radiation exposure, at the doses and dose-rates expected during a solar particle event (SPE), are reported in the ferret model system. Following the exposure to γ-ray or proton radiation, the ferret peripheral total white blood cell (WBC) and lymphocyte counts decreased whereas neutrophil count increased within 3 hours. At 48 hours after irradiation, the WBC, neutrophil, and lymphocyte counts decreased in a dose-dependent manner but were not significantly affected by the radiation type (γ-rays verses protons) or dose rate (0.5 Gy/minute verses 0.5 Gy/hour). The loss of these blood cells could accompany and contribute to the physiological symptoms of the acute radiation syndrome (ARS).
</abstract>

The Effects of Gamma and Proton Radiation Exposure on Hematopoietic Cell Counts in the Ferret Model

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>ABSTRACT</title>
Plants will be an important component of off-Earth life support systems for food production and atmosphere recycling. “Veggie” is a small vegetable production unit designed for space flight, with a passive water delivery system. Plants can be grown in Veggie using small bags with a wicking surface containing media and fertilizer, i.e., pillows. Pillows planted with seeds can be placed on the wicking surface of the Veggie reservoir and water will wick throughout the media. Multiple small salad and herb species were grown in Veggie analog conditions using both commercial peat-based media and arcillite. Biometric measurements and microbial loads were assessed. Some species grew better in a particular media, but no general trends were apparent. Lettuce plants grew best in the blends of the peat-based and arcillite media. Microbial counts were lower on plants grown in arcillite. Four media types (peat-based mix, arcillite, and blends of the two) were tested in the rooting pillows; tests included Chinese cabbage, Swiss chard, lettuce, snow pea, and radish. Most species grew best in blends of the commercial mix and arcillite. Edible biomass production varied from 3.5-8 grams dry mass/m2/day with lettuce having the lowest biomass and Chinese cabbage highest. Radish plants showed an increasing percentage of partitioning to edible roots with increasing arcillite in the media. Pillows appear to offer a simple, effective strategy for containing rooting media and avoiding free water while growing plants in the Veggie hardware.
</abstract>

Preliminary Species and Media Selection for the Veggie Space Hardware

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Despite centuries of scientific balloon flights, only a handful of experiments have produced biologically relevant results. Yet unlike orbital spaceflight, it is much faster and cheaper to conduct biology research with balloons, sending specimens to the near space environment of Earth's stratosphere. Samples can be loaded the morning of a launch and sometimes returned to the laboratory within one day after flying. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) flies large unmanned scientific balloons from all over the globe, with missions ranging from hours to weeks in duration. A payload in the middle portion of the stratosphere (~35 km above sea level) will be exposed to an environment similar to the surface of Mars—temperatures generally around −36°C, atmospheric pressure at a thin 1 kPa, relative humidity levels &lt;1%, and harsh illumination of ultraviolet (UV) and cosmic radiation levels (about 100 W/m2 and 0.1 mGy/d, respectively)—that can be obtained nowhere else on the surface of the Earth, including environmental chambers and particle accelerator facilities attempting to simulate space radiation effects. Considering the operational advantages of ballooning and the fidelity of space-like stressors in the stratosphere, researchers in aerobiology, astrobiology, and space biology can benefit from balloon flight experiments as an intermediary step on the extraterrestrial continuum (i.e., ground, low Earth orbit, and deep space studies). Our review targets biologists with no background or experience in scientific ballooning. We will provide an overview of large balloon operations, biology topics that can be uniquely addressed in the stratosphere, and a roadmap for developing payloads to fly with NASA.</abstract>

Ballooning for Biologists: Mission Essentials for Flying Life Science Experiments to Near Space on NASA Large Scientific Balloons

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Increasing efforts to move into space have driven the need for new facilities that are capable of simulating weightlessness and other space gravity conditions on Earth. Simulation of weightlessness/<italic>microgravity</italic> (approximately 10−6<italic>g</italic>) is conducted in different earthbound and flight-based facilities, often with poor availability. Other conditions such as lunar or Martian gravity with their partial Earth gravity/<italic>hypogravity</italic> cannot be performed at a large scale for scientific research on Earth. For multiple Earth gravity/<italic>hypergravity</italic>, simulation centrifuges are available, but they do not allow the possibility of abrupt acceleration changes. To support this wide range of conditions, a new technique is being developed to combine all of these requirements into a single drop tower facility. Currently under construction, the <italic>Einstein-Elevator</italic> of the Hannover Institute of Technology at the Leibniz Universität Hannover is an earthbound tool created for simulating micro-, hypo-, and hypergravity research with a high repetition rate. The facility will be capable of performing 100 experiments per day (8-h work shift), each creating 4 s of microgravity. For the first time, statistics can be applied in experiments under space gravity conditions at favorable costs and short mission times. The Einstein-Elevator offers room for large experiments with a diameter up to 1.7 m and a height up to 2 m as well as weights up to 1,000 kg. To perform larger experiments under different gravitational conditions, it was necessary to develop an innovative drive and guide concept. The Einstein-Elevator will be available for general research under different gravity conditions from 2018 onward.</abstract>

Einstein-Elevator: A New Facility for Research from μ<italic>g</italic> to 5 <italic>g</italic>

<abstract><title style='display:none'>ABSTRACT</title>Space travel beyond the Earth’s protective magnetosphere risks exposing astronauts to ionizing radiation, such as that generated during a solar particle event (SPE). Ionizing radiation has well documented effects on blood cells and it is generally assumed that these effects contribute to the hematopoietic syndrome (HS), observed in animals and humans, following exposure to total body irradiation (TBI). The purpose of the current study was to assess the role of gender on the effects of gamma radiation on blood cells. C3H/HeN mice were irradiated with a 137Cs gamma source. Radiation had similar effects on white blood cells (WBCs), lymphocytes, and granulocytes in male and female C3H/HeN mice, while red blood cell (RBC) counts and hematocrit values remained stable following radiation exposure. Non-irradiated male mice had 13% higher platelet counts, compared with their female counterparts, and showed enhanced recovery of platelets on day 16 following radiation exposure. Hence, gender differences influence the response of platelets to TBI exposure.</abstract>

Effect of Gender on the Radiation Sensitivity of Murine Blood Cells

Guidelines for Reviewers

Editorial Policies

Instructions to Authors

Gravitational and Space Research

 Gravitational and Space Research is the main journal of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) and publishes quality, peer-reviewed manuscripts...

 Gravitational and Space Research is the main journal of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) and...