January 6, 2014

Image Caption: The SPHERES-Slosh hardware used aboard the space station will help researchers study the movement of fluids in microgravity. The may assist with designing new, more efficient fuel tanks. Credit: Florida Institute of Technology/Dr. Daniel Kirk

NASA

Delivering ants to space, sloshy fluids for robotic satellites, a study on antibiotic drug resistance and other small satellites to the International Space Station can be a tough job, and now Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va., can help carry the load. In its first commercial resupply journey after completion of NASAs Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, the Orbital-1 mission will deliver some very interesting new scientific investigations to the space station.

Orbitals Antares rocket is planned to launch Jan. 8 from Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. Antares is scheduled to deliver the Cygnus spacecraft full of new research investigations, supplies and other space station hardware to the space station on Jan. 12.

One of the new research investigations traveling to the orbiting laboratory is the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus Science Insert 06: Ants in Space (CSI-06). Students in grades K-12 will observe videos of these ant-ronauts recorded by cameras on the space station. The students will also conduct their own ant interaction investigations in their classrooms as part of a related curriculum. Educational investigations such as Ants in Space are designed to motivate budding scientists in primary and secondary school to pursue their interest in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

The Ants in Space study examines the behavior of ants by comparing groups living on Earth to those in space. The idea is that ant interactions are dependent upon the number of ants in an area. Measuring these interactions may be important in determining behavior of ants in groups. This insight may add to existing knowledge of swarm intelligence, or how the complex behavior of a group is influenced by the actions of individuals. Developing a better understanding of swarm intelligence may lead to more refined mathematical procedures for solving complex problems, like routing trucks, scheduling airlines or telecommunications efficiency.

A second investigation launching with the Orbital-1 mission is the SPHERES-Slosh study. SPHERES-Slosh will use the existing space station facility of free-flying satellites known as Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES). The goal is to look at how liquids slosh around inside containers in microgravity, showing how applied external forces impact the contents of those containers. The experiments simulate how rocket fuels move around inside their tanks in response to motor thrusts used to push a rocket through space. The study of the physics of liquid motion in microgravity is important because Earths most powerful rockets use liquid fuels to take satellites and other spacecraft into orbit. Having a deeper understanding of rocket propellants may lower the cost of industry and taxpayer-funded satellite launches by improving fuel efficiency.

A third investigation aboard the Cygnus spacecraft is a study of drug-resistant bacteria. Drug-resistant bacteria are of increasing concern to public health. As bacteria grow more resistant to antibiotics, there are less effective pharmaceutical treatment options for people with bacterial infections. Researchers for the Antibiotic Effectiveness in Space (AES-1) investigation aboard the space station look to determine gene expression patterns and changes using E. coli. This research builds upon previous space station investigations into drug-resistant bacteria, such as the National Laboratory Pathfinder Vaccine Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (NLP-Vaccine-MRSA) study of what is commonly referred to as staph infection.

The findings from AES-1 may help improve antibiotic development on Earth. Improving the efficacy of antibiotics and reducing their resistance to bacteria is a priority for health care professionals.

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Orbital’s Cygnus Delivering New Science To The International Space Station