Geoflow – "Mini-Earth" to Produce New Findings Concerning Earths Convection Currents on ISS

Geoflow, the geophysical experimental system built by Airbus Defence and Space on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA), is once again being used on board the International Space Station (ISS).

The photo shows German astronaut Alexander Gerst starting to reinstall the system. In the coming weeks, the laboratorys scientific instruments and the operational readiness of the systems ground segment will first be checked before a new series of experiments can be started.

The purpose of Geoflow research, led by the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) in Cottbus, Germany, is to learn more about convection currents beneath the Earths surface like magma movement. The Cottbus experiment recreates a kind of miniature Earth. Thanks to zero gravity conditions, its currents can be studied in the space laboratory under force fields that can be modified. This is achieved by using a viscous fluid to fill the space between two concentric spheres of varying temperature, which rotate when a high voltage is applied (to simulate an artificial gravity field). A laser-based camera system is inserted into the fluid to photograph the pattern of the magma currents.

Since 2012, the module built in Friedrichshafen, Germany, already has proven in two series of experiments that it can successfully simulate currents in the Earths mantle.

About Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus Group formed by combining the business activities of Cassidian, Astrium and Airbus Military. The new division is Europes number one defence and space enterprise, the second largest space business worldwide and among the top ten global defence enterprises. It employs some 40,000 employees generating revenues of approximately 14 billion per year.

Press Contacts: Ralph Heinrich + 49 89 607 33971 ralph.heinrich@astrium.eads.net Astrid Emerit + 33 1 39 06 89 43 astrid.emerit@astrium.eads.net Mathias Pikelj + 49 7545 8 9123 mathias.pikelj@astrium.eads.net

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Geoflow - "Mini-Earth" to Produce New Findings Concerning Earths Convection Currents on ISS