Microg Experiments

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Micro-g Experiments

• Richard Garriott Mission

Dr. Jason Maroothynaden
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What is the International Space Station (ISS)?

• How big is it?- 108.5 meters by 72.8 meters
• How high does it fly?- altitude between 350 and
  450 km
• How many people onboard what nationalities
  are they?- Mainly Russian and
  American,followed by visitorsfrom all over the
  world

Richard will be here
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What is weightlessness?

• Astronauts weightless because they are falling
  under the influence of gravity. This is known a
  free fall
• Astronauts do not hit the ground in their free
  fall because their horizontal velocity is so big
  that they miss the Earth and almost end up where
  they started
• True weightlessness can not be achieved on the
  ISS. Atmospheric drag slows down the ISS and its
  force is very small millionth of an Earth g.
  This is micro-gravity. It is so small, astronauts
  do not feel it

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What sort of experiments can I do?

• Fun
• Quick easy to set-up- No more than 5-minutes
  per task!
• Clearly show something
• Cool to see!- They should make interesting
  photographs and videos
• Safe for the crew and space station
• As interactive as possible - Can be done in your
  classroom- Compare with what Richard saw

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What can I use?

• You can use the contents of the astronaut kit bag
• You should not make anything yourself, because it
  would have to be rigorously tested and safety
  qualified for spaceflight. This is very expensive
  and time-consuming.
• As a minimum, you should try to use- Digital
  SLR camera
• - Digital point-and-shoot camera
• - Video cassettes
• - Flash memory cards

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Ideas 1

• Your experiment could- show the lack of gravity
  (weightlessness) on food, the body, living in
  space, anything you learnt in science
• What how does a candle burn in space?
• What does water look like in space?
• Is there mould in space?

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Alien life forms (ALFS)

• Experiment Are there aliens in space?

• What am I going to demonstrate?- Because of
  humans living in ISS, there are
  micro-organisms/aliens on ISS. Using damp
  bread/tortilla, space mould will be grown and the
  effect of micro-gravity on its growth and type
  will be investigated!!!
• What is Richard going to do?- Place a damp
  tortilla inside two sealed zip-lock bags and set
  aside. Record the mould growth every-day of his
  mission.
• Astronaut set of instructions- Remove a 10cm
  square piece of tortilla from its packaging
  wet using onboard water. Place in ziplock bag and
  seal. Place inside another ziplock bag and seal.
  Stick a piece of Velcro to on-side of bag. Attach
  the bag to a floor of ISS where it can remain
  undisturbed for duration of mission. Every day,
  at the same time, take photograph of contents,
  paying special attention to any mould growth.-
  Pupils will do the same on Earth in the
  class-room/home-Compare growth. Which one is
  more colorful?- Is mould growth slower in space?

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Ideas 2

• Your experiment could- demonstrate what it is
  like to live on the ISS
• What does the ISS sound like?
• What does space sound like?
• What toys are already onboard the ISS?
• How do you entertain yourself in the ISS?
• How do you dress in space?
• How do you go toilet in space?
• Does a spoon work in space?
• Is the taste of food different in space?

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Slow Coach!

• Experiment How difficult is it to work in
  weightlessness?

• What am I going to demonstrate?- Apart from
  adaptation, the most difficult thing for
  astronauts to get used to is working in
  micro-gravity. Working in space takes twice to
  ten times as long as doing the same thing on
  Earth. It can drive you crazy!!!
• What is Richard going to do?- Get him to time
  doing 4 simple tasks1. Changing
  batteries/video-tapes in his camera2. Putting a
  pair of socks on3. Making a meal / cup of tea4.
  Going to the toilet
• Astronaut set of instructions- Using your
  wrist-watch, a pencil, a table, record how long
  it takes to do each of the 4 tasks at the
  beginning of your mission, in the middle and at
  the end- Ask ISS crew member to film you
  performing each task- Pupils will do the same on
  Earth in the class-room/home-Compare times. Does
  it take more time to do things in space?- Does
  Richard get faster in space?

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Ideas 3

• Your experiment could- look out of the window
  (e.g. what does space, moon look like?)
• Can you see a satellite in space?
• Does the moon look bigger in space?
• Can you see the great wall of china from space?

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Snappy Snap

• Experiment Is the moon bigger in space?

• What am I going to demonstrate?- You can see the
  moon, planets and stars but it is not bigger in
  space. This is because it is 240,000 miles from
  Earth on ISS you are still about 1 thousandth
  of the distance closer to the moon. So it looks
  the same. Its the same with the stars planets,
  you may be able to see them but they will look
  the same as on Earth.
• What is Richard going to do?- Get him to look
  out of the window and use his video digital
  camera to take pictures of the following1. The
  moon2. A planet3. Satellites in orbit
• Astronaut set of instructions- Using a digital
  camera, take photographs of each of the 3
  objects- Pupils will do the same on Earth
  (either taking photographs or searching the
  internet)- Compare photographs.- Are the
  objects bigger in space? If so, which ones?

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Remember.

• It has to be cool to see
• Clearly demonstrate something
• Quick and easy to set-up understand
• Not dangerous to the crew or space station
• Use items in his astronaut kit bag
• Be filmed or photographed

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Good Luck!!!!