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On Friday, September 19, the descent vehicle of the Bion-M orbital laboratory No. 2 with living organisms on board successfully landed today in the steppes of the Orenburg region.
The scientific spacecraft was launched on August 20 from the Baikonur cosmodrome. 75 mice, about 1.5 thousand drosophila flies, as well as fungi, bacteria, cellular tissues and seeds of 25 rare plants from the Samara Botanic Garden (some of which are descendants of seeds that flew on the first Bion-M in 2013 and successfully germinated upon returning to the Earth) went into space. The main goal of the scientific program is studying biological effects of weightlessness and high-level cosmic radiation on living organisms at the systemic, organ, cellular and molecular levels.
The spacecraft Bion-M No. 2 was created at the Rocket and Space Centre “Progress” in Samara, and some of its scientific devices and equipment were developed and manufactured at Samara University. Along with scientists from all over Russia, the staff of the University’s Faculty of Biology, Botanic Garden, Institute of Space Instrumentation Engineering, and Research Institute of Modeling and Control Problems participated in preparing the scientific mission.
Using equipment developed at Samara University, prototypes of domestic extreme space electronics based on silicon carbide were tested aboard the biolaboratory. Various sets of Samara equipment monitored the temperature in containers with biological objects, helped provide the microcosmonauts with oxygen and heat, measured micro-accelerations and the magnetic field, and kept a detailed temperature log of the flight. Now scientists will have to analyze the results of experiments and conduct new research on the Earth.
We will wait for the "great-grandchildren"
For the flight on “Bion-M” No. 2, Samara University formed the team of seeds-cosmonauts in advance: the specialists of the Botanic Garden selected a batch of seeds from 25 rare plants listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation and the Red Book of the Samara Region.
The seeds were selected following the results of the thorough study of their health: they were literally shone through and examined under the microscope. Among those selected for the flight, there were, for example, seeds of plants, such as Bupleurum aureum, Schrenck’s tulip, fern-leaf peony, Laser trilobum, Persian poppy, Gypsophila zhegulensis, Asphodelina Krymskaya, pasqueflower, heartleaf crambe and some other species of red-book rare plants.
The space batch also included seeds of two plants to be grown from seeds that flew onboard the first Bion-M in 2013, and successfully germinated upon return to Earth: these are seeds of Dianthus andrzejowskianus and perennial flax. The “cosmonauts’ grandchildren”, that is, the seeds of those plants in their second generation, flew into orbit. Based on the results of the new flight, scientists should assess how staying in orbit will affect seed germination and post-flight development of seedlings, as well as try to analyze the effect of repeated exposure of space factors on plant generations.
Over the long history of space exploration, seeds of various plants have been in orbit more than once. The experiment conducted by Samara University’s scientists is unique because the object of their study are seeds of not agricultural crops, but ones of natural flora, especially rare species, and some of them are “descendants” of the seeds that have already been in space. Rare plants of the wild flora are physiologically more sensitive to environmental changes, so they, like that fairy-tale princess on a pea, will be able to show the influence of space flight factors much more vividly.
Space “thermometer”
For measuring the temperature in containers with biological objects, Samara University’s scientists developed and manufactured the space “thermometer”, a complex of scientific equipment MRT-2 (multichannel temperature recorder). It has no analogues in Russia and abroad and is completely assembled from domestic electronic components.
During the flight, the instrument complex kept a detailed temperature diary in containers placed on the outer surface of the orbital laboratory in open space conditions (the temperature in the compartments with mice and flies was measured by other equipment). The data were registered in a wide range of temperatures – from -150°C to +150°C.
This instrument complex is assumed to be further used as standard equipment in next domestic orbital laboratories of the series Bion-M.
Orbital “climate control”
From the space “thermometer” to the orbital “climate control”: the laboratory was furnished with the scientific equipment “SIGMA-2” developed at Samara University. It helped to create a comfortable temperature regime for various biological objects – cell cultures, microorganisms and plant seeds. This equipment operation can be simplified to compare with the effect of multi-zone climate control in a car, when different set temperatures are maintained in different places of the car interior.
The temperature conditions required for conducting the experiments were created by special heaters of a particular shape with electric coils, developed at the University. The temperature inside the units was monitored by 15 sensors. However, “SIGMA-2” was not only "climate control": along with providing set temperatures, it also regulated the composition of the nutrient medium for cell cultures.
Semiconductor of a special purpose
Using the scientific equipment “Carbon-2” created at Samara University, prototypes of domestic space electronics based on silicon carbide were tested on the board of the orbital laboratory. This semiconductor material is only the second to diamond and boron nitride in hardness, and is considered the most promising for the use in electronics operating under extreme conditions, such as high temperatures, gravitational overloads and radiation exposure.
During the tests, the characteristics and operability of the studied instrument structures in open space conditions were evaluated. The data obtained will make it possible to predict the parameters of the functioning of new semiconductor devices in space flight. Scientists expect that devices based on silicon carbide films may be an order of magnitude more reliable, more accurate and more durable than their analogues currently produced by the global space industry, and may find application in deep space missions, for example, during flights to Mars.
Take a deep breath!
Three sets of important technological and scientific equipment for the orbital laboratory were developed by the staff of Samara University’s Institute of Space Instrumentation Engineering (ISIE).
The ISIE scientists and engineers participated in developing the most important equipment of the biolab – the life support system (LSS). They have developed its control, monitoring and switching unit. Its task is to control supplying oxygen and removing carbon dioxide and ammonia, ventilate the supplied gas mixture and control the temperature and pressure in the gas cylinders. That is, the breathing and the life of the inhabitants of the orbital laboratory directly depended on the operation of this equipment.
For control the influencing forces, experimental conditions, and assessment of possible sources of stress for the living inhabitants of the orbital laboratory during the launch preparation, the launch, the orbital flight, and the landing, two instrument complexes, “KSKM-2” and “Monitor-SA”, were developed at the ISIE.
The “KSKM-2” complex measured the magnetic field and calculated micro-accelerations at specified points in the laboratory. These data will help evaluate the experimental results more accurately, since under zero gravity conditions, the presence of even minor micro-accelerations can have a major impact on the quality of the study.
The “Monitor-SA” instrument complex recorded data on acceleration, temperature, pressure, and magnetic field level inside the lander of the biolab through various sensors, as well as monitored the vehicle's position in space using navigation receivers. All information about the impacts and conditions of space experiments (research) has been recorded and will be thoroughly analyzed.
For reference:
Bion is a series of domestic spacecrafts for biological research. From 1973 to 1996, 11 satellites of the series were launched into outer space; several-dozen types of biological objects – unicellular organisms, plants, insects, fish, amphibians, turtles, rats, monkeys – visited space. In April 2013, the first upgraded biological satellite Bion-M was launched. Its “crew” included mice, desert rats, geckos, snails, crustaceans, fish and various microorganisms.
The material is prepared with the support of Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science, in the framework of the Decade of Science and Technology. See more detailed information on the website of the project “Possessed by Science”
Photo by Ivan Timoshenko
