NASA Experiments Aboard METEOR
This fall NASA will participate as a customer in the launch and recovery of the METEOR mission, a commercial unmanned platform on which investigators from industry, universities and the space agency will perform experiments in space and then return the results to Earth. METEOR, which stands for Multiple Experiment Transporter to Earth Orbit and Return, will be launched aboard a commercial Conestoga rocket by EER Systems, of Vienna, VA, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA.
NASA is sponsoring eight payloads aboard METEOR. The following five experiments will be accommodated in the Recovery Module:
Commercial Protein Crystal Growth-Mixing is an experiment to investigate the effect of microgravity on the size and distribution of crystals in an insulin crystal formulation. This payload is sponsored by the Center for Macromolecular Crystallography, a Center for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS) based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Global Positioning System Receiver is included in the Recovery Module to record precise positioning data that will allow the reentry trajectory profile to be recreated and provide the detailed information necessary to validate the math model of the reentry event. This experiment is sponsored by NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA.
Materials Dispersion Apparatus is an automated miniature laboratory developed by Instrumentation Technology Associates to mix numerous fluids in microgravity for processing biotechnical samples. These will include samples to further research in cancer treatment, and bone and immune cell functions. This experiment is sponsored by the Consortium for Materials Development in Space at the University of Alabama, Huntsville.
Plant Module is an enclosed chamber, which can sustain plant life for long periods of time while in space. It will contain plants which will be used to investigate various physiological changes caused by prolonged exposure to the microgravity. This experiment is sponsored by BioServe Space Technologies, a CCDS located at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, on behalf of their commercial affiliates.
Three Dimensional Microgravity Accelerometer provides measurement of relative and absolute microgravity acceleration. This experiment is sponsored by the CCDS at the University of Alabama, Huntsville.
The following three NASA-sponsored experiments will be accommodated in the METEOR Service Module:
Capillary Pump Loop Performance will monitor the METEOR Service Module capillary pump loop system performance through temperature measurements. This experiment is sponsored by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD.
Frozen Start-up of a Heat Pipe will examine the thermal behavior of commercial high capacity heat pipes under extreme cold environments while in microgravity. This experiment is sponsored by Clemson University, Clemson, SC and Texas A&M University, College Station.
Solar Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV) Variability Experiment will study the response of the thermosphere to solar EUV variations and variability of the Solar EUV Irradiance. This experiment is sponsored by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, and NASA.
The Service Module of METEOR, with its three NASA sponsored experiments, is due to remain in orbit for a minimum of one year. The Recovery Module, with its five NASA sponsored experiments, is expected to return to Earth with a landing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia approximately one month after launch.
For more information on these experiments, please contact:
David Steitz
Office of Public Affairs
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC 20546
(Phone: 202/358-1730)
(Email: dsteitz@nhqvax.hq.NASA.gov)
