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Observation of the Chlorophyll Chromatography Process in Weightlessness (Chlorophyl)
03.22.12

Overview | Description | Applications | Operations | Results | Publications | Images

Experiment/Payload Overview

Information provided courtesy of the Energia website.
Brief Summary

CCM will test the chromatography of chlorophyll (the separation of pigment in plants on chromatography paper by capillary action) from Brazilian native plants.

Principal Investigator

Information Pending

Co-Investigator(s)/Collaborator(s)

Information Pending

Payload Developer Information Pending

Sponsoring Space Agency

Roscosmos

Sponsoring Organization:

Information Pending

ISS Expedition Duration:

April 2006 - September 2006



Expeditions Assigned

13

Previous ISS Missions

Information Pending

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Experiment/Payload Description

Research Summary

Information Pending

Description

Observation of the chlorophyll chromatography process in zero-g conditions with an educational view.

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Applications

Space Applications

Information Pending

Earth Applications

Information Pending

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Operations

Operational Requirements

Information Pending

Operational Protocols

Transmission of a mixture of pigments through a layer of colorless sorbent and registration of colored areas of chromagrams. Two labeled sealed experimental chambers are used in the experiment. Each chamber contains a sheet of chromatographic paper and a syringe filled with a chlorophyll solution. Chlorophyll is produced from leaves of a Brazilian plant and dissolved in ethyl alcohol. The chlorophyll chromatography activation is performed through solution injection to the chromatographic paper. As molecules in chlorophyll pigments have different characteristics (such as size and dissolubility), they move with different velocities over the paper sheet under the effect of solvent (ethylene glycol in this case). Chlorophyll has different pigments (carotenes, xanthophylls, chlorophyll A and chlorophyll B) of a typical color. When chlorophyll solution passes through chromatographic paper, molecules of each of pigments behave differently, that results in a phenomenon similar to a rainbow. As the gravity influences the capillary effect, different chromatograms will be received in zero-g conditions and on the ground. To register the chlorophyll chromatography process, photography performed by onboard aids of the Russian segment is used.

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Results/More Information

Information on the chlorophyll chromatography recorded on the flash card and registration sheets.

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Related Web Sites
  • Energia - Science Research on the ISS Russian Segment
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    Publications

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    Ground Based Results Publications

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    ISS Patent Publications

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    Related Publications

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    Images

    Information provided by the investigation team to the ISS Program Scientist's Office.
    If updates are needed to the summary please contact JSC-ISS-Program-Science-Group. For other general questions regarding space station research and technology, please feel free to call our help line at 281-244-6187 or e-mail at JSC-ISS-Payloads-Helpline.