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Large Diameter Centrifuge
The large diameter centrifuge, or LDC, is any centrifuge extending several meters, which can rotate samples to change their acceleration in space to enhance the effect of gravity. Large diameter centrifuges are used to understand the effect of hyper-gravity (gravitational strengths stronger than that of the Earth) on biological samples, including and not limiting to plants, organs, bacteria, and astronauts (Such as NASA's Human Performance Centrifuge) or non-biological samples to undertake experiments in the field of fluid dynamics, geology, biochemistry and more. Description Frequently, "LDC" is used to refer to the centrifuge at the European Space Agency (ESA)'s campus known as ESTEC (European Space research and TEChnology center). This is an 8-m diameter, four-arm centrifuge covered by a dome, which is available for research. A total of six gondolas, each being able to carry an 80 kg payload, can spin at a maximum of 20 times Earth's gravity, equaling 67 revolutions p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clinostat
A clinostat is a device which uses rotation to negate the effects of gravitational pull on plant growth (gravitropism) and development (gravimorphism). It has also been used to study the effects of microgravity on cell cultures, animal embryos and spider webs. Description A single-axis (or horizontal) clinostat consists of a disc attached to a motor. They were originally clockwork but nowadays an electric motor is used. The disc is held vertically and the motor rotates it slowly at rates in the order of one revolution per minute. A plant is attached to the disc so that it is held horizontally. The slow rotation means that the plant experiences a gravitational pull that is averaged over 360 degrees, thus approximating a weightlessness, weightless environment. Clinostats have also been used to cancel out effects of sunlight and other stimuli besides gravity. This type of clinostat must be exactly horizontal to simulate absence of gravity. If the clinostat is at an angle from horizont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free Fall Machine
The free fall machine (FFM) is designed to permit the development of small biological sample such as cell cultures with a simulated effect of micro-gravity, under free fall conditions.Schwarzenberg M, Pippia P, Meloni MA, Cossu G, Cogoli-Greuter M, Cogoli A. (1999). Signal transduction in T lymphocytes--a comparison of the data from space, the free fall machine and the random positioning machine. Adv Space Res. 24(6): 793-800 Description The free fall machine (FFM) addresses some of the problems of the simple horizontal clinostat or random positioning machines (RPM). In a typical machine samples are allowed to cycle between free fall for about a metre down a column (micro-gravity simulation, near "0 g") and a "bounce" back to the top of the column that is intended to be so fast (c. 20 g for 20 ms) that it is undetected by the biological sample. Long duration of hyper-gravity is often simulated by machines such as the large diameter centrifuge (LDC) at ESA. To simulate partial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Random Positioning Machine
A random positioning machine, or RPM, rotates biological samples along two independent axes to change their orientation in space in complex ways and so eliminate the effect of gravity.Jack J.W.A. van Loon (2007). Some history and use of the random positioning machine, RPM, in gravity related research. Advances in Space Research 39: 1161-1165 RPMs are often used as an alternative to sub-orbital flights or drop towers in research studying the effects of weightlessness or microgravity on biological systems. Description The RPM is a more sophisticated development of the single-axis clinostat. RPMs usually consist of two independently rotating frames. One frame is positioned inside the other giving a very complex net change of orientation to a biological sample mounted in the middle. The RPM is sometimes wrongly referred to as the "3-D clinostat" (which rotates both axis in the same direction, i.e. both clockwise). It is a microweight ('micro-gravity') simulator that is based on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gravity
In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force between objects and the Earth. This force is dominated by the combined gravitational interactions of particles but also includes effect of the Earth's rotation. Gravity gives weight to physical objects and is essential to understanding the mechanisms responsible for surface water waves and lunar tides. Gravity also has many important biological functions, helping to guide the growth of plants through the process of gravitropism and influencing the circulation of fluids in multicellular organisms. The gravitational attraction between primordial hydrogen and clumps of dark matter in the early universe caused the hydrogen gas to coalesce, eventually condensing and fusing to form stars. At larger scales this results in galaxies and clust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypergravity
Hypergravity is defined as the condition where the force of gravity (real or perceived) exceeds that on the surface of the Earth. This is expressed as being greater than 1 '' g''. Hypergravity conditions are created on Earth for research on human physiology in aerial combat and space flight, as well as testing of materials and equipment for space missions. Manufacturing of titanium aluminide turbine blades in 20 ''g'' is being explored by researchers at the European Space Agency (ESA) via an 8-meter wide Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC). Bacteria NASA scientists looking at meteorite impacts discovered that most strains of bacteria were able to reproduce under acceleration exceeding 7,500 ''g''. Recent research carried out on extremophiles in Japan involved a variety of bacteria including ''Escherichia coli'' and ''Paracoccus denitrificans'' being subject to conditions of extreme gravity. The bacteria were cultivated while being rotated in an ultracentrifuge at hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all of Earth's water is contained in its global ocean, covering Water distribution on Earth, 70.8% of Earth's crust. The remaining 29.2% of Earth's crust is land, most of which is located in the form of continental landmasses within Earth's land hemisphere. Most of Earth's land is at least somewhat humid and covered by vegetation, while large Ice sheet, sheets of ice at Polar regions of Earth, Earth's polar polar desert, deserts retain more water than Earth's groundwater, lakes, rivers, and Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water combined. Earth's crust consists of slowly moving tectonic plates, which interact to produce mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth's outer core, Earth has a liquid outer core that generates a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States's civil list of government space agencies, space program, aeronautics research and outer space, space research. National Aeronautics and Space Act, Established in 1958, it succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the American space development effort a distinct civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. It has since led most of America's space exploration programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–1972 Apollo program missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. Currently, NASA supports the International Space Station (ISS) along with the Commercial Crew Program and oversees the development of the Orion (spacecraft), Orion spacecraft and the Sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 in the context of European integration. Its 2025 annual budget was €7.7 billion. The ESA Human and Robotic Exploration programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station programme); as well as the launch and operation of missions to Mars and Moon. Further activities include science missions to Jupiter, Mercury, the Sun, Earth observation, Asteroid impact avoidance and Telecommunications missions, designing launch vehicles; and maintaining Europe's Spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou (French Guiana). Further programmes include space safety, satellite navigation, applications and commercialisation. The main European launch vehicle Ariane 6 is operated through Arianespace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Space Research And Technology Centre
The European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) is the European Space Agency's main technology development and test centre for spacecraft and space technology. It is situated in Noordwijk, South Holland, in the western Netherlands, although several kilometers off the village but immediately linked to the most Northern district of the nearby town Katwijk. At ESTEC, about 2500 engineers, technicians and scientists work hands-on with mission design, spacecraft and space technology. ESTEC provides extensive testing facilities to verify the proper operation of spacecraft, such as the Large Space Simulator (LSS), acoustic and electromagnetic testing bays, multi-axis vibration tables and the ESA Propulsion Laboratory (EPL). Prior to launch, all of the equipment that ESA launches is tested in some degree at ESTEC, other than those tested at national space centers of ESA member countries. The Space Expo is ESTEC's visitors centre. It has a permanent exhibition about space explor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gravitropism
Gravitropism (also known as geotropism) is a coordinated process of differential growth by a plant in response to gravity pulling on it. It also occurs in fungi. Gravity can be either "artificial gravity" or natural gravity. It is a general feature of all higher and many lower plants as well as other organisms. Charles Darwin was one of the first to scientifically document that roots show ''positive gravitropism'' and stems show ''negative gravitropism''. That is, roots grow in the direction of gravitational pull (i.e., downward) and stems grow in the opposite direction (i.e., upwards). This behavior can be easily demonstrated with any potted plant. When laid onto its side, the growing parts of the stem begin to display negative gravitropism, growing (biologists say, turning; see tropism) upwards. Herbaceous (non-woody) stems are capable of a degree of actual bending, but most of the redirected movement occurs as a consequence of root or stem growth outside. The mechanism is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free Fall Machine
The free fall machine (FFM) is designed to permit the development of small biological sample such as cell cultures with a simulated effect of micro-gravity, under free fall conditions.Schwarzenberg M, Pippia P, Meloni MA, Cossu G, Cogoli-Greuter M, Cogoli A. (1999). Signal transduction in T lymphocytes--a comparison of the data from space, the free fall machine and the random positioning machine. Adv Space Res. 24(6): 793-800 Description The free fall machine (FFM) addresses some of the problems of the simple horizontal clinostat or random positioning machines (RPM). In a typical machine samples are allowed to cycle between free fall for about a metre down a column (micro-gravity simulation, near "0 g") and a "bounce" back to the top of the column that is intended to be so fast (c. 20 g for 20 ms) that it is undetected by the biological sample. Long duration of hyper-gravity is often simulated by machines such as the large diameter centrifuge (LDC) at ESA. To simulate partial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clinostat
A clinostat is a device which uses rotation to negate the effects of gravitational pull on plant growth (gravitropism) and development (gravimorphism). It has also been used to study the effects of microgravity on cell cultures, animal embryos and spider webs. Description A single-axis (or horizontal) clinostat consists of a disc attached to a motor. They were originally clockwork but nowadays an electric motor is used. The disc is held vertically and the motor rotates it slowly at rates in the order of one revolution per minute. A plant is attached to the disc so that it is held horizontally. The slow rotation means that the plant experiences a gravitational pull that is averaged over 360 degrees, thus approximating a weightlessness, weightless environment. Clinostats have also been used to cancel out effects of sunlight and other stimuli besides gravity. This type of clinostat must be exactly horizontal to simulate absence of gravity. If the clinostat is at an angle from horizont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
