CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA will soon add a very hands-on area to conduct science research on the International Space Station.
Many of the station's experiments are run remotely from ground control with little work done by astronauts. But a large locker will be placed on space station Alpha's laboratory Destiny. Astronauts will be able to stick their hands into gloves attached to the sealed box and work with hazardous materials.
The locker-size Microgravity Science Glovebox sits in the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module inside Endeavour's cargo bay for launch, scheduled for 5:22 p.m. EDT (2122 GMT) today.
After six days of delays, weather may still prevent a liftoff of the shuttle and the glovebox today. Moisture building up in the Gulf of Mexico may mean thick clouds and thunderstorms over Kennedy Space Center at launch time. Forecasters predict a 40 percent chance of acceptable weather at launch time.
A glovebox is a common fixture in many laboratories. Scientists can work on experiments inside the box without being exposed to hazardous substances. This is especially important in space, where even a stray blob of water can wreak havoc on an instrument panel. Beakers and test tubes aren't useful containers without Earth's gravity.
"The glovebox is going to open up a new field of experiments that could be too toxic to be done without," said French astronaut Philippe Perrin, who is set to fly on Endeavour today. "So I think it's very symptomatic of what is happening on orbit where we try to turn the station into a true laboratory." For the next 10 years, the glovebox will sit nestled in the lab Destiny. There, a rotating group of astronauts and cosmonauts will use it to do experiments on fluids, flames, combustion and fumes.
This addition will mean a more diverse set of experiments that can be done on the station.
The first experiment to get the gloved treatment will be Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules. A furnace inside the glovebox will melt semiconductor crystals. Better semiconductor crystals could translate into smaller computer chips and high-tech instruments. This will be one of the first materials science experiments to be done on the outpost.
The Russian space station Mir had a glovebox, but this one is twice the size in volume. It also comes with more technological gadgets that will help scientists on the ground know exactly what's happening 240 miles up.
"It's important for investigators to see high-quality close up video and for that video and lighting and specimens to be easily manipulated," said Vic Cooley, this crew's lead scientist.
Peggy Whitson and her Russian colleagues Sergei Treschev and commander Valery Korzun, who are to fly up on Endeavour, will have 25 different American experiments and about 40 Russian projects to work on during their planned 4-month stay.
While the crew will focus on its own science projects, long-term science planning will be a focus of discussion in Washington, D.C., next week.
The Research Maximization and Prioritization Task Force will present recommendations on the agency's science research priorities to the NASA Advisory Council. They will recommend ways to increase science productivity in the Office of Biological and Physical Research and how key science objectives should be addressed by the station or in other ways, such as the shuttle or ground-based research.
The advisory council will then make recommendations to NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe.
Another task force that looked at budget and management issues with the International Space Station last year spawned this task force.
Published under license from FLORIDA TODAY. Copyright © 2002 FLORIDA TODAY. No portion of this material may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of FLORIDA TODAY.
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