Search Results

Life Sciences research on Space Station will utilize rats to study the effects of the microgravity environment on mammalian physiology and to develop countermeasures to those effects for the health and safety of the crew. The animals will produce metabolic water which must be reclaimed to minimize logistics support. The condensate from the Research Animal Holding Facility (RAHF) flown on Spacelab Life Sciences-2 (SLS-2) in October 1993 was used as an analog to determine the type and quantity of constituents which the Space Station (SS) water reclamation system will have to process. The most significant organics present in the condensate were 2-propanol, glycerol, ethylene glycol, 1,2-propanediol, acetic acid, acetone, total proteins, urea and caprolactam while the most significant inorganic was ammonia. Microbial isolates included Xanthomonas, Sphingobacterium, Pseudomonas, Penicillium, Aspergillus and Chrysosporium.

The Centrifuge Facility will provide a life sciences research laboratory for rodents and plants on the space station. During a 90-day experiment increment, soiled waste trays from the rodent habitats must be safely stored. The present tests investigated what gases are generated and what bacteria survive during long-term storage of rodent waste and waste tray materials. Soiled filter material from flight and ground control Animal Enclosure Modules (AEM) flown on STS-54 in January, 1993 and from the Research Animal Holding Facility (RAHF) flown on Spacelab Life Sciences - 2 (SLS-2) in October, 1993 were placed in individual air-tight glass test vessels. Gas samples were withdrawn from each vessel and analyzed for a target list of volatile organics, odiferous compounds and methane using a GC/MS and detector tubes. No target compounds were detected in any of the AEM or RAHF samples. Ammonia, methane and some non-target compounds were detected in one AEM sample and the RAHF samples.