Meet the editor

Prof. Dr. Ir. Vladimir Pletser is currently Director of Space Training Operations at Blue Abyss, proposing new approaches for astronaut training. He was previously Visiting Professor and Scientific Adviser at the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, on microgravity research for parabolic flights and Chinese Space Station. He was also Senior Physicist-Engineer at the European

Space Research and Technology Centre, European Space Agency, developing scientific instruments for microgravity research on the International Space Station and coordinating ESA aircraft parabolic flight campaigns. He logged more than 7350 parabolas, equivalent to 39h30m of weightlessness or 26 Earth orbits. Astronaut Candidate for Belgium, he trained as Payload Specialist at NASA-JSC and participated in three Mars mission simulations.

Contents

**Section 1**

to Means and Methods

*by Vladimir Pletser*

*and Aliaksandr Mialdun*

BIOMICS Project

*by Mohamed Farhat*

Flights to Space Experiment

**Section 2**

*by Vladimir Pletser and Thais Russomano*

Extra-Terrestrial Planetary Gravities

**Preface III**

Microgravity Means and Methods **1**

**Chapter 1 3**

**Chapter 2 23**

Physical Sciences **39**

**Chapter 3 41**

**Chapter 4 63**

**Chapter 5 83**

**Chapter 6 103**

**Chapter 7 125**

Capillary Driven Flows under Microgravity Conditions: From Parabolic

*by Nikolay Smirnov, Valeriy Nikitin and Evgeniya Kolenkina (Skryleva)*

Experiment Preparation and Performance for the Electromagnetic

Levitator (EML) Onboard the International Space Station *by Angelika Diefenbach, Stephan Schneider and Thomas Volkmann*

Research in Microgravity in Physical and Life Sciences: An Introduction

Aircraft Parabolic Flights: A Gateway to Orbital Microgravity and

Red Blood Cell Dynamics: The Contribution of Microgravity in the

*by Thomas Podgorski, Gwennou Coupier and Christophe Minetti*

What We Learned from Cavitation Bubbles in Microgravity

G-Jitter, Vibrations, Diffusion: The IVIDIL Experiment *by Valentina Shevtsova, Denis Melnikov, Yuri Gaponenko* 

## Contents



Preface

Research in microgravity, or more correctly in weightlessness, has opened up a new dimension of scientific investigations in different fields in physical and life sciences and in technology. The gravity acceleration (or more correctly the weightiness acceleration) can now be seen as a parameter that can be varied at will opening up

Science and technology research in free-fall has a long history but it is only since the advent of space exploration capabilities that it really bloomed. In the 1950's, the space agencies wanted to understand whether life could be sustained in space and in particular, in absence of weight, to prepare for manned orbital missions and eventually manned space exploration of the Moon. This effort was supported by research using other microgravity platforms, drop towers and tubes, aircraft parabolic flights, sounding rockets and automatic satellites. Simulations of microgravity effects were also used to complement microgravity research. Over the years, these platforms and simulation means were used to allow researchers to investigate the effects of the absence of gravity on various systems whether in physical and life sciences. Presently, with the advent of the International Space Station (ISS) whose first element was launched in 1998, research can be conducted in a quasi-permanent

This book presents some facets of microgravity research and how scientists prepare their experiments before sending them to space. Each chapter is written by experts in their own field and summarize their research methods and, when already avail-

This book includes three parts. The first part includes two chapters presenting the

The second chapter "Aircraft Parabolic Flights: A Gateway to Orbital Microgravity and Extra-Terrestrial Planetary Gravities" presents this unique tool allowing research in reduced gravity, from weightlessness at 0 g to partial g between 0 and 1 g, like on the Moon (0.16 g) and Mars (0.38 g). Parabolic flights are a unique microgravity platform as it is the only suborbital microgravity platform that allows to fly human

The second part on Physical Sciences includes five chapters with examples of

Chapter 3 "G-Jitter, Vibrations, Diffusion: The IVIDIL Experiment" explains why mechanical vibrations, either periodic or random, cannot be ignored in microgravity

operators and subjects in microgravity to conduct their research.

The first chapter "Research in Microgravity in Physical and Life Sciences: An Introduction to Means and Methods" introduces what is microgravity and why it is important for scientific research. Several examples are given of microgravity effects in physical sciences and in human physiology. The various microgravity platforms

new alley for scientific discoveries.

state of free-fall in orbit around the Earth.

Means and Methods of Microgravity Research.

research in fluid physics and material sciences.

and simulation tool are reviewed.

able, their results.
