The Microgravity Science and Applications
Division Home Page

• Dr. Michael Wargo, Program Scientist for Microgravity Materials Science, will conduct some simple experiments in a small drop tower to demonstrate how free fall eliminates the effects of gravity. Video tape will capture it all live and allow you to see it all again in slow motion.
  • The term "weightless" has been used for a long time to describe free fall conditions. Find out how weight really changes in free fall and why scientists use the term microgravity.

  • Watch what can happen when the masking effects of gravity are eliminated in free fall. You'll see how capillary forces can dramatically influence and control the shape and motion of a liquid.

  • Sedimentation, or settling, of particles in a liquid is caused by gravity. How is sedimentation affected when gravity's influence has been effectively eliminated in microgravity?

  • The shape of a candle flame is controlled by gravity. How would you expect the flame to change in microgravity?

• The Mark II Version of the Microgravity Teacher's Guide is now available. Research results from recent Space Shuttle missions have been included and four new activities have been added. As usual, all the activities use inexpensive and easily obtainable materials. The Teacher's Guide is available electronically from NASA's Spacelink by clicking here.

• The Microgravity Poster is available. The front illustrates microgravity research results; the back has information about the different areas of microgravity research: Biotechnology, Combustion Science, Fluid Physics, and Materials Science.

Also: Turn off your "Auto Load Images" option, if displaying the images takes an unbearable amount of time!

Introduction

Here are some newly added links to Microgravity Science information, research projects, and activities:

• The NASA Research Announcement (NRA) for Microgravity Materials Science (NRA-94-OLMSA-06) was released on December 12, 1994. You will find the NRA in html format as well as information on how to retrieve a Postscript version from our ftp site.

  If you have any questions concerning this NRA, please contact:

  	Dr. Michael J. Wargo
  	Program Scientist for Materials Science
  	(202) 358-0822
  	michael@microgravity.msad.hq.nasa.gov
  

  To receive a copy of this NRA by U.S. Postal Service, please contact:

  	Mr. William Wilcox
  	The Bionetics Corporation
  	(202) 863-5250
  

• The NASA Research Announcement for Microgravity Fluid Physics (NRA-94-OLMSA-05) was released on November 29, 1994. A Postscript version is available from our ftp site

  If you have any questions concerning this NRA, please contact:

  	Dr. Bradley M. Carpenter
  	Program Scientist for Fluid Physics
  
  	(202) 358-0826
  	bcarpenter@hq.nasa.gov
  

  To receive a copy of this NRA by U.S. Postal Service, please contact:

  	Mr. William Wilcox
  	The Bionetics Corporation
  	(202) 863-5250
  

• The MSAD TaskBook is a searchable database of currently funded microgravity research projects. It is now accessible in a single step from Macintosh, Windows and X11 clients. More information about the Task book is here.

• The Microgravity Science and Applications Division at Marshall Space Flight Center is responsible for a broad range of new and ongoing microgravity research activities. Be sure to try the Microgravity Research Experiments (MICREX) Data Base. It is a synthesis of information on several hundred microgravity fluid physics and materials science experiments.

• The Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment (STDCE) will fly on the Second United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) in September 1995.

• The Second US Microgravity Payload (USMP-2): 3/3/94

• The Second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2): 7/8/94

• The Second US Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2): 9/95 (expected launch)

To hear an interview with USMP-2 Program Scientist, Dr. Stephen Davison, where he discusses the background and importance of the scientific investigations conducted during the mission, click here.

The Microgravity News, released quarterly, is now available.

• Winter 1993
• Spring 1994
• Summer 1994
• Fall 1994

Try viewing some MPEG movies of our recently conducted experiments!
(You will need Sparkle, MPEG_Play or other MPEG-viewing software to see these movies.) and (If you are in a hurry: please keep in mind that they may take an unwanted length of time to transfer to your machine.)

• Drop Physics Experiment (USML-1)
• Simulated dendrite growth (USMP-2)
• Pool Boiling in 1 g and Microgravity
• Bioreactor Apparatus

Program Description

Obtain new knowledge and increase the understanding of gravity dependent phenomena obscured by the effects of gravity in biological, chemical and physical systems, and where feasible, to facilitate the application of that knowledge to commercially viable products and processes.

The OLMSA Web Server provides outreach services to the International scientific community, with electronic access to the most recent information available on Microgravity Sciences, Life Sciences, Gravitational Biology, Biotechnology, and Space Biomedical research efforts. The OLMSA Web Server will provide electronic copies of all upcoming ground-based and flight NASA Research Announcements (NRAs) and Announcements of Opportunity (AOs) in the Microgravity and Life Sciences. The OLMSA Web Server also provides an electronic copy of the current NASA Budget Release; a complete and up-to-date listing of the Office organization, with assigned titles and Office telephone numbers; and an OLMSA Events calendar which lists current and relevant meetings, Congressional hearings and programmatic items that are of interest to space-based laboratory researchers.

Science Program

A variety of information on MSAD-sponsored Experiment Results is available including:

• Past Mission Science Results Summaries
• References to microgravity science publications via RECON
• References to MSAD archived data holdings via NSSDC
• Past Experiment Summary Database (Fluids and Materials Processing Experiments Database)

A Microgravity Investigator's Guide has been developed to guide Microgravity Science Investigators toward early and sustained involvement in the challenging and exciting microgravity program.

Microgravity Flight Programs

• MSAD-sponsored Shuttle Mission Publications
  • First United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-1)
  • First United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-1)
  • Spacelab - Japanese (SL-J)

• The Microgravity Science Information System provides access to the following information:

  • Catalog of Flight Hardware - A collection of existing flight qualified hardware available to the experimenter
  • Alternate Carriers for Experiments - Compiled descriptions of existing hardware systems currently in use or under development for delivering experiments to space.
  • Space Station Flight Hardware Requirements - Resource requirements data for flight hardware being developed for the International Space Station.
  • Spacelab Flight Hardware Requirements - Resource requirements data obtained from hardware developers and source reports.
  • ISPR Vibration Analysis - Status and results of the International Standard Payload Rack (ISPR)vibration analysis effort.

Microgravity Ground Based Research Programs

NASA's KC-135 Parabolic Flight Aircraft, also affectionatley known as the `vomit-comet'

Advanced Programs and Technologies

• MSAD's role in the International Space Station Alpha Program
• MSAD's Advanced Technology Development (ATD) Program

Microgravity Education Programs

• The Microgravity Teacher's Guide
  The Teacher's Guide is segmented due to its size, but each section provides links to the other sections at the end.
• Graduate Student Research Program
• Resident Research Program

• NASA Home Page

This home page was made possible by the efforts of Susanne Leech Nairn of The Bionetics Corp., Dr. Michael J. Wargo of MSAD, and Ted M. Holtz of CTA Inc.