Europe's Quiet Revolution in Microgravity Research
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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN PRESENTS PRESENTS LOOKING UP: EUROPE’S QUIET REVOLUTION IN MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH LOOKING UP Europe’s Quiet Revolution in Microgravity Research Man-Made Meteorites Testing the survival of rocks and microbes Hope for Hypertension? Microgravity can lower blood pressure The Complexity of Plasma Soft matter study advances when free from gravity It’s All Relative Probing the limits of A custom publication produced in collaboration Einstein’s theories with Space Channel on behalf of the European Space Agency. IN SPACE FOR THE BENEFIT OF MANKIND The Swedish Space Corporation designs, tests, launches and operates space and aerospace systems A core business at SSC is to provide a complete microgravity service with the MASER and MAXUS sounding rocket programs. SSC provides payload development, service systems and launch services using the SSC Esrange Space Center including flight control and land recovery. www.ssc.se PREFACE Dear Reader, stronauts are the heroes of our time. Wher- entifi c areas involved, such as crystal growth, alloy ever they show up, they attract the curiosity formation, soft matter physics, the wide fi eld of fl uid A and admiration of the public. On television, sciences, relativity physics, the highly important we see them fl oating through a space station; we see fi eld of human and plant physiology and fi nally the them exercising, eating and working outside the sta- fundamental studies of the behaviour and survival tion attaching or fi xing something. Sometimes they of biological systems at the cellular level, not only are stationed in front of a console, pulling a drawer under microgravity, but also under exposure to the or pushing a button, but frankly, we do not have any harsh space environment. idea what they are doing there or what is happening As I acquainted myself with this research, I also inside those racks. This Special Presentation of Sci- came to realise how in recent years this work had entifi c American, devoted to life acquired the mantle of top-class and physical sciences research in science, yet had not received the space, is meant to help remedy exposure at the popular science this defi ciency. level that I felt it deserved. As My own fi eld is space plasma Chairman of the Advisory Com- physics. I have been engaged in mittee on Human Spacefl ight, Mi- experiments exploiting the elec- crogravity and Exploration of the tromagnetic forces of near-Earth European Space Agency (ESA), I space acting on artifi cially inject- was therefore highly gratified ed plasma clouds. These experi- when Scientifi c American agreed ments are very different from the to produce a Special Presentation research discussed in this publica- devoted to this work by European tion. Here one exploits the near- scientists, often in collaboration weightless (microgravity) conditions found in orbit- with scientists from other countries. al fl ight to study the behaviour of physical and bio- Having seen the highly informative articles that logical systems in the absence of the effects of have resulted along with the fi ne and captivating art- gravity. The use of microgravity is what makes this work and the excellent editorial work of Scientifi c research unique compared with the more classic American, I can only wholeheartedly recommend space sciences of plasma and solar physics, astrono- this highly readable Special Presentation entitled my and the planetary sciences. “Looking Up: Europe’s Quiet Revolution in Micro- As a former Chairman of the European Space Sci- gravity Research” to anyone seeking a deeper under- ence Committee of the European Science Founda- standing of this fascinating area of scientific tion, I have had the privilege of being able to survey research. the whole gamut of European space sciences and consequently been able to gauge for myself its strengths and weaknesses. In the course of this, I Gerhard Haerendel gradually became familiar with the work of Euro- Chairman of the Advisory Committee pean scientists in the microgravity and related fi elds. on Human Spacefl ight, Microgravity and What struck me fi rst was the enormous range of sci- Exploration (ACHME) for ESA COVER ART: SPACE CHANNEL / PHIL SAUNDERS SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN PRESENTS Europe’s Quiet Revolution LOOKING UP in Microgravity Research Preface. 1 HUMAN HEALTH By Gerhard Haerendel Counteracting Hypertension INTRODUCTION with Weightlessness? . 16 A Letter to Readers . 4 By Peter Norsk and John M. Karemaker By John Rennie Many of us have been told to lose weight to lower our blood pressure, but going weightless? Studies of astronauts show that PERSPECTIVES gravity does contribute to cardiovascular stress. Life in Orbit . 6 By Thomas Reiter Clinical Immunology The personal and professional rewards of space exploration in New Frontiers. 24 By Alexander Choukèr, Boris Morukov and Clarence Sams When thinking big, we must also remember to think small, especially when we need to fend off illness in space. As Victor Hugo once said, “Where the telescope ends, the microscope ASTROBIOLOGY begins; and who can say which has the wider vision?” Meteorites: SPECIAL REPORT: Stones with Stowaways? . 8 Bone Loss in Space. 32 By Frances Westall and Sticks and stones may break your bones, but Rosa de la Torre Noetzel underuse will make them brittle. Like extended Can organisms be transported from one planet to another bedrest, an environment without gravity reduces the and survive both space conditions and atmospheric entry to workload on bones and makes them weaker. impregnate the host planet with new forms of life? Scientists Because research in this area is extensive, explore whether Earth was colonised by microscopic hitchhikers. two articles are presented here to illustrate different approaches being taken to understand—and combat— these effects. 32 8 Zero Gravity: Bad to the Bones By Laurence Vico and Christian Alexandre Our Sensitive Skeleton By Rommel G. Bacabac, Jack J.W.A. Van Loon and Jenneke Klein- Nulend MATTER MATTERS 68 Breaking the Mould: Metallurgy in Microgravity . 68 By Hans J. Fecht and Bernard Billia Factories fl oating in space? Not quite, but the next giant step in metal processing technology may come from an unexpected source: the ISS. Shake, Rattle and Roll: Using Vibrations as Gravity . 74 By Daniel Beysens, Pierre Evesque and Yves Garrabos In space, you can’t toast your successes with Champagne or sweep sand into a pile to clean up. So how can you make matter behave? The Complex Matter of Plasma . 82 PHYSICS FUNDAMENTALS By Gregor Morfi ll and Hubertus Thomas The 1993 discovery that complex plasma can exist as soft Timing Gravity . 50 matter changed the face of physics. Since then, research into its By Stefano Vitale, Christophe Salomon properties and behaviours has exploded, and experiments on the and Wolfgang Ertmer ISS have led to a number of discoveries that could not have been made in the presence of gravity. High-precision experiments performed in space will put some of Einstein’s theories to the test. Moving in Flow-Motion . 60 By Michael Dreyer, Ilia Roisman, Cameron Tropea and Bernhard Weingartner A malfunctioning fuel pump and a harrowing near-disaster at PLANT BIOLOGY Heathrow Airport illustrates the necessities of understanding fl uid fl ow dynamics. Removing gravity from this complex equation allows for new and exciting research in this area. The Puzzle of Plants . 92 May the capillary force be with you! By Dieter Volkmann, Anders Johnsson and František Baluška Roots grow downward while stems shoot upward. Clearly, plants “sense” gravity, but how? Years of research in gravitational biology have yielded some remarkable new 50 insights—and striking contradictions. Bibliography . 100 Looking up: Europe’s Quiet Revolution in Microgravity Research is published by Scientifi c American, Inc., 415 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017-1111. Copyright © 2008 by Scientifi c American, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process, or in the form of phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or otherwise copied for public or private use without written permission of the publisher. Subscription enquiries for Scientific American Magazine: US and Canada: 800-333-1199; Other countries: 515-248-7684. INTRODUCTION SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN PRESENTS LOOKING UP Europe’s Quiet Revolution in Microgravity Research A custom publication produced in collaboration with Space Channel on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). Fundamental Force Further exploration into space requires a better grasp of gravity SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN CUSTOM PUBLISHING ifteen years ago or so, I had the oc- which for centuries impeded our ability to Project Director, Custom Publishing: Lisa Pallatroni casion to step out of a perfectly conduct experiments aimed at better un- Editor: Paul Deans F good airplane while it was two and derstanding it. Art Director: Sandra Salamony a half miles in the air. You have no doubt That has changed, thanks to modern Director of Ancillary Products: Diane McGarvey correctly surmised that I was wearing a technology. We can now send people and Copy Editors: Heidi Moore, Katharina Roesler parachute, for which I seem to recall being instruments into space to study weight- SPACE CHANNEL extremely grateful at the time. Between less, free-fall environments. Scientists are PROJECT TEAM the alternating waves of terror and exhil- discovering precisely how gravity shapes Chairman; aration, as I found myself falling faster the structure of various materials, includ- Director of Graphic Design: Philip Saunders ing the tissues that make up our own bod- Chief Executive Offi cer; Director of and farther than I ever had before, I had Advertisements & Sponsors: Susan Saunders plenty of opportunity to appreciate a pro- ies, and how it is involved in the complex Scientifi c Advisor: Dr. Paul Clancy found truth: gravity rules our lives in dynamics of fl owing fl uids at larger and Editorial Advisor: Norman Longdon ways we often take for granted.