Scientific Investigations & Technology

• SUBSA - Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules
  To improve science’s understanding of the formation of semiconductor crystals. Directionally solidified indium antimonide samples. One of the first materials science experiments on the International Space Station the Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules (SUBSA) was successfully conducted during Expedition Five inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox.
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• PFMI - Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation
  To improve science’s understanding of solidification processes and the effects of imperfections in the molten material. Directionally solidified transparent modeling material, succinonitrile (SCN) and succinonitrile water mixtures. PFMI uses a furnace to process materials. It will melt and resolidify samples of a transparent modeling material, succinonitrile and succonontrile water mixtures, to observe how bubbles form in the samples and study their movement.
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• InSPACE - Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions
  The InSPACE investigation will determine the true three-dimensional low-energy structure of a magnetorheological (MR) emulsion in a pulsed magnetic field. Examined the way small magnetic particles interacted with the complex properties found in MR fluids. The InSPACE investigation will examine the way small magnetic particles interact with the complex properties found in magnetorheological fluids. Magnetorheological fluids are a new class of "smart " materials capable of providing a rapid, controllable response when a magnetic field is applied. The low-gravity International Space Station environment allows research on particle interaction without the effects of sedimentation.
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• SODI - Selectable Optics Diagnostics Instrument
  • To Study diffusion and Soret phenomena and measurement of these coefficients in multi-component mixtures (liquids). (DSC)
  • To Study the influence of controlled vibration stimuli on these diffusion processes. (IVILID)
  • To Study the aggregation (clustering) of colloidal solutions. (COLLOID)
    
    
• CSLM 2 - Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixtures - 2
  The CSLM-2 investigation will improve the quality of metals by studying coarsening. The investigation analyzed the rate at which particles of tin suspended in a liquid comprised of molten tin/lead alloy, increase in size. A phenomenon known as coarsening. The CSLM-2 investigation will examine competitive growth of microscopic tin particles within a liquid tin-lead matrix. The low-gravity International Space Station environment will produce data that can be compared directly to theory without the effects of convection and sedimentation.
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• COSMIC - Combustion Synthesis under Microgravity Conditions
  The COSMIC investigation will investigate the relationship between general physico-chemical mechanisms of combustion and formation of the microstructure and composition fields. Studied the microstructure formation of compressed powder samples (in casu Ti-Al-B) during self-propagating high-temperature combustion processes (SHS).
  
  
• DCCO - Measurement of Diffusion Coefficients in Crude Oil
  The DCCO investigation will investigate isothermal diffusion and the Soret effect (thermodiffusion). Measured diffusion coefficients of ternary mixtures of organic compounds.
  
  
• Nanoslab
  The Nanoslab investigation will create more effective zeolite crystal structures by mixing different zeolite solutions with a range of crystal-forming catalysts. .
  
  
• PromISS -Protein Microscope for the International Space Station
  The PromISS investigation will improve science’s understanding of the fundamental processes underlying the protein crystallization process.
  
  
• HEAT - Heat transfer performance of a grooved heat pipe
  The HEAT investigation will investigate the effectiveness of grooved heat pipes in the weightlessness of space.
  
  
• ARGES - Energy efficient lamps for the future.
  The ARGES investigation will To improve the understanding of High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps and how they are affected by imperfections.   Ultimate objective was to improve the efficiency and life expectancy of HID lamps.