DESIGN OF A FACILITY TO HOST MICRO-ORGANISMEXPERIMENT IN SPACE

The current state of the space journeys offers the possibility of executing experiments in orbit in order to use the microgravity environment for scientific investigations. In the world of the space programs both American and European agencies offer the possibility of disposing of spaces arranged to accommodate some sets of scientific experiments. Several research activities are developing on the possibility of disposing of such spaces. The ESA (European Space Agency) is developing a new kind of Facility to be put at disposal of the international scientific community. Such Facility will be constituted, in synthesis, by a system of two centrifuge each containing 4 sites with suitable interfaces for experiments. This will allow to realise any gravity condition, between zero and the terrestrial gravity, or to execute comparative tests. The Facility offers a reduced space (about 60x60x100mm) for every scientific experiment. The abstract describes the study and the preliminary design of an equipment to be stored in this space, which executes the operations of cultivation (feeding, washing Etc..). of a series of samples of colonies of basic organisms.