On-orbit Research

EXPANDING INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH IN LOW EARTH ORBIT

Axiom Space aims to ensure the continuity and expansion of research on-orbit while making access faster, simpler and much less expensive by increasing use of terrestrial standards, interfaces and commercial off-the-shelf hardware.

AREAS OF RESEARCH INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

Human health, both on earth and in space
Life sciences (non-human) including research on plants, animals and microorganisms
Protein crystallization
Earth observation and disaster response
Deep space observation
Fluidics
Combustion
Materials
Satellite sensor demonstration
Global education and inspiration

NASA has developed an entire website dedicated to on-orbit research and its benefits for medicine, manufacturing and other areas of technology. This video, excerpted from the site, outlines from of those benefits:

Hopkins with Spheres Rings

NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins, Expedition 37 flight engineer, conducts a session with a pair of bowling-ball-sized free-flying satellites known as Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites, or SPHERES. Surrounding the two SPHERES mini-satellites is ring-shaped hardware known as the Resonant Inductive Near-field Generation System, or RINGS. SPHERES-RINGS seeks to demonstrate wireless power transfer between satellites at a distance for enhanced operations.

Osteocytes and Mechano-Transduction

ESA (European Space Station) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, is seen here unpacking the recently arrived Osteo-4 experiment. Osteo-4 is performing research on how microgravity effects changes in the most common cell found in human bones to protect the health of future astronauts. This research could also have implications for patients on Earth in the treatment of bone disorders related to disuse or immobilization as well as metabolic diseases such as osteoporosis.

Capillary Flow Experiment

European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst, Expedition 40 flight engineer, conducts a session with the Capillary Flow Experiment (CFE-2) in the Harmony node of the International Space Station. CFE is a suite of fluid physics experiments that investigate how fluids behave in microgravity which could benefit water and fuel delivery systems on future spacecraft. Scientists designed the CFE-2 to study properties of fluids and bubbles inside containers with a specific 3-D geometry.

Robotics

European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers, Expedition 30 flight engineer, works the controls of the Canadarm2 Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) in the Cupola of the International Space Station.

Commander Steve Swanson harvests plants

Commander Steve Swanson harvests plants for the VEG-01 Veggie investigation. This investigation will assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie,and focus on the growth and development of Outredgeous Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the effects of the spaceflight environment on composition of microbial flora on the Veggie-grown plants and the Veggie facility.

Interior Corner Flow - 8 (ICF-8) tes

The Capillary Flow Experiment-2 furthers research on wetting, which is a liquid's ability to spread across a surface, and its impact over large length scales in strange container shapes in microgravity environments. This work will improve capabilities to quickly and accurately predict how related processes occur, and allow us to design better systems to process liquids aboard spacecraft (i.e., liquid fuel tanks, thermals fluids, and water processing for life support).