With their unique mechanical and physical properties, metallic glasses have promising applications in many technological areas. After transferring numerous Biorack sample containers between storage and coolers, Hieb changed out food trays for the fruit flies in Dr. Roberto Marco's experiment. Along with the other Biorack principal investigators, Marco is conducting his experiment at Kennedy Space Center in parallel with operations in space. Marco's study tests his theory that premature aging of flies in previous space experiments is due to increased activity as they attempt to move in microgravity. Scientists have studied the cress plant intensively over the last 20 years to determine in detail how it can perceive and react to gravity.
Previous experiments indicate it can respond to gravity changes very quickly.
Volkmann hopes to pinpoint the minimum amount of gravity to which it will respond and how long it to takes to respond. Before plants can be considered as possible sources of food or oxygen in space, scientists must thoroughly understand how changes in gravity affect plant growth. When Hieb brought the Free Flow Electrophoresis experiment up for its first operations of the mission this morning, readouts indicated that the inner cooling system line was not functioning correctly. The Japanese life sciences team postponed the electrophoresis experiment Mukai had been scheduled to run this afternoon until the source of the problem can be isolated and corrected. In the meantime, Mukai began operations of Japan's Large Isothermal Furnace, originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon.