Once the samples were mixed and the experiment was powered on, the hardware operated autonomously, taking photos of the colloidal samples over a 90-day period. Colloidal crystal photographed by astronaut David Wolf aboard Mir, approximately 90 days after the start of the BCAT experiment. This experiment used a video camera with a low-magnification lens to record five separate samples. The astronauts operated the experiment by first mixing the samples and then recording each sample over a 24-hr period to monitor the colloidal behavior. Analysis of the BCAT data is in progress and is almost complete.
Results indicate that it is indeed possible to form new materials in microgravity.
Some samples in the BCAT Slow Growth experiment were observed to form ordered crystalline structures in space even though they do not do so in Earth s gravity. During the BCAT Rapid Growth experiment, the colloidal structure persisted through the whole flight. The structure did not collapse as it does on Earth. BCAT Rapid Growth hardware. BCAT Slow Growth hardware.