Experiments on ISS
Original article in "On Station" September 2003.
Introduction:
Although Europe's Columbus
laboratory is not yet in orbit, European experiments are already being
performed aboard the International Space Station, and more are in
preparation. European Soyuz Taxi Flights provide a continuing and
significant number of experiment opportunities, and agreements with
NASA are important, in particular, for experiments in human physiology.
Beyond these, the experiments for the increments after Columbus is
attached to the ISS are being prepared. This article describes the
selection and planning process for the various opportunities, the
facilities used and the planned experiments per discipline.
Figure 1: An artist's impression of Columbus, the European laboratory on the International Space Station (c) ESA / D.Ducros.
Selection and Planning:
ESA publishes
Announcements of Opportunities (AOs) in life and physical sciences at
regular intervals, plus AOs for science, Earth observation and
technology experiments to use the external platforms on Columbus. All
proposals are "peer reviewed" by external experts using a very thorough
procedure. In many cases, this is now done in an international setting,
involving proposals from all ISS Partners. At this stage, an initial
technical assessment is also made of facility and resource requirements
in order to identify possible show-stoppers. On average, some 15-20% of
all proposals survive this review process. For the endorsed projects,
the next step is a definition phase. This is a more detailed
accommodation study, which identifies the most appropriate experiment
facility, and the hardware and resource requirements for each
experiment. Following this, if needed, the definition and development
of experiment-specific equipment is carried out. For example, this can
be the development of standalone equipment for a Soyuz flight, an
insert for one of the Columbus facilities or dedicated items for human
physiology experiments. Depending on the complexity and the overall
mission schedule, this phase can take between 6 months and 3 years.
Roughly 3 years before flight, the experiment will be manifested for a
specific ISS increment. From that moment on, it appears in the overall
ISS experiment planning, which is formally baselined by NASA with input
from ESA and other Partners.
Read more about the experiments aboard ISS at:
Latest Newshttp://www.dlr.de/iss/ (currently in German)
http://www.go.dlr.de/musc/expose/ (currently in German)