A Louisville science experiment flies to the International Space Station
This is ground control to UofL. The University of Louisville (UofL) science experiment, the Nano Particle Haloing Suspension experiment, a project aiming to make solar panel technology more efficient, has been sent to the International Space Station (ISS) where it studies the behaviors of "large" microparticles and nanoparticles, which are so small they can't be seen by a microscope. The experiment was started in Louisville with three UofL capstone mechanical engineering students, two undergraduates, and Uofl mechanical engineering professor Stuart Williams. It was launched onto the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft on the 30th Commercial Resupply mission to the ISS on March 21 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Additional cells for the medical study of Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis were included in the mission.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Declan Lowthian in Lifestyle Science
Look up, LOU. Above your head, 250 miles to be exact, a nickel-plated aluminum box slightly bigger than a breadbox is traveling through the Earth’s atmosphere at 17,500 miles per hour — and it started the journey in Louisville.
The Nano Particle Haloing Suspension experiment, a University of Louisville (UofL) project aiming to make solar panel technology more efficient, is aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The Nano Particle Haloing Suspension studies the behaviors of “large” microparticles (which are still microscopic) and nanoparticles, which are so small they can’t even be seen by a microscope.
The experiment started on Earth with three UofL capstone mechanical engineering students, two other undergraduates, and UofL mechanical engineering professor Stuart Williams.
“I’m basically doing paperwork,” Williams said. “The students did 95% of the work.”
The self-contained, remote operated experiment is now plugged into a device called the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG), which Williams described as a “glorified chemical fume hood.”
The experiment was loaded onto the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft and launched into space by the Falcon 9 Rocket on the 30th Commercial Resupply mission to the ISS on Thursday, March 21 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Here’s what else made the journey with it:
But, the Nano Particle Haloing Suspension wasn’t the only Derby City project on board.
In January, a project by the LOU-based National Stem Cell Foundation was sent to the ISS on Axiom Mission 3. That experiment is researching Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Additional cells for the medical study were included in the March resupply mission.
Bonus: You can sign up for alerts when the ISS passes over Derby City and wave at the Nano Particle Haloing Suspension experiment as it whizzes by.
Topics: Space