Advanced Mini-laboratories Automate Space Station Research

2 Min Read Advanced Mini-laboratories Automate Space Station Research NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson swaps out sample processors in the Advanced Space Experiment Processor (ADSEP). Credits: NASA The International Space Station hosts hundreds of science experiments at a time.

Some experiments can take hours to perform, and researchers need to account for astronauts’ limited time. Fully automated devices, like Redwire’s   ADvanced Space Experiment Processors (ADSEPs), have been designed to conduct more space science with less crew time. Within each ADSEP facility there are three to four “mini-laboratories”, called cassettes, that allow multiple studies with different needs to be performed at the same time.

The latest model, ADSEP-4 can accommodate four cassettes and features imagery capabilities. Since 2017, ADSEPs have conducted and supported two dozen investigations aboard space station with new ones on the horizon. Crystals are grown aboard the International Space Station as part of ADSEP-PIL-02, an investigation that aims to study the effects of microgravity on various types of crystals.

Redwire The latest ADSEP investigations are related to growing seed crystals in space, which can be used to reformulate existing drugs or develop entirely new therapeutics. Previous experiments have shown that the unique microgravity environment allows the growth of larger and higher quality crystals. With Redwire’s Pharmaceutical In-Space Laboratory (PIL-BOX), a cassette-based system that uses the ADSEP facility, researchers can grow improved, space-grown seed crystals.

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot displays a cassette for the ADvanced Space Experiment Processor (ADSEP). NASA Notable PIL-BOX experiments sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory have focused on cancer research. The ADSEP-PIL-10 investigation, currently being conducted in orbit in collaboration with the Aspera Biomedicines, works to crystallize cancer-blocking and cancer-promoting molecules with the goal of creating an oral cancer medication.

ADSEP-PIL-15 crystalized cancer-treating medicines to help refine production, quality, and stability of these cancer drugs. A recent technology demonstration, ADSEP- ICC (Industrial Crystallization Cassette), tested a larger cassette to expand ADSEP function and scale crystallization production for commercial use. Juvenile bobtail squid swimming in seawater just after hatching as part of the ADSEP-UMAMI investigation.

University of Florida ADSEPs are not limited to crystal growth and can also be used for culturing cells and tissues, studying organisms, and researching materials-sciences. In 2021, ADSEP-UMAMI studied how bobtail squid interacted with beneficial microbes in the space environment. This research found that symbiotic interactions with microbes can lessen a host animal’s stress responses caused by spaceflight and accelerate developmental pathways such as growing neurons and tissues.

These findings give insight into the importance of symbiotic relationships in closed ecosystems like spacecraft and have implications for astronauts and their own beneficial bacteria during space missions. The automation and versatility of ADSEPs permit a wide array of science experiments to be conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory, leading to findings that inform future space missions and are beneficial to people on Earth.