The Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) is a

glovebox A glovebox (or glove box) is a sealed container that is designed to allow one to manipulate objects where a separate atmosphere is desired. Built into the sides of the glovebox are gloves arranged in such a way that the user can place their han ...

aboard the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

(ISS). It provides a safe contained environment for research with liquids, combustion and hazardous materials in the

microgravity The term micro-g environment (also μg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous with the terms ''weightlessness'' and ''zero-g'', but emphasising that g-forces are never exactly zero—just very small (on the I ...

conditions of the ISS. Without the MSG, many types of hands-on investigations would be impossible or severely limited on board the Station. The Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) occupies a floor-to-ceiling rack inside the Destiny module of the ISS. It is more than twice as large as gloveboxes flown on the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

and could contain larger investigations that are about twice the size of an airline carry-on bag. Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) - NASA A follow-on sister facility, managed by the same group at

Marshall Space Flight Center The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville postal address), is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. As the largest NASA center, MSFC's first ...

, is intended to further support biological experiments with the Life Sciences Glovebox.

Description

The Core Facility of MSG occupies the upper half of the overall rack and includes the large work volume (WV), an

airlock An airlock, air-lock or air lock, often abbreviated to just lock, is a compartment with doors which can be sealed against pressure which permits the passage of people and objects between environments of differing pressure or atmospheric compo ...

and electronics for control, housekeeping and investigation resources. The WV holds the experiment and related equipment. The work volume is approximately wide, high, and deep with a usable volume of about 255 litres. This area can be sealed and held at a negative pressure, isolating the crew and the Station from possible hazards associated with the investigations that are taking place inside. An airlock under the WV can be accessed to bring objects in safely while other activities are going on inside MSG. The MSG has 40 cm diameter side ports (equipped with rugged gloves that are sealed to prevent leaks) for setting up and manipulating equipment in the WV. A cold-plate provides cooling for experiment hardware and the air can be continuously circulated and filtered. Experiments are provided with 1 kW of power and cooling. Vacuum, venting, nitrogen gas dilution (that can keep the work volume oxygen volume fraction below the standard ISS atmosphere (nominally 21% by volume) down to 10 percent or less), power and data interfaces are also provided within MSG. A video system consists of a self-standing subsystem of four colour cameras, two monitors, two analogue recorders and two digital recorders integrated into an International Sub-rack Interface Standard (ISIS) drawer. The command and monitoring panel monitors the facility status and performance and provides for manual operation of MSG by the crew. MSG was delivered to ISS during

Expedition 5 Expedition 5 was the fifth long-duration stay on the International Space Station (ISS). The crew, consisting of three people, remained in space for 184 days, 178 of which were spent aboard the ISS. Expedition 5 was a continuation of an uninterru ...

, whereupon it was installed in the Destiny module. On March 21, 2008, during

Expedition 16 Expedition 16 was the 16th expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). The first two crew members, Yuri Malenchenko and Peggy Whitson, launched on 10 October 2007, aboard Soyuz TMA-11, and were joined by spaceflight participant Sheikh ...

, MSG was relocated to the

Columbus module ''Columbus'' is a science laboratory that is part of the International Space Station (ISS) and is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the European Space Agency (ESA). Like the ''Harmony'' and ''Tranquility'' modules, the ''Colum ...

. On October 21, 2010, during

Expedition 25 Expedition 25 was the 25th long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Expedition 25 began with the Soyuz TMA-18 undocking on 25 September 2010. Three new crewmembers (Scott Kelly, Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka) arrive ...

, MSG was transferred back to the Destiny module.

Description Summary

* The Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) makes it possible to do investigations in microgravity that are similar to those carried out in ground-based laboratories. Without containment, liquids and particles involved in experiments on board the Space Station would float about the cabin. This could cause damage to equipment or harm the crew. * Crewmembers access the work area through ports equipped with rugged, sealed gloves that can be removed when contaminants are not present. A video system and data downlinks allow for control of the enclosed experiments from the ground, if desired. * In addition to doing complete, laboratory-like experiments, the MSG allows scientists to test small parts of larger investigations in a microgravity environment and to try out new equipment in microgravity. * The MSG can support all key areas of microgravity research as well as other scientific fields. This makes it a useful laboratory resource for scientists in many different fields conducting a wide variety of investigations.

Operations

The MSG accommodates small and medium-sized investigations from any disciplines including biotechnology, combustion science, life sciences, fluid physics, fundamental physics and materials science. Many of these experiments use chemicals, burning or molten materials or other hazards that must be contained.

Results

The MSG on the ISS was utilized until 2010 for a large body of research. The MSG had operated on orbit for more than 3500 hours by 2010; used by various types of investigations, including material science, thermal management, protein crystal growth, life sciences, fire detection, combustion and technology demonstration. The versatility of the resources MSG provides makes it an ideal platform for microgravity research (Spivey 2006 - 2008).

Gallery

File:ISS-08 Pedro Duque works at the Microgravity Science Glovebox.jpg, Over the shoulder view of European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Pedro Duque as he works at the Microgravity Science Glovebox for the Cervantes mission experiment PromISS 2 in the Destiny U.S. Laboratory during joint operations with the Expedition 7 and Expedition 8 crews. File:ISS-18 Microgravity Sciences Glovebox.jpg, View of the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox (MSG) with the Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment (SHERE) inside

References

{{Include-USGov , agency=NASA , url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/MSG.html , article=Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG)

External links

The Microgravity Science Glovebox - ESAMicrogravity Science Glovebox at Marshall Space Flight Center
Science facilities on the International Space Station European Space Agency Columbus (ISS module)