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Potential PIs will speak with me when we evaluate their science.
The environment of the space station is extremely sensitive
to any sort of introduced chemicals.
All sample compositions will be evaluated
by the International Space Station Environmental Safety
Group and Johnson Space Center Toxicology
to evaluate any possible toxicity of your samples.
Your samples will be evaluated by the EQUIS group
or the Environmental Safety's group to make sure
that your samples do not affect the environmental control system
on the space station, just to make sure
that there are no possible effects to the equipment.
It's also very important to evaluate whether
or not your samples will adversely affect the health
of our astronauts.
Toxicology is important and we have several levels of it.
Toxicology level one, or Tox 1,
requires two levels of containment.
This means that the samples must be contained even
if they leave their first level of containment.
These samples are usually something as simple
as minor eye irritants.
For LMM, or the light Microscopy Module,
we have one little containment
within the auxiliary fluids container that is the glove box
that contains the samples that are on the microscope.
This contains frangibles,
this will not contain your sample fluids.
For the advanced colloids experiment,
we seal your sample cells with either wax or viton plugs.
These are then sealed with coverslips held by epoxy.
We like to personalize the sealing methods
for each PI sample fluid type due to compatibility issues
and what the sample type is made of.
Then, once the samples are sealed and cover slipped,
we ship them to SpaceX in a vitron bag
and they will be shipped to the International Space Station.
For the advanced colloids experiment,
you will be sending your sample compositions to me
so I can evaluate whether or not they are properly meshed
with our sealing methods.
For example, many of the organic materials are not compatible
with our wax.
Other samples may be compatible with our viton plugs,
or possibly for sealing through other methods.
As a chemist and as an engineer, it's exciting
to see how these samples react in the absence of gravity.
It's amazing to see what this can do
for technologies here on earth.
Anything from cosmetics and shampoos to possible, you know,
building blocks of future materials.
Thank you for attending our session.
If you'd like more information, you can visit our website,
or you can meet us at our booth at the ASGSR.
Thank you.