>> THESE TWO TANKS ARE FROM
THE SPHERES SLOSH EXPERIMENT,
WHICH WE'VE BEEN
WORKING ON UP HERE.
>> MICROGRAVITY HAS
A LOT TO TEACH US.
TAKE THESE CONTAINERS.
THE GREEN LIQUID INSIDE
IS SHOWING US HOW FUEL SWIRLS
AROUND IN A TANK WHILE
IT MOVES THROUGH SPACE.
WHAT WE LEARNED COULD
HELP US DESIGN SAFER,
MORE EFFICIENT SPACECRAFT.
AT ANY GIVEN TIME,
WE ARE CONDUCTING CLOSE TO
300 DIFFERENT EXPERIMENTS ABOARD
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
RESEARCH LIKE THIS IS
PREPARING US FOR THE FUTURE
OF SPACE EXPLORATION.
[ LAUGHING ]
>> THAT'S COOL.
[ MUSIC ]
>> WE REALLY CAN'T
MIMIC THE ENVIRONMENT
ON THE SPACE STATION
ANYWHERE ON THIS PLANET,
AND IT'S WHAT MAKES IT
SUCH A SPECIAL PLACE,
AND WHY SCIENTISTS
FROM MANY UNIVERSITIES,
SEVERAL COMPANIES,
LIKE TO SEND THEIR SCIENCE UP.
BECAUSE,
ONCE YOU REMOVE GRAVITY,
MANY THINGS ACT DIFFERENTLY.
THIS SEASON, WE'RE EXPLORING
WHY WE SEND SCIENCE TO SPACE
AND WHAT IT TAKES
TO GET IT THERE.
SPOILER ALERT,
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE
A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO CONDUCT
RESEARCH IN MICROGRAVITY.
>> SO THIS IS OUR FIRST PROJECT
THAT'S GOING UP TO THE STATION
AND OUR FIRST PROJECT
WORKING WITH, YOU KNOW,
ANYONE INVOLVED
IN THE SPACE PROGRAM.
SO IT'S A VERY EXCITING
TIME FOR US.
THE TRANSITION FROM, "WHAT AM I
GONNA DO WITH MY LIFE?"
IN THE MIDDLE OF GRADUATE SCHOOL
TO HERE I AM,
SITTING, IN HOUSTON,
GETTING READY FOR OUR LAUNCH.
I CAN'T HARDLY BELIEVE
THAT IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
>> MEET ELAINE,
ONE OF THE CO-FOUNDERS
OF TYMPANOGEN,
A MEDICAL DEVICE STARTUP
BASED IN VIRGINIA.
HER COMPANY IS DEVELOPING
A GEL PATCH THAT CAN SERVE
AS A REPLACEMENT FOR
EARDRUM REPAIR SURGERY.
THAT COULD HAVE HUGE BENEFITS
HERE ON EARTH.
BUT LAUNCH THAT GEL TO SPACE,
AND THE OPPORTUNITIES
FOR USE GROW EVEN MORE.
FIRST, WE HAVE TO BACK UP
A FEW STEPS.
PUTTING YOUR LIFE'S WORK
ON TOP OF A ROCKET
MAY SEEM LIKE A DAUNTING TASK,
BUT THERE'S A SYSTEM IN PLACE
TO HELP SCIENTISTS WHO KNOW
NOTHING ABOUT SPACE FLIGHT
GET THEIR RESEARCH INTO ORBIT.
YOU SEE, NASA AND ITS
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS AREN'T
THE ONLY SOURCE OF SCIENCE
ABOARD THE SPACE STATION.
THE ISS U.S. NATIONAL LABORATORY
CREATES PATHWAYS TO SPACE
FOR COMPANIES, UNIVERSITIES,
AND EVEN YOUNG STUDENTS.
IF YOU'RE STARTING A JOURNEY
INTO THE UNKNOWN,
IT HELPS TO HAVE AN EXPERT
AT YOUR SIDE
TO NAVIGATE THE WAY.
THE NATIONAL LAB
CONNECTS RESEARCHERS
WITH IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERS,
WHO PROVIDE RESOURCES
AND GUIDANCE FOR TAKING
AN EXPERIMENT FROM EARTH
TO MICRO GRAVITY.
ELAINE AND HER TEAM
ARE WORKING WITH NANORACKS.
>> THEY HAVE THE PLATE READER
ON THE SPACE STATION
THAT'S GOING TO BE USED
FOR OUR PROJECT,
AND THEY'RE RECORDING THE LAUNCH
AND GETTING ALL THE MATERIALS
TOGETHER FOR US.
WE'RE GLAD THAT
WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM,
'CAUSE WE'RE GLAD THAT
SOMEBODY HAS DONE THIS BEFORE
AND CAN HELP US ALONG
WITH THE PROCESS.
>> WE HAVE 7,643.
>> THE PROJECT THAT WE'RE
SENDING TO THE SPACE STATION
IS LOOKING AT
HOW HYDROGELS BEHAVE
IN MICROGRAVITY CONDITIONS,
AND WE'RE SPECIFICALLY LOOKING
AT HOW THE STRUCTURE CHANGES
AND HOW DRUG-RELEASE
PROFILES CHANGE
IN THE ABSENCE OF GRAVITY.
>> MY NAME IS PARASTOO.
I'M A CO-FOUNDER
AND CO-INVENTOR
OF THIS TECHNOLOGY.
AND I'VE BEEN WITH
TYMPANOGEN SINCE DAY ZERO.
HYDROGELS ARE A VERY
IMPORTANT MATERIALS.
THEY ARE HIGH VOLUME
WATER THAT CAN VERY WELL MIMIC
THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX,
OF OUR BODY.
SO WE REALLY THOUGHT THAT,
ANSWERING THIS QUESTION
CAN REALLY HELP
THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.
>> CONFUSED?
DON'T WORRY,
WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED.
THINK OF HYDROGELS
LIKE A SCOOP OF GELATIN.
NOT QUITE A LIQUID,
NOT QUITE A SOLID,
DEFINITELY MADE UP
OF MOSTLY WATER.
WE CAN USE HYDROGELS
TO COVER WOUNDS AND EVEN
DELIVER ANTIBIOTICS
TO PROMOTE HEALING.
FOR THAT REASON,
HYDROGELS ARE BEING STUDIED
FOR USE FOR THINGS
LIKE WOUND CARE FOR SOLDIERS
ON BATTLE FIELDS.
>> IF YOU ARE FAR AWAY
FROM A HOSPITAL OR A CLINIC,
AND YOU CAN'T GET GOOD
MEDICAL CARE RIGHT AWAY,
AND THAT SOLDIER HAS A WOUND,
COULD YOU APPLY THAT HYDROGEL
DIRECTLY TO THE WOUND SITE
AND BEGIN TO TREAT ANY INFECTION
THAT MIGHT BE COMING ON?
WHAT ABOUT IN SPACE, THOUGH?
WHAT IF WE ARE FAR AWAY
FROM EARTH'S SURFACE,
ON OUR WAY TOWARDS MARS,
AND WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER WOUND
ON AN ARM OR A LEG,
AND WE NEED A BETTER WAY
TO TREAT THAT WOUND
AND MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T
BECOME INFECTED.
SO TYMPANOGEN,
THE HYDROGEL ITSELF
IS A GREAT EXAMPLE
OF A DUAL-PURPOSE TECHNOLOGY.
IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN USE
NOT ONLY ON THE EARTH,
BUT UP IN SPACE.
>> THIS RESEARCH COULD PROVIDE
PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN FOUNDATIONS
FOR FUTURE HYDROGEL STUDIES.
IT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE
OF HOW MICROGRAVITY CAN OFFER
NEW INSIGHTS INTO SYSTEMS
WE'VE ALREADY EXPLORED ON EARTH.
>> THE DATA THAT
WE'RE COLLECTING IS SO,
SO BASIC SCIENCE THAT IT'S--
IT'S HARD TO FIND THOSE
SORTS OF PROJECTS AT THIS STAGE
AS A RESEARCHER THAT'S REALLY
EXCITING FOR US AS WELL.
AND IT'S IN SPACE.
[ LAUGHING ]
>> AND WHEN IT GETS TO SPACE,
IT GOES INTO THE HANDS
OF ASTRONAUTS WHO WILL
RUN THE EXPERIMENT IN ORBIT.
JUST LIKE TRAINING FOR LAUNCH,
LANDING, AND SPACE WALKS,
CREW MEMBERS PARTICIPATE
IN HOURS OF SCIENTIFIC TRAINING
TO PREPARE THEM FOR RUNNING
MANY OF THE HUNDREDS
OF EXPERIMENTS THAT ARE ONGOING
ABOARD THE SPACE STATION.
READY TO GO TO CLASS
WITH AN ASTRONAUT?
WE'LL TAKE YOU ALONG.
>> WELL, A LOT HAD CHANGED
IN 11 YEARS,
SINCE HE WAS UP THERE.
IT WAS A NEW EXPERIMENT,
SO HE HADN'T SEEN THAT EITHER.
THEY TELL US, YOU KNOW,
"HEY, THIS IS A LOT EASIER
IF YOU JUST GO UPSIDE DOWN."
>> RIGHT.
>> "YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA BE
IN MICRO GRAVITY,
AND THIS WILL WORK DIFFERENTLY."