>> CHOOSE YOUR LETTUCE LEAF!
[ CHUCKLING ]
>> CHEERS.
>> CHEERS!
[ LAUGHING ]
>> DO WE GET BALSAMIC?
OH, THAT'S PRETTY GOOD!
>> WOW!
>> THAT'S A SALAD.
>> I KNOW.
>> IT'S A SALAD.
>> JC, THAT WAS DELICIOUS.
[ CHUCKLING ]
>> WELL, WHEN YOU HAVEN'T
HAD A SALAD IN SIX MONTHS,
IT'S DELICIOUS.
[ CHUCKLING ]
[ MUSIC ]
>> I'M STILL STATIONED
ON TWO FOR NANORACKS.
>> WITH YOU ON TWO
FOR NANORACKS.
>> RIGHT, HOW'S YOUR VIEW?
DO YOU WANT, UH,
ANYTHING DIFFERENT?
>> VIEW LOOKS GREAT.
>> NO, THE VIEW LOOKS GREAT,
THANK YOU.
>> NOW THAT THE EXPERIMENT
IS ABOARD THE SPACE STATION,
IT'S TIME FOR THE ASTRONAUTS
TO GET TO WORK.
ELAINE AND PARASTOO ARE BACK
IN VIRGINIA,
AND THE NANORACKS TEAM
IS BACK IN TEXAS
WHERE THEY WILL PERFORM
A GROUND-CONTROL VERSION
OF THE EXPERIMENT
BEING CONDUCTED BY THE CREW
IN SPACE.
>> THE CREW MEMBERS ARE USING
THE NANORACKS PLATE READER
TO READ, UH, THE PLATES.
THEY'RE ANALYZING WHAT'S IN
THE PLATE AND THE MIGRATION
OF FLUIDS BETWEEN
THE TWO CHAMBERS
THAT ARE ON THE PLATES.
AND SO WE HAVE OUR
GROUND, UH, SAMPLES HERE.
THESE ARE IDENTICAL
TO THE ONES THAT ARE ON
THE SPACE STATION.
AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS
AS THE CREW MEMBER INSERTS
THE PLATES INTO THE PLATE READER
ON THE SPACE STATION, WE'RE ALSO
GONNA INSERT THE PLATE
ONTO THE GROUND UNIT
WE HAVE BEHIND ME.
AND THAT'S JUST TO CONFIRM
THAT WHAT WE'RE SEEING
ANY EFFECTS THAT WE DO
END UP SEEING IS EFFECTIVE
IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT,
UM, COMPARED TO THE GROUND UNIT.
IN SUMMARY, WHAT
THE PLATE READER DOES IS--
IT'S CALLED A BIG FANCY WORD,
IS A SPECTROPHOTOMETER.
AND IT'S GOT A BIG LAMP IN IT
THAT, UH, SHINES WHITE LIGHT.
AND THEN IT'S GOT A PRISM
OR A GRATING.
AND THE WHITE LIGHT SHINES
ON THE GRATING.
AND THEN IT MOVES TO
ORIENTATE WHICH--
TO-TO KIND OF SEPARATE
THE LIGHT INTO A WAVELENGTH.
AND YOU GET TO SELECT
WHICH WAVELENGTH YOU WANT
TO SHINE THROUGH YOUR SAMPLES.
WE HAVE SIX PLATES.
EACH PLATE TAKES ABOUT
FOUR MINUTES--
SO IT'S ABOUT 30 MINUTES EACH.
AND EVERY TIME IN BETWEEN,
WE'LL BE LISTENING FOR
THE CREW MEMBER TO SAY THAT
THEY INSERTED THE PLATE.
UH, THEN WE'LL HIT
THE COMMAND HERE.
ONCE THE RUN IS DONE,
THE CREWMEMBER WILL COME OVER
AND TAKE THE PLATE OUT,
PUT THE NEW PLATE IN
AND IT'LL REPEAT FOR,
UH, FIVE MORE TIMES.
>> STILL STATION ON THREE,
PLATE 1003 IS IN THE TRAY.
>> OH, YEAH.
IT'S READING THE PLATE.
IT'S GOT A LITTLE--
THE PLATE SITS IN THERE.
MOVES THE PLATE THIS WAY
AND THEN THE READ HEAD
MOVES THIS WAY.
AND THE LITTLE
"BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP"
YOU HEAR, THAT'S KIND OF
THE LITTLE LAMP THAT'S IN THERE.
THAT TURNS THE LAMP ON.
SO IT MAKES THAT LITTLE NOISE.
SOUNDS LIKE BAD TECHNO MUSIC.
[ MACHINE BEEPING ]
>> MY CREW MATE ACTUALLY
WAS THE FIRST ONE TO START
THIS EXPERIMENT.
AND I TOOK OVER FOR HIM
AND SAID, "HEY, WHAT--
"WHAT EXPERIMENT IS THIS?
"WHAT ARE WE DOING?"
AND HE LOOKS AT ME AND HE SAYS,
"I'M NOT SURE."
SO WE CALLED DOWN, UM, TO
THE GROUND, TO MISSION CONTROL.
>> AND I KNOW THAT PART
OF THIS IS LOOKING AT A GEL
THAT CAN RELEASE THE ANTIBIOTICS
KIND OF SLOW RELEASE
TO A WOUND SITE.
UM, BUT I DON'T KNOW
WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT PLATE
IN THE NANORACKS READER
THIS MORNING AND THEN KIND OF
WHAT'S GOING ON THIS AFTERNOON.
>> UM, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
IS HOW THE DRUG MIGRATES
TO THE GEL OVER TIME.
WHICH IS WHY WE'RE SCANNING
THE PLATES TWO TIMES A DAY
FOR THIS TWO WEEK RUN.
>> AH, I LIKE THAT ANSWER.
THAT'S VERY COOL.
THANK YOU FOR FINDING THAT OUT!
>> NO PROB.
>> SO THIS IS 15 DAYS.
UH, IT'S TWICE A DAY
AND THEY'RE TYPICALLY
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT,
WHICH IS THE MORNING FOR
THE CREW ON SPACE STATION.
AND THEN USUALLY SOME TIME
IN THE LATE MORNING,
EARLY AFTERNOON HERE.
BUT KYLE'S BEEN RUNNING
THE SHOW.
HE'S BEEN GETTING UP
EVERY SIX HOURS, EIGHT HOURS,
SEVEN HOURS TO DO THIS.
IT'S KIND OF FUN IN A WAY.
I GET TO PLAY ASTRONAUT
ON THE GROUND,
SO THAT'S ALWAYS FUN.
>> AFTER 15 DAYS OF RUNNING
THE EXPERIMENT, THE RESEARCHERS
HAVE A LOT OF VALUABLE DATA
ABOUT HOW HYDROGELS
BEHAVE IN MICROGRAVITY.
TO LEARN EVEN MORE,
THE SAMPLES WILL COME BACK
TO EARTH FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS.
FOR THE LAST LEG OF
THEIR JOURNEY, THE SAMPLES
WILL RETURN TO EARTH
IN THE SAME DRAGON CAPSULE
THAT GAVE THEM A RIDE
TO MICROGRAVITY.
AFTER DRAGON SPLASHES DOWN
IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN,
IT'S TAKEN TO THE PORT OF
LONG BEACH, WHERE NASA
WILL BE READY TO RETRIEVE
THE PRECIOUS CARGO.
>> SPLASHDOWN FOR DRAGON WAS
ON, UH, SUNDAY I BELIEVE?
AND SO NASA HAS A GROUP
CALLED COLD STOWAGE
AND, UH, CARGO MANIFEST.
AND THEY GO OUT AND PICK UP
THE PAYLOADS FROM DRAGON.
AND THEN THEY DISTRIBUTE IT
TO PEOPLE AT LA OR WHOEVER
NEEDS THEM THERE,
AND THEN THEY BRING THEM ALSO
HERE TO JOHNSON SPACE CENTER.
UM, AND SO NOW I'M IN OUT FRONT
OF THE COLD STOW OFFICE.
AND I JUST PICKED UP,
UH, MODEL 74, WHICH IS
OUR TYMPANOGEN PROJECT.
AND THEY HAND IT TO ME,
AND I PUT IT IN MY COOLER.
AND THEN I DRIVE IT OVER
TO, UH, OUR OFFICE
WHERE IT'S GONNA SIT
UNTIL WE FLY UP TO,
UH, THE TYMPANOGEN OFFICE
IN, UH, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
TO, UH, DO THE FINAL PHASE
OF THE EXPERIMENT,
UH, WHICH IS REMOVING
THE SAMPLES OUT OF THE--
THE REACTOR MICROPLATES.
WE'RE REALLY PROUD TO
TAKE PART IN THIS REALLY, UH,
REALLY INTERESTING EXPERIMENT.
>> WHEN WE FIRST GOT
OUR GELS BACK,
IT WAS ALREADY EXCITING
BECAUSE SPACE NEVER LOSES
ITS COOL, AND SO WE
HAD THESE PLATES
AND WERE LIKE, "OH MY GOD!
"THESE ARE WHAT
"THE ASTRONAUTS TOUCHED!"
AND SO WE OPENED 'EM,
AND THEY'VE BEEN TO
SPACE AND BACK.
AND NOW THEY'RE IN OUR LAB.