NEWSLETTER OF THE EUROPEAN LOW GRAVITY RESEARCH … · or caissons employed in underground or underwater construction works, in hyperbaric medical chambers aiming at faster post-surgery

INEWSLETTER OF THE EUROPEAN LOW GRAVITY RESEARCH ASSOCIATION

Dear ELGRA merrbers,

Exactly tIlree ooca:les ~o, in Dec€fTlber 1978, lX. LEbeau (then ESA's Deputy Director Gernral an:l Director rJ:P1aming and FutlJ"e Progmmrnes), Dr. Wolff (ChailTllffi cf the ESA Lile SCierces Wo-king Group) arid Prot. Wass(then O1airman of the ESA Malenals SdffiGe Workirlg G"oup). con::eived the idea of brming an assodalion r:JElJ"opean sdertists IIlth the am offlrthering l10r interest in e~l()'"ation. research am developnert of loor sciercesin a low gmvity erwironmenl At ttlal time the act.fent 01 Spa::elo:tl rnd the possibility of res€llrch in low gravityertJirorrnert ()1 ol1er pallorms so..ch as soonding rockets had led b a widerlng European interest in lhs tlPe rJresearm. As e:q>eri mertw; Wl'"e widely dispersed geogr~hically. tie formaion of an "a;sodalioo" seemedopp:>rtune in ader to Iosler cooperaion am coordnalion thit is essertia for SLCOOSS in lhs pre-irternet era Lessthan a year I<:ter, m f\l:lverrOer 22, 1979, I).Jr Eo.ropean LON Gravity Research Association, ELCRA, was lonmllyregistered in MUrlch, Germany. The 'bun:!ing falhErS' 01 the society Yoere: Prof. B01de-F\o!tersen (Derrna1<), Dr.Malmejac (France), Prof. Napditaru (Raly), Dr. Padlay (UK). Dr. Skltt (UK} Prol. Weiss GerrmrTi), an:! Dr. Wollf(L.K).

A lot ha:; happerod during ttese ::l) years. ElCRA ha:; become the main patlorm for European sciertists, toth inpr.;sica and lile scierces, lBirg micro- an:! hyper-gr<Nity a:; one of l1eir research tools. Using (micro)gra;ity is nowrld orty limied kl mostly ba:;ic research but has also burld its way in awlicatiom as is retleood in e.g. a lagenlll100- olsuccessiJl ESA Microgal'ity Applicatial Progr<ms. MAPs.Whle SjEC€lab an:! sOll"lding rocl<els Yoere the main initial locilikes, we row have the ISS as major rricro-glabomtcry. Also other platforms such as Iroo nyers (BioniF <:ton), aircr;:tt paral:>olic f1i\tl1s am grourd based sirrulatorare used rmre IreqJenl/y.So, while l1ere seems to re quie an array 01 p1atfums kl be used tor sciertists to conduct microgra;ity...-elaledresearch, tte resoorch fX)ssibilities are still very rru:::h lacking behird regular gound based resea-ch. Budgetaryconstraints 'M)lJd be one oll1e main reasons for this situalion; a still very rruch dvidoo E..-opean politica landscapealso does not contribule to increa:;ing scien::e ~portuMies_ ftlth;lugh closer relatic:ns be!Neen majc:r spaC>:! agen::iesin the 'M)~d have been established in l1e last Oo!cooes, espocially ,.;th tte construction 01 tte ISS, there is still roomtor i"l'rovemenl I do hope thal the scientifIC ollpo..t emergng trom Iu~re irltiative so..ch as a Lumr or Mars missionbll also less arrtli~ous projects cOUd benefit from a dosa- cooperation of all ;:Brties irlJoIved. I do believe thal ELGRAcould and ";11 cOOriil.Jte kl ths process. It is an exciting time tor our comrrurity, especially row l1e EuropeanCOlumbus laboratory is up and fun::tioning. H:lYoeva-, logistical prot:lEmS are s~11 at sta.e now the Shlltle is nea~y

phased oLt arld especially sample retun possibilities ae limited

You have, c:r soon will, rec>:!ive the Proceedirgs 01 the last ElGRA Symposium in Floren«! (Italy) hEld togetter willthe Kalian Association tor Aa-OI1al1ical arld SpaC>:! Moldicine (fMS). n.s special edtion of Microgravity &:ien::e andTedlnology, MST, very II£!II renects tre QJrrert sta~s rJ our presenllBseach. ki; ELGRA II£! are pleased that II£!ha.e estat:lishoo firm .elatic:ns ,.;th MST an:! it publisher Sprirger. We are investiga~ng the possibility kl heve MST asa regula jolll1al fo- al ELGRA members

Please rote in jUur scredules tmt 8.GRA orgarizes its next tiannual symfX)silll1 -l1e 2011 since its fomdation­trom 1-4 S~tEmoor <D09 in Bi;lnn, Germo:ny. Prot Rl1h Hemma-stoch and Prd. Rair"l€t" Wliinecker, toth kom l1eGenTIan space agency I1R, are ttle local or[Jlnizers

As for p-llvioL6 ElGRA syrrposia we e~cllarge s~dert participation arld we will do our rest to subsidize theirvenue. In addition, Yoe orgarlze a conlest 10- the best student studies in boll Physical and ule SCienC>:!s as we didbetore The ";nners, in addition to receiving a special ElGRA award, will e<fX)se ttleir wo-k in frOO 01 tte ELFRAaLdience in a genffal session.The Syrrposiun gives us the oppmurily to award l1e ElGRA med<1s. Every tv.o years. ElGRA honcrs two r:J ourmore esteemed mEmbers in lite and pr.;sica &:ien::es br tteir oulstandirg contribl1ion b tte lield of Microgavityscierces. K is also the time where l1e row Bureau 01 the Association";l1 be Elected, dJring l1e General Assembly. I'M)uld like to rerrird yoo tmt the volLllteers irtffested in contributirg to our hsociatim can contact me direcliy. Risindeed the role oHhe current bureau to p"opose rew volunleerswto wanlto serve in the u~re managemert BureaLL

ElCRA repleserts ils mEmbErs and is an active OIganization in a nurrtla" 01 inlematiOl1al scientilic meetin!}> such CEthe joirt mootirg with ESA and tte Irta-mti01al Society lor Gavita~onal Physiology (ISGP), the American Society forGra.ilalimal am Space Biology (ASGSB) ffid the French Space Agercy O>lES, in Angers in .kme ea1iff ths year.As 8.GRA we are looking inkl the fX)ssibility D rave more collaborative meetirgs.

We rave all tte .easons to 00 OI1irristic br tte roar Uture. The recent ESA Ministerial C01!eren«! in The Hagueprovided a sil11ikart new bLdgetlortre Etropean micro-gral'ity research comnunity. Early 2009will also be the timethat ES/l. will open a newannourcementtor research propa;als, Topical Te<msarld MAP's.

I wish you anexC>:!llert 2003 and I am looking Ior\o.ard kl Yoelccrnirg you all in Bc:nn kl make our neJd ~rJ1XIsium agreet SLCceSS!

YOll"$ sinC>O!rely,

Jack JWA van LoonPre6idert of B.GRA

ACTA - Free Univa-sily AmstErdam, The NEth€l1ands

Editor:Prof. Dr. Thodoris D. KarapantsiosDepartment of Chemistry - Aristotle University of ThessalonikiUniversity Box 116 - 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece

2 SCIENCE

A. DECOMPRESSION SICKNESS (DCS): LIFE AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE PERSPECTIVES

Background and basic considerations for monitoringDeS during spacewalks (extravehicular activities)

Eleni Kalogianni 1 and Thodoris Mesimeris2

1: Dept. of Chemistry, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece,[email protected]: Hyperbaric Medicine Unit, 51-Paul Hospital, Thessaloniki,Greece. [email protected]

DEFINITION

Decompression sickness (DeS) is a clinical syndromecaused by rapid reduction of pressure in the body whichresults in formation of bubbles within body tissues. Thesebubbles is the result of desorption of dissolved gases thatcan not be sustained in the dissolved slale when pressuredecreases. DeS symptoms range from mild joint nuisanceor pain to permanent deficits or even death. HyperbaricDeS refers to decompression from a higher than ambientpressure (1 bar) to a lower pressure value (down toambient pressure) and it may occur in pressurized tunnelsor caissons employed in underground or underwaterconstruction works, in hyperbaric medical chambersaiming at faster post-surgery rehabilitation of patients aswell as in scuba diving. Hypobaric DCS refers todecompression from ambient pressure to a lower pressure(partial vacuum) value and may occur during a loss ofpressure accident in high altitude flights, from longexposure in high altitude chambers or in space duringextravehicular activity (EVA). In particular, during EVAscrewmembers go from an ambient cabin pressure to thespace suit pressure of -0.3 bar and this entails a potentialrisk for DCS.

ETIOLOGY, SITES OF FORMA TlON AND CLINICALMANIFESTATION

During decompression the body pressure decreases andas a result tissues get supersaturated with nitrogen (inertgas) oxygen and carbon dioxide and oxygen (metabolicgases). The human organism tends spontaneously toequilibrate this excess level of dissolved gases. The smallamounts of metabolic gases are rapidly controlled by therespiratory and circulatory systems. On the contrary, theinert gas can leave the tissues only through the venoussystem and be finally expelled by the lungs at muchslower rates than metabolic gasses. The control ofnitrogen by the organism and the high percentage ofnitrogen breathed from ambient air make it the gas mostimplicated in DCS. In in-vivo systems, supersaturationlimits for the production of a decompression gas phase areorders of magnitude lower than those found in-vitro inquiescent fluids. This was attributed to the fact thatmicrobubbles preexist in tissues.Bubbles are formed mainly in the skin, joints and thespinal cord. These bubbles may move from the sites oforigin directly into the veins but not into the arteries due tothe higher gas pressure in arteries than in veins. There isexperimental evidence of bubbles in human veins andmainly in those draining kinetically active tissues. Themost common are the subclavian and femoral veins, whilejugular, branchial and popliteal veins have been alsofound to contain bubbles after many decompression

exposures. These bubbles will altogether gather in venacava (superior and inferior).After vena cava, bubbles will pass to the pulmonary filter.The pulmonary filter can trap bubbles thus preventing theirpassage to arterial circulation. However, if the pulmonaryfilter is overloaded with bubbles some bubbles willeventually pass to arterial circulation through the leftventricule. Bubbles passing to arterial circulation will thenprogressively move to peripheral tissues.The clinical manifestations of DCS are usually divided inmechanical effects (bubbles impinging on nerve endingsand thus causing pain and tissue tearing) and blood­bubble interfacial effects. Interfacial effects usually refer tobubbles appearing as foreign bodies in the organismwhich initiate a defense mechanism. This defensemechanism triggers a cascade of reactions:vasoconstriction, leakage of liquids from the intravascularto extravascular spaces, platelets aggregation causingischemia, blood viscosity increase, capillary flowresistance increase, capillary pressure increase, venousreturn decrease and blood flow decrease.

FACTORS AFFECTING DCS

The incidence and severity of DCS are affected by bothexternal and individual (human) factors. One of the mainexternal factors is the pressure profile into which thehuman body is subjected. The pressure profile includesthe pressure difference, the length of exposure and therate at which decompression takes place. Anotherimportant external factor is the composition of the gasbreathed in. Oxygen pre-breathe depletes nitrogen fromthe body, thus helping in the prevention of DCS. Exercisehas been also found to play an important role on theincidence and severity of DCS. It has been foundexperimentally that both adynamia (lack of weight bearingloads) and akinesia or hypokinesia (lack or reduction ofmovement) during or prior to decompression reduces theoccurrence of DCS.Apart from the above external factors, individual humanfactors make subjects exposed to the same conditionsbefore and during decompression to react differentlyregarding DCS. Some of the more important individualparameters seem to be the age, gender, body fat,previous DCS occurrence and injury. However, thesusceptibility to DCS may also vary for the same individualfrom one day to another.

EVA AND DCS

There has been less DCS occurrence during EVAs thanstatistically expected. During the 110 manned missions ofU.S. astronauts and Russian cosmonauts until 1993 noserious DCS has occurred during EVAs. It has beenargued that it is rather the reduction of stress assistednucleation in space, due to adynamia and lower bodyhypokinesia, that aids to such effect since there is noexperimental proof of any physiological mechanism doingso. Other possible parameters leading to no DCSoccurrence during EVAs are the 100% oxygen prebreatheand the slow depressurization protocol followed.EVA preparation protocols are designed in order toprevent serious DCS symptoms, and are based on

statistical evaluation of previous decompressionexperiments. Although up to now no serious DCSsymptoms have occurred, these preparation protocolscannot assure the safety of crewmembem performingEVAs due to the big variation of individual and day-by-daysusceptibility but also due to the multiple factom affectingDeS occurrence. Furthermore, it is not known if theseprotocols can be efficient for populations on which littledata exist such as women, previously injured people. etc.The long time needed for EVA preparations makes ita!m~t impossible for astronauts to use it in emergencySItuatIOns. All the above together with the increasing needfor EVAs in the following years, underline the importanceof developing an in-vivo non-intrusive technique for thedetection of bubbles in the body of astronauts in theirspace suits (bubbles are preOJrsors of DCS). On-line in­vivo bubble detection would also help further investigationof EVA preparation protocols and possibly lead 10 greaterflexibility and time saving that would improve the workeffICiency in these activities.

CONSJDERATlONS FOR MONITORING DCS DURINGEVAs

Basic functional specifications

By far the most important feature of an in-vivo bubbledetector is to be capable of detecting bubbles in thehuman body timely and acwralely. Small sensingelectrodes must be attached firmly and stably to thehuman booy. In addition. the detector should be portableand lightweight. in order to adapt to the space suil. Thewhole setup must not obstruct the movement of theastronaut and must be readily accessed and easy tooperate. The detector must inform the astronaut in a clearway (audible or visual signal) on his current status ofbubbles' presence in his body. Apparently, the techniqueshould conform to safety and health regulations for use inhumans.

Sites on the human body for bubble detection

At first sight one may think that bubble monitoring shouldbe conducted on the sites of origin of bubbles in thecirculatory system (especially in the venous system) asthis would provide the earliest alarm for the prevention of~CS. However, these sites are dispemed in the booy andIt cannot be known a priori in 'Nhich one, bubbles will growtim!. Furthermore, the small concentration of bubbles inone site makes their detection very difficult. The otheroption would be to measure bubbles in veins where theygather as they travel away from their formation sitestowards the heart. On the contrary, detecting arterialbubbles may be a wrong strategy when aiming at DCSprevention. As explained above, bubbles enler arteriesonly if they have passed through the venous system andlungs. Bubbles in arteries are ready 10 anack variousorgans and tissues. inclUding the brain and this is too latefor alarm.From the above it is evident that in order for a detector toget strong signals, representative of an appreciablenumber of bubbles, and still in good time forcountermeasures. the detector must focus on large veinslocated close to the heart e.g. vena cava, 'Nhere bubblesfrom different parts of the body progressively accumulate.

SCIENCE 3

For this same reason, traditional Doppler measurementsare also performed close to the heart. However, difficultieswith focusing the signal at the presence of otherintervening media (tissues. bones etc.) may dictate othermore convenient measuring points such as spots alongthe human limbs (wrist, ann. leg. ankle etc) or other largeveins draining kinetically active tissues such as thefemoral, popliteal and subclavian veins.

Bubble size

Under decompression oonditions, initially only few smallbubbles are present in the tissues. As time goes-by thesebubbles progressively grow larger and other new bubblesalso appear. The fewer and smaller the bubbles that canbe detected the bener. Apart from the alarm (yes/no)bubble detection, quantifICation of bUbbly flow bymeasuring volumetric gas fraction and bubble sizes wouldbe important for the jUdgment of the severity of thesituation. Such quantification would also help for an in­depth study of DeS and of the faelors affecting it. Duringdecompression incidents a number of predictive modelsestimat~ bubble sizes from few IJm to about 601Jm,depencling on pressure, exercise. and exposure time.Usually. a traditional Doppler detector senses bubblesabove that range.

Blood flow and bubble flow characteristics

Of particular significance for an in-vivo bubble detector iswhether different bubble flow behavior e.g. under steadyand pulsatile flow, affects their reliable detection. Bloodflow in different parts of the body is unidirectional andweakly or strongly pulsatile. The perioo of pulsationdepends on the heart rate. Heart rates recorded duringEVAs range from 43 to 174 min-1.The mean flow ratedepends on the vessel diameter, while the amplitude ofpulsation depends on the vessel's size and its proximity tothe heart. In addition. blood being a suspension ofdeformable cells in an aqueous solution (plasma) has flowproperties depending on shear rate. vessel diameter andhematocrit (red cell concentration).

Bubble sensing techniques suitable for EVAs

Considering in vivo measurements of bubbles generatedby decompression, ultrasound (acoustic) methods havebeen traditionally used. The scallering and absorptionproperties of acoustic waves by bubbles have been usedin different ways to detect bubbles. The most popularacoustic method for bubble detection in humans is theDoppler scattering method. The produced Dopplerfrequency shifts are typically in the audio range 0-10KHzand can be monitored aurally by human observers.Although the Doppler method is simple, in real use manyproblems arise related chiefly to the human factor involvedin the interpretation of the audible signal. In addition, thesensitivity of Doppler ultrasonic devices varies with bubblevelocity and the measurement is very sensitive to thepositioning of the probe.Techniques common for monitoring industrial bubblyflows, e.g optical, and ionizing radiation (Hay and v-ray)are apparently not suitable for EVAs. Also. MagneticResonance Imaging has limited temporal resolution andthe equipment is bulky. Electrical techniques may be atempting altemative for in vivo measurements during

4 SCIENCE

EVAs. They can be very fast, simple 10 apply, theequipment is lighter and less voluminous and bodymovement is not expected to inlertere with measurement.However, so far no version is available for applications onhumans.

BIBLIOGRAPHYThe shuttle EVA preparation description:http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/shutref/orbiter/eclss/emU.html

Chaouki J., Larachi F., Dudukovic M. P., (1996): Non-InvasiveMonitoring of Multiphase Flows, Elsevier Publishing, Amsterdam.

Conkin J., (2001): Evidence-based approach to the analysis ofserious decompression sickness with application to EVAastronauts. NASA-TP-2001-210196.

Dervay J. P., Powell M. R., Butler B., Fife C. E., (2002): TheEffect of Exercise and Rest Duration on the Generation of VenousGas Bubbles at Altitude. Aviation, Space and EnvironmentalMedicine 73 (1),22-27.

Foster P. P., Feiveson A. H., and Boriek A. M., (2000): Predictingtime to decompression illness during exercise at altitude, basedon formation and growth of bubbles. American Journal ofPhysiology Regulatory and Integrative Computational Physiology.279,2317-2328.

Hemmingsen E. A., (1989): Bubble Nucleation mechanisms. In:"The Physiological Basis of Decompression" Vann R. D. (Ed.)UHMS Publication Number 5 (Phys) 6-1-89. 9, Undersea MedicalSociety. Bethesda. MD.

Katuntsev V. P.. Osipov Yu. Yu.. Barer A.S.. Gnoevaya N. K..Tarasenkov G. G., (2004): The main results of EVA medicalsupport on the Mir Space Station, Acta Astronautica 54, 577-583.

Nishi R. Y., (1993): Doppler and ultrasonic bubble detection. In:"The physiology and medicine of diving" Bennett P.. Elliot D.(Eds). W.B. Saunders Company. London.

Powell MR, Waligora J. M.. Norfleet W. T., Kumar K. V., (1993):Project ARGO-Gas Phase Formation in Simulated Microgravity,NASA Technical Memorandum 104762.

Rudge F. W. and Zwart B. P., (2002): Effects of decreasedpressure: Decompression Sickness. Flight Surgeon Guide.Chapter 3 Hyperbarics.

Spencer M. P. (1976): Decompression limits for compressed airdetermined by ultrasonically detected blood bubbles. Journal ofApplied Physiology, 40(2), 229-235.

Vann R. D. and Thalmann E. D., (1993): DecompressionPhysiology and Practice. In: The physiology and medicine ofdiving. Bennett P. and Elliot D. (Eds). W.B. Saunders Company.London.

Woodcock J. P.. (1976): Physical properties of blood and theirinfluence on blood-flow measurement, Rep. Prog. Phys. 39, 65­127.

From the growth and detachment of single bubbles tomassive bUbbly flows

T.D. Karapantsios, M Kostoglou and S. EvgenidisDept of Chemistry. Aristotle University, Univ. Box 116. 54124.Thessaloniki.Greece: [email protected],kostoglu@chem,auth,gr, [email protected],gr.

INTRODUCTIONThis report aims to make the connection between liquiddegassing (bubble growth and detachment) and bubbly

flow which is essentially the precursor of DCS. Gasbubbles can be generated on solid surtaces covered by aliquid as a result of desorption of dissolved gases whenthe liquid becomes supersaturated with respect todissolved gases. This report starts from basic phenomenacontrolling single bubble growth on a solid surtace,extends to growth of multiple adjacent bubbles and theirsubsequent detachment from the surtace into the liquidand, finally, copes with characterization of multiplebubbles flowing with the liquid (bubbly flow). Here only thecase of thermal degassing is examined in which bubblesare produced locally on a hot spot surrounded by coldliquid layers. Thermal degassing is more general thandecompression degassing (in fact, it encompasses it)since in addition to mass transfer involves also heattransfer processes. As regards bubbly flows, the recentresearch pertormed in our laboratory is presented onnovel techniques that allow measurement of gas/liquidfractions and bubble size distributions at conditions suchas those met during DCS in human veins and arteries.

BUBBLE GENERA TlONBubble generation due to oversaturation of a liquid withrespect to a dissolved gas (degassing) can be realized byeither a decompression or a thermalization step. Localthermalization is preferable from an experimentalstandpoint as it creates a controllable number of bubbles.According to this design, a miniature submerged heater issuddenly heated and as the surrounding liquid becomessupersaturated a bubble forms at the heater's surtace.Subsequently, the bubble grows with transfer of mass ofthe dissolved gas from the bulk of the liquid to the bubblesurtace.In a series of ESA (European Space Agency) ParabolicFlight Campaigns, we exploited the low-g conditionsachieved during the free-fall of an airplane to study thebubble dynamics during degassing of several liquids.Microgravity conditions are necessary for eliminating theeffects of bubble buoyancy and natural convection in orderto obtain results amenable to rigorous theoreticalinterpretation.

SINGLE BUBBLE GROWTHA detailed mathematical description of the processincludes the solution of transient heat and mass transferequations in the gas and liquid phases (3-dimensionalgeometry) along with the appropriate boundary conditionson the surtace of the bubble and the heater. Theseequations are of the convection-diffusion type where theflow field responsible for the convection terms isgenerated from the growing bubble. The problem includesa moving boundary with the motion being part of thesolution. In addition, the very high temperature gradientalong the surtace of the bubble induces a Marangonimotion which transfers hot fluid from the heater to theremote parts of the bubble surtace, tending to equilibratebubble and heater temperatures.Although the complete problem can be easily formulated,its solution is not possible with the present day computerresources. An initial attempt to simulate the problem ofbubble growth on the thermistor was based on aspherically symmetric (1-0) model of a spherical bubblegrowing at a constant temperature. The problem wassolved using a well known similarity transformation and

SCIENCE 5

has lead to a power law relation between bubble radiusand time with an exponent value equal to 0.5. However,the corresponding experimental curves were best-fitted bylower (than 0.5) exponent values.A next step was to approximate the problem by a 1-Dmodel but now the assumption is that the bubble grows ata uniform but time dependent temperature. Comparing theevolution of the average bubble temperature estimatedfrom experimental growth curves with the measuredtemperature of the heater reveals important information forthe phenomena dictating bubble growth. Two typicalexperimental growth curves for single bubbles grown inPhosphate Buffer Saline are shown in Figure 1.Theoretical results are given as dotted lines. Apparently,bubbles grow faster as the heat flux increases.

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Multiple bubbles detach at some point along their growthdue to g-jitters. Interestingly, they detach synchronously toeach other and at much smaller sizes than single bubblesdo. This is attributed to the higher temperatures employedto produce multiple bubbles which are capable ofdestabilizing the contact line of the bubbles with theheater.

MASSIVE BUBBL Y FLOWSOnce multiple bubbles detach from their nucleation sitesthey form a bubble cloud which can be dragged by a liquidstream if flow conditions are imposed e.g., in bloodstream. Thus, it is easy to realize that detecting and sizingbubbles intravascularly may indicate DCS severity inhumans. Given the limitations of the traditional Dopplerbubble detection technique, we have made an effort overthe last years to examine the behavior of such bubblecloud and its interaction with the liquid flow.

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Fig. 3. Contours of air volume fraction for pulsallle flow 0.6Litimin,artery length SOO mm and diameter 5-20 mm. pulsation 60 bpm.50"/0 pulse amplitude, 3% air volume fraction. The picture refersto 300 11m bubbles

Experimental bubble detection and sizingWe are developing an electrical impedance tomographytechnique for registering the temporal distribution of thegas and liquid phases during bubbly flows. A strategicselection of probe geometry and an algorithm for signalreduction have been developed. Figure 4 shows indicativeelectrical signals where the effect of bubble size is evident.

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Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)Pulsatile blood/bubble flow simulations were performedinitially inside a 2-D vertical column having the diameter ofhuman vena cava (21mm) in order to provide basic insightto the problem and then in a 3D artery, Figure 3.

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,.Fig. 1. Evolution of the radius of single bubbles for two differentvalues of the heat flux supplied by the heater.

MUL TIPLE BUBBLE GROWTH AND DETACHMENTAt higher power levels, two or more bubbles are noticed togrow simultaneously at different locations on the heater'ssurface. Such a group of simultaneous bubbles(designating a bubble generation) grows for less time thansingle bubbles do and finally detaches thus allowing formore bubble generations to appear during the sameheating period. The evolution of bubbles size -up todetachment- of several generations (G) of bubbles isshown in Figure 2.

Fig. 2. Multiple bubble growth evolution culVes (radius vs lime).

Careful comparisons reveal that multiple bubbles grow atlower rates than single bubbles at equivalent thermalconditions, a fact which implies that multiple bubblesgrowing in proximity can deplete the dissolved gas in theirneighbourhood.

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"Fig. 4. Air volume fraction (c%) electrical signals for bubble cloudswith average diameters: 230 and 430 11m.

6 SCIENCE

In adittion, we are developing an acoustic spectroscopytechnique for bubble detection and sizing. The attenuationof the ultrasound signal and the alteration of the phasevelocity due 10 bubble presence in the liquid are employedin the signal reduction algorithm to give a measure of thequantity of bubbles and bubble size distribution.So far, results from both techniques are promising as theyshow excellent sensitivity 10 variations in both 93S fractionand bubble size and agree reasonably with bubble sizesobtained from high resolution optical images, e.g. Figure5.

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Fig. 5. Comparison between acoustic and optical results (% vsbubble diamefer) for an air volume fraction 1%.

Funded by an ESAIGSTP project, we are currentlypreparing for doing tests on anesthetized swines.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Karapantsios T., Kostoglou, M. Divinis, N. and Bontozoglou V."Nucleation, growth and detachment of neighboring bubbles overminiature heaters" Chemical Engineering Science 63, 3438-3448.2008.

Kostoglou M. and Karapantsios TD. "Bubble dynamics during thenon-isothermal degassing of liquids. Exploiting microgravityconditions" Advances in Colloid and Interface Science 134-135.125-137,2007.

Scriven L. E.. (1959): On the dynamics of phase growth.Chemical Engineering Science, 10. 1-13.

Ultrasonic detection of vascular gas bubbles inevaluation of decompression procedures

Olav S. Eftedal' and Alf O. Brubakk2

1: Department of Occupational Medicine, 5t Olavs Hospital,Trondheim . Norway2: Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging. Faculty ofMedicine. Norwegian University of Science and Technology.Trondheim, Norway

Decompression may lead to formation of gas bubbles inthe body, which in turn may lead to decompressionsickness (DCS). This is what we know, or at least what wethink we know, because although the evidence is strong, itis difficult to actually prove a causal relationship betweengas bubbles and DCS. The intermediate steps in thecascade of events leading to DCS are still only partiallyunderstood. We don't know exactly how or where bubbles

form and we don't fully understand the mechanismsbehind injury caused by bubbles. Studies on bubbles andDCS have focused on gas bubbles in the vascular system.This is mainly because these bubbles, as opposed totissue bubbles, can be reliably detected by use ofultrasound. But there are also studies indicating thatvascular bubbles, through complex immunologicalprocesses, are the main culprit of development of serious(neurological and cardiopulmonary) decompressionsickness [1]. Still, the relationship between the presence ofdetectable vascular gas bubbles and the occurrence ofDCS is ambiguous. Intravascular gas bubbles have beenobserved in large quantities in divers with no symptomsand, conversely, there are studies reporting cases ofdecompression sickness not accompanied by detectablegas bubbles. However, most studies indicate a higherincidence of DCS with increasing number of bubbles. Thestudies also indicate that the bubblefDCS relationshipdepends on the type of exposure, e.g. bounce dive versussaturation dives, but also for similar exposures there isconsiderable variation between the studies.Doppler ultrasound instruments are most commonly usedfor detection of vascular gas bubbles. The number ofbubble signals is usually graded semi-quantitatively on ascale from 0 to 4 according to the Spencer code or theKisman-Masurel code [2J.The most extensive study on bubblefDCS correspondencein bounce diving was presented by Sawatzky in his masterthesis [3], where he systematically analyzed maximumDoppler ultrasound scores and DCS incidence in 1,726nitrox (nitrogen and oxygen) dives and 1,508 Heliox(helium and oxygen) dives. In general, DCS did not occurif no vascular bubbles could be detected, and grade 4bubbles were accompanied by DCS in 10-50% of thecases, depending on bubble detection procedure. Theseresults correspond closely to what we have observed insimilar dives using ultrasound imaging for bubble detection[41·There are few systematic studies on bubbles and DCS insaturation diving. A saturation dive is a time and resourcedemanding undertaking and it is rarely possible to includemore than 8-10 divers in each exposure. Also, the DCSincidence with current saturation diving procedures isextremely low, adding to the problem of establishing abubble/DCS correspondence. Most studies do indicatethat there is a correspondence also in saturation diving,but the number of cases of DCS not accompanied bydetectable bubbles seems to be higher than forsubsaturation diving.For hypobaric exposures the existing data are not easilyinterpreted. 2 major studies with 1322 and 2044 subjectsrespectively, give distinctly different outcome. Conkin et al.found a 1.5% DCS incidence with grade 0 bubbles [5],whereas Pilmanis et al. found 19% [6]. Kumar et al.concluded that Doppler ultrasound measurements wereuseful in making therapeutic decisions on DCS whenconfronted with non-specific symptoms at altitude [7J. Dueto the ambiguity of other published data this should bedone with caution.When a correlation is established between observedvascular bubbles and the occurrence of DCS symptoms,this correlation can be used to calculate DCS risk whentesting a decompression procedure. We have designed amethod based on Bayesian statistics [8J where each

bubble grade is assigned a DCS risk based on establisheddata. This set of risks is combined with maximumobserved bubble grade in a number of dives for the testedprocedure. In this way we can estimate the DCS risk and,more importantly, calculate a 95% credible interval for theestimate. A credible interval is a posterior probabilityinterval, used for purposes similar to those of confidenceintervals in frequentist statistics.It is a oommoo misunderstanding that bubble detectioncan be used for diagnosis of DCS in individual cases. Thisis not so. The occurrence of detectable vascular bubblescan only say something about the risk of developingsymptoms of DCS. However, when used in testing newprocedures, bubble detection is a valuable tool. We havefound that our Bayesian method can reduce the number ofdives needed for table validation by approximately 95%compared to the standard evaluation method, where risk isbased on the observed frequency of DCS symptoms. It isalso important that bubble detection can lead to aprocedure being rejected as unsafe before a single caseof DCS is encountered, so the hazard to the test subjectsis reduced.There are various approaches to the design ofdecompression procedures, and there is an abundance ofdive computers with different algorithms for calculatingsafe decompression. The expenses of testing haveprohibited proper validation of many of these procedures.With a 95% reduction in the number of test dives neededfor evaluation compared to the traditional method. bubbledetection will facilitate validation of new decompressionprocedures. We believe that this will improve safety forpeople involved in activities with variable barometricpressure.

REFERENCES1 Brubakk AO, Eftedal O. Wisl0ff U. Endothelium and Diving. In:Aird. W. (ed): Handbook on Endothelial Function, CambridgeUniversity Press. 2007. in press.2 Nishi RY. Brubakk AO. Eftedal OS. Bubble detection. In:Brubakk AO, Neuman TS, editors. Bennett and Elliott's physiologyand medicine of diving. 5th edition. London: Saunders; 2003: 501­29.3 Sawatzky KD. The relaUonship between intravascular Doppler­detected gas bubbles and decompression sickness after bouncediving in humans. MSc Thesis. Toronto, Ontario: York University;1991.4 Eftedal OS, Lydersen S, Brubakk AO. The relationship betweenvenous gas bubbles and adverse effects of decompression afterair dives. Undersea Hyperb Mad 2007; 34(2): 99-1055 Conkm J, Powell MR, Foster PP, Waligora JM. Informationabout venous gas emboli improves prediction of hypobaricdecompressioo sickness. Aviat Space enVIron Med 1998Jan;69(1):S-16.6 Pilmanis AA, Kaman N, Krause KM, Webb JT. Relating venousgas emboli (VGE) scores to altitude decomPfession sickness(DeS) symptoms. Aviat Space Enwon Mad 1999 70(4):364.7 Kumar VK, Billica RD, Waligora JM. utility of Doppler­detectable mlCrobubbles in the diagnosis and treatment ofdecompressioo sickness. Aviat Space Environ Med 1997Feb;68(2):151-8.8 Eftedal OS, Tjelmeland H, Brubakk AO. Validation ofdecompressioo procedures based on deteclioo of venous gasbubbles: a Bayesian approach. Avial Space Environ Mad 2007;78: 94-99

SCIENCE 7

SURF imaging and decompression inducedmlcrobubbles

Andreas M011erl0kken1 and Svein Erik M<\S0!1: Baromedical and envirorvnentat physiology group, Departmentof Circulation and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, NTNU_2: The ultrasound research group, Department of Circulation andMedical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, NTNU.

The purpose of all decompression procedures is toprevent injury to the diver, and it is generalty agreed thatthese injuries are caused by the formation of gas bubblesin the body. Gas bubbles form in nearty alldecompressions, and the risk of developingdecompression sickness (DCS) increases with the numberof gas bubbles [1]. Paul Bert demonstrated therelationship over 100 years ago [2], and his hypothesiswas later central to Haldanes theory [3J. Today we knowthat bubble formation during decompression is not simplya consequence of inert gas supersaturation, as numerousexperiments indicate that bubbles originate as pre-existinggas nuclei 14].A systematic study of the phenomena accompanyingdecompression is complex and diffiCUlt, as practicalmeasurement methods to monitor the processes takingplace in body tissues are lacking. However, theintroduction of ultrasound to detect vascular gas bubblesgenerated during and after decompressions has made itpossible to compare different decompression situationsand models without going 10 the binominal endpoint DCSor no-DeS. Recently, a Baysian approach to validatedecompression procedures has also been developed, anapproach which is based on detection of vascular gasbubbles (5).Gas-filled microbubbles are not just interesting forresearchers and clinicians working with hyperbaricproblems. The introduction of contrast agents forultrasonic imaging, especially for cardiology andabdominal applications are also a highly specializedapplication working with gas filled bubbles. Ultrasoundcontrast agents are generally of a size of 1-4 jJm, they aretranspulmonary and provide strong reflections which canbe detected. Modem contrast agents are usually filled withperfluorocarbon gas, stabilized in a lipid monolayer shell.The ultrasound research group at the Department ofCirculation and Medical Imaging at NTNU in Trondheimhas developed a new method for detecting contrastagents. which gives better resolution and improves thesensitivity compared with traditional techniques. Themethod is called SURF (Second Order UltRasound Field)Imaging, and instead of one pulse being transmitted as intraditional ultrasound transducers, the SURF methodtransmits two pulses simultaneously. One pulse is used tomanipUlate the size of the microbubbles, and the other isused for detection of the change in size. By utilizing thenonlinear nature of the contrast agents (gas bubbles areeasier to expand than to compress), one can filter outspecific parts of the reflected signal in order 10 detect theagent of interest (6].In relation to decompression induced microbubbles, it isaccepted that the process of bubble formation starts bymicroscopic bubble nuclei. De novo formation of gasbubbles requires an unrealistic pressure gradient inrelation to normal decompression activity. But, bydefinition, no one has actually seen these bubbles in non-

8 SCIENCE

1: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology2: Swedish Defence Research AgencyCenter for Environmental Physiology, Karolinska Institutet,Stockholm, Sweden

The space suits used during extravehicular activity (EVA:"space walks") have an internal pressure of approximately1/3 of that on the International Space Station, where thepressure is 1.0 bar. On the ground, such decompressionsare associated with unacceptable rates of venous gasemboli (VGE) and decompression illness (DCI), even afterone hour of nitrogen washout by breathing oxygen beforedecompression. Nevertheless, no DCI events have beenreported from the US and Russian space activities so far.In recent studies, the Russian pre-EVA/EVAdecompression regimen was simulated in an altitudechamber. Twenty subjects were decompressed to 0.38 barafter 1 h of oxygen breathing, and continued to breatheoxygen for 2 hours (n=10) or 6 hours (n=10). Subjectswere strictly supine and performed intermillent armexercise of moderate intensity. Every 5-15 min pre-cordialDoppler ultrasound was used to monitor the subject'sheart for VGE and the subjects were also monitored forsymptoms of DCI.There was only one subject in whom large numbers ofdetectable VGE (KM Doppler scores ~ III) were measured.During the preceding medical examination this subjectreported a tender right lower arm. He had these symptomsfor 19 days and also visited a physiotherapist. During theexamination he showed slight right-sided weakness and itwas believed at the time to be a muscle strain or tear. Anx-ray taken five days after the experiment showedfractures of the scaphoid bone and of the head of theradial bone. This subject had KM Doppler scores of gradeIII or above after 56 minutes at altitude and at 5 occasionsduring the ensuing 38 minutes before recompression. Oneallendant that worked inside the chamber and performedintense physical work in upright position while opening amedical lock, had both a large number of circulating VGE(KM Doppler scores> III) and symptoms of DCI.The horizontal posture and the complete lower-extremityunloading can be regarded as simulated microgravity, andthis appeared to prevent substantial formation of VGE.This lends support to the notion that Russian cosmonautshave a very low, if any, risk of DCI. The unintentionalexposure of a subject with a relatively recent arm fractureto altitude decompression suggests that the localinflammatory process and/or local endothelial damage inthe fractured area could be a locus of minor resistance forformation of, or entry of, decompression gas bubbles inthe blood.

Altitude decompression in simulated microgravity

Karlsson L.L.1, Blogg S.L. 2, Gennser M?, Lindholm p1

,2

and Linnarson D. 1

,•· -, , • , • • '" "

,.

,•

, , , , , • , • • '" " "

[1] Nishi RY, Brubakk AO, Eftedal OS. Bubble Detection. In:Brubakk AO, Neuman TS, eds. Bennett and Elliott's Physiologyand Medicine of Diving, 5th ed: Saunders, 2003:501-530.[2] Vann RD. Inert Gas Exchange and Bubbles. In: Bove AA. ed.Bove and Davies' Diving Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia:Saunders. 2004:53-77.[3] Boycott AE, Damant GCC, Haldane JS. The prevention ofcompressed air illness. J HYQ Camb 1908;8:342-443.[4] Blatteau JE, Souraud JB, Gempp E, Boussuges A. Gas nuclei,their origin, and their role in bubble formation. Aviation. space.and environmental medicine 2006:77:1068-1076.[5] Eftedal OS. Tjelmeland H, Brubakk AO. Validation ofdecompression procedures based on detection of venous gasbubbles: A Bayesian approach. Aviation, space, andenvironmental medicine 2007;78:94-99.[6] Mas0y SE. Standal 0. Nasholm p. Johansen F. Angelsen B.Hansen R. SURF Imaging: In vivo demonstration of an ultrasoundcontrast agent detection technique. IEEE Trans UltrasonFerroelec and Freq Control2008;ln press.

diving subjects. They are believed 10 be in the order of 1IJm, and there are no detection systems available todaywhich can highlight such small bubbles. However, theSURF technology is well suited for decompressioninduced microbubbles, since it can be designed to detectspecific size gas bubbles, and filter out all other disturbingsignals. The result is that in a standard ultrasonic picturewhere you can not see any bubbles at all, the SURF canvisualize the presence of bubbles if they are in the samesize as ultrasound contrast agents. And in theory, one canbuild transducers based on the SURF technology whichcan delect microbubbles down to 2 IJrn.

Figure 1: SURF-pulse complexes for contrast agent detection andImaging. For additional information, please visit:http://www.ntnu.nolsurf/

REFERENCES:

SCIENCE 9

B. READ BEFORE DISCUSSING THE WETTING POWER OF A LIQUID AND USING THECONTACT ANGLE

M. G. Velarde, Madrid, Spain ([email protected],www.ucm.es/info/fluidos )

A thin liquid layerConsider a liquid layer with an open surface or a shallowliquid layer (thickness h) enclosed between two flal solidplates or two other fluid phases. Is it so obvious that thestability and evolution of the liquid layer is describableusing standard thermodynamics and hydrodynamics?According to Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey and Overbeekthis depends on h. If the layer is a hundred nanometers(nm) thick or less, their DLVa theory demandsconsideration of the kind and size of the liquid moleculesinvolved, as well as their interactions and the interaction ofsolid and liquid molecules. At macroscopic level details ofthe micro-level interactions demand augmenting standardtheories with new forces called "surface forces" (not"surface tension"). In the few-nm range all molecules tendto repel each other due to the overlapping of their outerelectron ·orbits" (Born repulsion). A model is the i 12

Lennard-Jones repulsion force where "r" denotesintermolecular distance. Separated a few tens of nm,repulsion is replaced by attraction (London-Van derWaals/Lennard-Jones r"6 force).When the intermolecular pair potential is 1/1' the effectiveenergy of (attractive) interaction between two planarsurfaces separated (in vacuum or air) by a distance h isG(h)~ 1111'1-4 ,with n(h) =-[oGfh)!oh}r, a (dIsjoIning)pressure, as suggested by Derjaguin. With an enclosedliquid such a force may lead to attraction or repulsion. Witha non-polar liquid, like an oil, the L-VdW ("long-range")interaction with n = 6 , yields nl_vJ,dh) = _A16Jth3 (A,Hamaker characteristic constant). Such a law is supportedby experimental data in the range h < 30 nm. Across apolar liquid, like pure water, A may decrease an order ofmagnitude when passing from, e.g., 1 nm to 102 nm. Itsvalues are comparable with the thermal energy KBT atroom temperature T (kB is Boltzmann's constant). If A ispositive the L-VriW force (or pressure) is attractive and itscontribution to disjoining pressure is negative inducinginstability of a uniform liquid film bound to break in drops.Such is the case for an oil film deposited on a Teflonl\)coated frying pan. It can only be made stable by gravity ifenough oil is poured. When L-VdW is repulsive (Anegative) we have a positive disjoining pressure acrossthe thin liquid film which is stable.The size, form and molecular structure as with aqueoussolutions near solid surfaces leads to"structural"f'hydration" forces. Besides, most solidsurfaces in aqueous solutions acquire negative chargethus leading to electric double layers (EDL) in the fluid.Such EDL interaction is generally (short-range) repulsiveforce and decays exponentially. For two semi-infinite solidplates nwdh) Ce--"<h (11K, Debye length; C, characteristicparameter of the system). In most cases the repulsiveEDL force decays faster than the corresponding attractiveL-VdW force, with increasing distance.

A liquid dropLet us now consider a liquid drop. Disregarding gravity, atequilibrium its form is spherical (radius :Jl). The liquidpressure inside the drop, PI, is higher than the airpressure outside the drop, pa. The in/liquid-ouUairoverpressure is p1-p"=2yl :Jl, where y is the surface tension(Laplace law). At thermodynamic equilibrium the over­pressure follows from the vapor pressure, po , in the air:

2y = RT In Pv (Kelvin Law), or

9i V'" P",

(2YV )= ex --"-' >1

p, p" P ~IRT

and hence

p,(91,r» p,,(91--> oo,r); p,,(T)

Ps.,(T) is the saturated vapor pressure (corresponding to:Jl-,l-ClJ); R, T and v.. are universal gas constant, absolutetemperature in Kelvins, and liquid molar volume. A liquiddrop can be at equilibrium with (over)-saturated vapor only(for a radius ~ at a single P" value) and cannot be atequilibrium if under-saturated.

The wetting power of a liquid and thermodynamicequilibriumWhen the drop is placed on a solid surface threepossibilities exist: i) parlial wetting (fig. 1) like with a waterdrop on glass, mica or silicon-wafer surfaces; ii) completewetting (the liquid spreads along the surface and the time­dependent contact angle tends to zero with time) like witha "pure" oil drop on a glass surface; and iii) ideal non­wetting case: 0 = 11 like a mercury drop placed on a glasssurface or a water drop or an aqueous solution drop on aTeflon® surface (in practice 8 ~120Q-1400). Partially wettingthe drop cannot stop and remain at thermodynamicequilibrium on a bare solid. (Over)- saturation implies theappearance of an adsorbed layer on the solid surfaceaccording to e.g. Langmuir's adsorption isotherm. Atequilibrium the chemical potentials of water molecules inthe liquid phase, vapor phase and adsorbed phase areequal.

******~** ..*****

10 SCIENCE

1

•Fig, 1, Partial wetting case, The contact angle 0 ismeasured inside the liquid, '.11: is radius of the drop and Lis radius of the drop base on the solid substrate,

h

Hydrodynamic singularity of the three-phase contact lineApproaching complete wetting as the liquid drop spreads,o (t)~O with time. The vapor-liquid-solid contact line mustmove but the flow near the line is singular as the velocityis finite with vanishing liquidsolid separation distance.Thus the shear stress (or pressure) and the viscousdissipation both lend 10 infinity there. The lotal force on thesolid, obtained by integrating the stress on the surfacebecomes logarithmically infinite. These difficulties bringthe continuum approximation into question but theproblem is solved when we to take "surface forces" (DLVOtheory) into account.

DLva frameworkTo visualize the role of the overall disjoining pressure Fig.2 (compare with Fig. 1) shows various cases where theoutcome of adding (Born +)L-VdW and EDL forces isplotted: partial wetting (2); complete wetting (1;dominates); and non-wetting (3; L-VdW dominates). Ifn(h) is positive and decays monotonically to zero withincreasing h, an adsorbed liquid layer can grow indefinitelywith increasing pressure, p, until pfpsv=1 , and vapor wouldcondense massively (complete wetting). With dn/dh<O,disjoining pressure truly disjoins, tends to separate twosurfaces away. Thus conjoining pressure is used whendnfdh>O.

3

Fig. 2. Disjoining pressure isothenns: (1) EDL repulsionforces dominate (complete wetting); (2) combination of L­VdW attraction and EDL repulsion (parlial wetting); and (3)L-VdWattraction dominates (non-wetting).

Summary but no conclusionRemaining at the strict phenomenological level to describeprocesses far from boundaries in a homogeneous phasetwo independent variables suffice to describe a system,say T and volume, V. Then P = P(T, V) is the equation ofstate. If interfaces exist then another form of pressure(surface tension), g , enters with a corresponding equationof state, r = r (T,S), where S is area. Derjaguin'S pressure,n, appears when we have regions at the nano-scale(102 nm) range. Its corresponding equation of state is n =n (T, h). These three equations of state permit generatingthe entire equilibrium thermodynamics of the system.Besides, the addition of De~aguin's pressure alsoeliminates the singularity of the three-phase contact lineoccurring when using the standard hydrodynamicequations only.

AcknowledgmentsThe ideas expressed here come from work done with V.M. Starov, and discussions with Yu. S. Ryazantsev and R.G. Rubio.

CONFERENCES 11

A1. ELGRA 2007 BIENNIAL SYMPOSIUM IN FLORENCE (IT)

Family photo

The last Biennial symposium of ELGRA was held inFLORENCE, ITALY, on SEPTEMBER 4-7, 2007. Thesymposium has been organized jointly with the XXnational meeting of the Italian Association for Aeronauticaland Space Medicine, AlMAS, at the Institute of MilitaryAeronautical Sciences, in an architectural complex whichis considered one of the most beautiful examples of"functionalism"in Europe.Due to the large number of participants, the scientificprogram was mostly organized in parallel sessions. Veryinteresting joint sessions with AlMAS were also arranged.The symposium was enriched with a welcome of the localauthorities in the Salone dei Cinquecento at PalazzoVecchio, a gala dinner in the court of the Palazzo delBargello with a baroque concert, and a visit to the SpecolaMuseum and Tribuna di Galileo Galilei. On the last day, atraining with an aeromedical evacuation helicopterdemonstrated the technical and organizational aspects ofsearch and rescue, SAR, operations.

Dr. Monica Monlcl (ELGRA local organizer), General ManlloCarboni (AlMAS), General Seflimo Caputo (AlMAS).

During the symposium, ELGRA prizes have been awardedto the winners of the student competition in life andphysical sciences. Six selected teams were invited byELGRA and ESA to attend the symposium, presenting oralcommunications and posters. The winners of this ·studentcontest", one team for life sciences and one team forphysical sciences, were elected by the audience attendingtheir presentations.The ELGRA symposium is traditionally the opportunity toreward two of the most renowned and distinguishedELGRA members. In Florence, the ELGRA medals weregiven to Dr. Jan Vreeburg, for his outstanding results in

microgravity fluid dynamics and to Prof. Gerard Perbal, forhis exceptional work in plant physiology in microgravity.In the frame of the symposium, two events of specialinterest were organized: i) a round table withrepresentatives from ESA, chaired by Dr. Daniel Beysensand Dr. Jack van Loon concerning the perspectives of lowgravity research within Europe and, particularly, the newprogram ELiPS 3 and ii) a workshop on the concept of alarge radius human centrifuge for physiological studieschaired by Dr. Jack van Loon.

The ELGRA General Assembly is an important itemduring the biennial symposium. It is the organ for theelection of the Management Committee. The ManagementCommittee members Dr. Valerie Legue and Prof. FeliceStrollo resigned from their office in September 2007. Dr.Daniel Beysens having finished his term as President, theAssembly elected a new President, Dr. Jack van Loon.New members Dr. Javier F. Medina and Prof. Floris L.Wuyts have also been elected.Participants stimulated the symposium by presenting anddiscussing the results of their research and therebycontributing to the advancement of gravity and space flightrelated sciences. In particular, the exchange of ideasamong experts from the two scientific societies ELGRAand AlMAS has given many new insights into problems ofmutual interest. As for the Santorini ELGRA Symposium in2005, a special issue of Migrogravity Science andTechnology has been published with a collection of morethan 30 of the most significant contributions that havebeen presented at the symposium either as oralcommunication or poster. The collected work provides anexcellent overview on the wide range of subjectsdiscussed and the quality of the research presented at thesymposium.

Gaia dinner in the court of/he Palazzo dei Bargeiio

12 CONFERENCES

ELGRA medals

ELGRA PresidentDaniel Beysensgives the ELGRAMedal 10 Prof.Gerald Perbal

Prof. Gerald Perbatlabofatoire de Cytologie el Mofphogenese Vegetale, Site d'IVl)'.Universite Pierre et Marie Curie. Le raphael. Case 150. 4 Placejussieo, 75252 Pwis cedex 05.

From roots to gravi-1: twenty five years forunderstanding how plants sense gravityPlant organs are able to sense gravity by the means ofspecialized cells called statocytes. In roots,which are themost sensitive organs, the statocytes are located in theirtip (the root cap). In the 70's, when I started to work ongravitropism at the University Pierre and Marie Curie, itwas known that slalocytes contain voluminousamyloplasts (stalolilhs) that sediment under the influenceof gravity. However, the role of these organelles ingravisensing was strongly disputed. In 1974, I attended asession of a meeting on gravitropism in Wurzburg, where Ipresented results that supported the involvement ofstatoliths in the perception of gravity. This meeting had astrong impact on my research, since at that time theCouncil of Europe was looking for people interested inperforming experiments in Space. It was the way I enteredthe Space Science. Our first experiment (ROOTS) wascarried out in the Biorack Facility (ESA) in the frame of theSpacelab D1 mission (1985). We had a very efficient helpfrom CNES which developed a very fine hardware to growlentil seedlings and to chemically fix them at the end of theexperiment. The results obtained were surprising since weobserved that in microgravity the statoliths were located atone pole of the statocyte and not distributed at random asit was expected. The goal of the following experiment(Spacelab IML·1 mission, 1992) was to determine thethreshold stimulation time at 19 (created bycentrifugation). It was estimated at 25s. We alsodemonstrated that cell cycle was modified in microgravityand the following experiment dealt more with root growthand cell cycle under various gravitational stresses. Theresults obtainedindicated that the first cell cycle wasslower in microgravity (Spacelab IML-2 mission, 1994). Inthe frame of the SMMI03 and SMMf06 missions (1996,1997), we proved that the statoliths are attached on actinfilaments by motor proteins (myosin) that make theseorganelles move in one preferential direction inmicrogravity. The analysis of gravisensitivity with c1inostatsincited us to compare gravisensitivity of lentil roots grownin microgravily Of' on a 19 centrifuge (SMf.II()5 mission.1997). II was found thallhe latter were less sensitive thanthe former. We showed thai this was due to the fact thatthe statoliths are not distributed in the same way in bothcases (microgravily or 19 centrifuge). All these studies ledus to propose a mode of gravity sensing by plants in which

elements of the cytoskeleton and stretch activated ionchannels are involved (Perbal and Driss-Ecole, 2003). Thelast experiment (GRAVI.1) which has been carried out (inISS with the EMCS facility, 2007) dealt with the thresholdacceleration that is perceived by roots. It was estimated at3.8 x 10--4 g which is very low. Space experiments werecertainly the most exiting and fruitful part of my academicactivities.

ELGRA President DanielBeysens gives the ELGRAMedal to Dr. Jan Vreeburg

Dr. Jan VreeburgNational Aerospace Laboratory, NLR, ASSPPB 90502,1006 BM, AmsterdamE-mail: [email protected]

Liquid dynamics from spacelab to stoshsatThe European participation in manned spaceflight had astrong impact on research in the natural sciences.Preparation for Spacelab required many decisions onorganization, funding and allocation of resources. Lessonswere leamed from results obtained in precursors likeSkylab or in unmanned programs such as TEXUS.Difficulties originate from the differences in sciencefunding rules between ESA member states. ESA withscientists from the major disciplines instituted WorkingGroups that acted as consultant bodies. In formal contactsthe users were represented by the Investigators' WorkingGroup, organized according to major experiment facilitiesand chaired by the project scientist. European experimenthardware has been realized by aerospace industry bymethods that are different from the traditional developmentof an instrument in a university laboratory. Validation ofinstrument per10rmance in microgravity requires specialtechniques. The training of Payload Specialists to per10rmresearch in the Fluid Physics Module included theory andlaboratory work. Duties for public relations were less thantoday. The ESA approach with multi-user facilities andPayload Specialists differs from NASA's practice to launchan investigator with a singular experiment. Delays inplanned flight opportunities frustrate participation byindustrial scientists. Unmanned spacecraft are preferablefor certain types of research and lead to development oftelescience. The dynamics of spacecraft with partially filledtankage benefit from conditions that conserve systemmomentum. The momentum of the rigid part of aspacecmft can be tracked aca.Jrately. Observation of liquidbehaviour in a spacecraft tank is a challenging problem. Avalidated model of liquid effects on spacecmftmanoeuvres makes servicing missions more efficient andless cosily. Damping of liquid motion is not fullyunderstood: experiments in space may providefundamental contributions.

CONFERENCES 13

• Achromatic and chromatic perception in microgravityIrene Lia Schlacht', Henrik Birke', Stefano Brambillasca2

,

Balazs DianiskaJ

1. TU Berlin. 2: Po/itecnico di Milano, 3: Budapest University

• Experimental studies on the aggregation properties ofdust in planet-forming regionsHeiBelmann DanielTechnical University at Braunschweig

Award to I. L. Schlacht

Award to A. Verweyenand E. Krause

Award to F. Betzler and T. Schlabs

Students awards during the Gala dinner by Dr. DanielBeysens (ELGRA President)

Can facilitation increase the h-reflex in micro-g ?Betzler Felix, Schlabs Thomas, Wagenseil Boris, GewiesMarcel, Abels Wiltrud, Schulz Juliane, Dr. Kowall Rainer,Prof. Dr. Gunga H.C.Center for Space Medicine Berlin (ZWMB)

Analysis of ferrofluids exposed to magnetic fields inmicro-gravityElisabeth Krause" Alice Vel"Neyen', Ulrike Endesfelder',Anne Angsmann', Sebastian BQrgel 2

1. University of Bonn. 2: ETH Zurich

Singing gravitation detectorBertrand Dujardin" Jonathan vanpeteghem 2

1: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 2: Hogeschool West­Vlaanderen.

•

•

Student ContestFrom the submitted proposals, six (6) teams won theStudent Contest and were invited to come and presenttheir work in the ELGRA 2007 Symposium supportedfinancially by ELGRA and ESA. These teams are:

•

Students group photo with Thodoris Karapantsios (ELGRA Vice­President and Student Contest coordinator) on the n'ght end.

Award to D. Heisselmann

Award to B. Dujardinand J. Vanpeteghem

Award to Y. L. Andalsvikand G Storhaug

Viscous fingering in microgravityAndalsvik Yngvild Linnea, Storhaug Gunhild, OlluriKosovare, Skaugen Arvid, Lindem Torfinn, L0VOIl Grunde,Mal0Y Knut J0rgenUniversity of Oslo

•

14 CONFERENCES

Best oral presentation(voted by the participants)

Analysis of ferrofluids exposed to magnetic fields in micro­gravity

Elisabeth Krause', Alice Verweyen', Ulrike Endesfelder', AnneAngsmann" Sebastian Burgel'1: University of Bonn, Germany2 :ETH Zurich, Switzerland

We present an analysis of ferrofluid observations in micro-gravitythat were recorded during the 8th ESA Student Parabolic FlightCampaign in July 2005. The objective of our experiment is toanalyze the flow of a ferrofluid that is exposed 10 differentmagnetic fields in an otherwise force free environment. This isrealized by placing a glass containment filled with ferrofluidbetween two Helmholtz coils, which produce well-controlledmagnetic fields, and recording the flow of the ferrofluid with twovideo cameras. During every parabola, the airplane, and thus theaxes of our experiment setup inside the plane, rotate in spacearound the plane's y axis: this causes shear forces and friction.We decided to switch off these distortions in order to observe thefree motion of the ferrofluid by using a so-called ESP (ElectronicStability Programme). Usually, this piece of equipment is used incars to prevent sliding in bends. The experiment is mounted onan axis in y-direction of the airplane. The ESP is attached to themagnet's rotation axis, and provides a signal proportionalto the magnet's rotation velocity. This signal triggers a servomotorsuch that the ESP - and thus the whole magnet - is kept on astable axis. The rest of the base plate is occupied by aprogrammable power supply unit for the generation of themagnetic fields and a notebook that controls the power supply.We want to understand the flow of ferrofluids in the absence ofgravity, in this environment the energy density of the ferrofluid isgiven by the difference of surface energy density and energydensity of the magnetization of the ferrofluid. As there are onlyfew observations of ferrofluids in micro-gravity published, wedecided to start with covering a broad parameter range duringflight 1. and to study the most promising points to more detailduring flight 2. The overall question is how the shape of theferrofluid varies with the strengths of the applied field: in thiscontext we are especially interested in the following transitionpoints: the minimum field strengths for Rosensweig instabilities tooccur, and the saturated magnetization of the ferrofluids. A firstinspection of the data after flight 1 showed. that in absence ofgravity the magnetization of the ferrofluid saturates much earlierthan expected from ground tests. Therefore we had to repeat anumber of field configurations from flight 1 at smaller fieldstrengths during flight 2. Additionally, we tried to measure themagnetization of the ferrofluid as function field strengths using areverse field method: The ferrofluid is magnetized at a constantfield level. and the magnetic field is switched off. The field isreversed and the field strength at which the magnetized, and thuselongated ferrofluid, is demagnetized (and thus loses its shape) ismeasured. For this, the magnetization of the ferrofluid can becalculated.A first analysis shows that the experiment worked well andproduced data of good quality for a physical analysis. The ESP­sensor provides an easy to implement position control that can berecommended to other groups with acceleration sensitiveexperiments. In this report, we compare the measurements inmicro-gravity with ground based tests. Our analysis shows thatapproximations similar to those describing ferrofluid in a 1-genvironment hold in micro-gravity. Due to the increasedwavelength of these surface perturbations in reduced gravity wedo not observe Rosensweig instabilities during the O-g phase ofthe flight. We obtained 3-D models of the ferrofluid motion fromthe recorded projections, and describe the goals of theforthcoming analysis of these data.

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The President closes the Assembly at 19:00

(17 votes)(18 votes)(18 votes)(17 votes)(16 votes)(18 votes)(18 votes)(18 votes)

2007 ELGRA General Assembly

MinutesThe 2007 ELGRA General Assembly starts on September 6th.2007 at 17:30 at the Institute of Aeronautical Military Sciences.Florence (Italy).

Agenda1. Opening by the president! Adoption of the agenda2. Words in honour and memory of Ron Huijser and Wofgang

Briegleb3. Approval of the minutes of the previous General Assembly4. President's report5. Treasurer's report6. Auditor's report7. Discharge of the treasurer8. Acceptance of new membersg. Election of two Auditors10. Election of new Management Committee members

1. Opening by the President! Adoption of the AgendaThe ELGRA President. Daniel Beysens. opens the Assembly.18 members are present. plus several guests.Upon request of the President the Assembly adopts the aboveAgenda.2. Words in honour and memory of Ron Huijser and WofgangBrieglebThe President says a few words about Ron Huijser and WofgangBriegleb distinguished members of ELGRA that have passedaway in 2005 and 2006, respectively. A moment of silence waskept to their honour.3. Approval of the minutes of the previous General AssemblyThe minutes of the previous General Assembly. held in Santorinion September 22nd, 2005, are unanimously approved by theAssembly.4. President's reportThe President reports about the status of the Association andabout the work performed during the last term with the MC.4.1 Communications to the membersMembers have been contacted several times via e-mail to spreadand request information. Updated information was also availableon the ELGRA web site.E-mails with the President Words have been sent at least twice ayear. Finally the ELGRA Newsleller n.5 and Book ELGRA NEWSn. 24 has been published during this term.4.2 Meetings of Management CommitteeDuring the last 2-years term the MC met 4 times. The maindiscussions and consequent actions were concerned with thefollowing activities.

i) The discussion and actuation of the ELGRA policy. such asAssociation development/addresses, fostering of the ELGRA rolein respect of the members and of the microgravity community.consultancy and lobbing activity, services to the members.

ii) The edition of a special issue of MST with selected peer­reviewed papers from the Santorini 2005 Symposium

iii) The organisation of the 2007 ELGRA Biennial Meeting and ofthe General Assembly in Florence jointly with AlMAS (ItalianAssociation for Aeronautical and Space Medicine).

iv) The early organisation of the 2009 Biennial meeting in Bonn.v) The actuation of the ELGRA education policy, with the

organisation of student contest and student special sessionsvi) The management of the association (e.g. updating ELGRA

database. look for unpaid membership dues ... )vii) Discussions on the future development of the Association and

on fostering the representation role of ELGRA in respect of themembers and of the microgravity community in general.viii) Organisation of the promotion and advocation of thecommunity.4.3 Promotion of the microgravity activity and of the ELGRAcommunity.The President, assisted by the MC. has been involved in differentordinary and extraordinary activities concerning relations with

CONFERENCES 15

subjects external to the association aiming to the promotion of themicrogravity research and of the ELGRA community.

i) The relations with EU (High Level Space Policy Group andSpace Committee of the 7th Framework Program), ESA. nationalagencies, with participation to meetings with EU representativesand the French President (Mr. Sarkozy).

ii) Representative of the microG user community at ESA(LPSAC meetings. special meeting with ESA Directors aftersuppression of the LPSAC advisory committee)iii) Advocation of the scientific community after ELiPS 2 budget

reduction (alert letters. meetings)iv) Co-chair of the Program Committee at the 2007 ISPSI NARA

meeting 2007v) The preparation of various alert lellers.

vi) Participation at EU FP7 proposals (USOCs KnowLedgeIntegration and Dissemination for Space ScienceExperimentation "ULISSE" Collaborative Project)vii) Endorsement of various meetings: Toledo Soyouz 2006.Bagnuls courses 2007 (Sponsoring: 4 students), Angers LifeScience meeting 2008 (ESA. ISGP, ELGRA. ASGSB)4.4 ELGRA Meeting 2009The president announces the next ELGRA Biennial Symposiumwhich will be held in Bonn in September 1-4, 2009 organised byDLR. R. Hemmersbach and R. Willnecker have been appointedby the MC as local organisers.In addition, the president announces the official proposals madefor the ELGRA 2011 Symposium which are: Vienna ( H.Kuhlmann) and Marseille (L. Tadrist).5. Treasurer report! 6. Auditor report! 7. Discharge of theTreasurerThe Treasurer, K. Kemmerle. reports on the financial status of theAssociation and shows the balance of the period January 2005­July 2007.As only one elected Auditor (H. Dillus) is present, M. Cogolivolunteered to help the evaluation. These two Auditors state thecorrect financial administration of the Association by theTreasurer during the aforementioned period. The Auditors notethat there are members who did not pay their annual fees but yethave asked to pay the reduced Symposium fees which are onlymeant for members. They suggest that this must not be allowedin the future.The Assembly unanimously accepts the financial report anddischarges the Treasurer.8. Acceptance of new membersThe status of the membership is presented and the new membersare unanimously accepted by the Assembly.9. Election of the AuditorsHans Dittus and Marianne Cogoli are elected as Auditors for thenew term.10. Election of management Committee MembersThe election is performed. according to the current procedure bysecret ballot in three turns: first the election of the President. thenof the vice-President and the General Secretary. and finally theelection of the MC members. including the Treasurer.According to the above procedure the following Officers and MCmembers have been elected:President: Jack van LoonVice-President: Thodoris KarapantsiosGeneral Secretary: Hendrik KuhlmannMembers: Daniel Beysens

Monica MoniciFlorian WuytsJavier MedinaKurt Kemmerle (Treasurer)

The President gratefully acknowledges the high merit and quitesignificant work performed by Felice Strollo and Valerie Leguewho have finished their term at the Management Committee.

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16 CONFERENCES

A2. ELGRA 2009 Biennial Symposium,September 1st

- 4th, 2009, Bonn, Germany

The symposium will take place at the University Club ofBonn, a beautiful and suitable accommodation located afew steps from the river Rhine in the centre of Bonn. TheUniversity Club is a pleasant conference site hosted by theUniversity of Bonn and conceived as a meeting pointbetween scientists. Next to the conference site there are alot of hotels of all categories in walking distance.

Bonn is the former capital of West Germany and todayknown as the German United Nations City hosting 12 UNorganisations settled at the banks of the Rhine. A historyof more than 2000 years has given the city most variedfacets. Historical sights, highlights of art can be admired atthe different houses of the Bonn Museum Mile,picturesque impressions along the romantic Rhine, theinternational life or the political life of Bonn and muchmore. Take the time for a visit, it is worth your while. Moreinformation at: www.bonn.de

Scientific/Organizing Committee(ELGRA Management Committee)Dr. Ing. Jack van Loon, PresidentProf. Dr. Thodoris Karapantsios, Vice-PresidentProf. Dr. Hendrik Kuhlmann, Gen. SecretaryDr. Kurt Kemmerle, TreasurerProf. Dr. Daniel Beysens, MemberDr. F. Javier Medina, MemberDr. Monica Monici, MemberProf. Dr. Floris L. Wuyts, Member

Local Organizing CommitteeProf. Dr. Rainer Willnecker, ChairProf. Dr. Ruth Hemmersbach, Chair

Organizing SecretariatMrs. Astrid Herrmann, Assistant

Social Program

The social program of the symposium will include areception at the town hall of Bonn, the possibility to visit aconcert of the Beethovenfest, and an evening cruise onthe river Rhine. A trip to the German Aerospace Center inCologne will also be offered, including a visit of theresearch facilities of DLR and the European AstronautCenter.

Call for Abstracts

Important dates and deadlines

www.elqra.orq

March 31,2009May 29, 2009June 15, 2009

Submission of abstractsNotification of acceptance:Early Registration

The Elgra meeting in 2009 offers the possibility to presentresearch on all topics from the fields of science underaltered gravity conditions (microgravity, hypergravity andsimulations), includin9 Life, Physical and MaterialsSciences, Fluid Physics, Physiol09Y, Biotechnol09Y andothers. Oral presentations and poster sessions will beperformed. Sufficient time will be reserved for discussionson present research activities and future scienceperspectives.

Further Information on Symposium and StudentContest

Venue

Under the auspices of:DLR German Aerospace Center- Institute of Aerospace Medicine- Institute of Materials Physics in Space- Microgravity User Support Center

Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms University of Bonn- Faculty of Zoology

!!£nINa SCIENCE AOEMlAS FOil EUIIOPE

B. OTHER MEETINGS

ESF Workshop to make recommendations on"Science-Driven Scenario for Space Exploration"by Thodoris Karapantsios

Eighty-eight scientistsand nationalrepresentatives fromESA Member Statesmet in Athens on 15and 16 May 2007 in a

workshop organised by ESF and sponsored by ESA, withthe aim of establishing recommendations to ESA'sDirectorate for Human Spaceflight, Microgravity andExploration on a science-driven scenario for spaceexploration. The discussion was initiated by the ESSC­ESF Ad Hoc Group on exploration, and concentrated on aseries of science goals and mission concepts for the shortterm (up to 2020), medium term (2020-2030), and longterm (after 2030). The workshop participants met inplenary and splinter sessions to refine the findings of theAd Hoc Group report for the three target bodies: Mars,Moon and Near earth Objects (NEOs). The workshopparticipants agreed on a set of recommendations andfindings that form the core of the so-called Athensdeclaration.There are four componerts of Europe's ExplorationProgramme illustrating the overarching science goal'Emergence and co-evolution of life with its planetaryenvironments'. Those are: 1 Robotic exploration of Mars,2. Robotic exploration of Moon, Near Earth Object samplereturn, and 4. Human exploration of Mars and the Moon.In particular regarding the fourth component, a driver ofexploration programmes is to advance human presence inspace. Future manned missions should make use ofhumans as intelligent tools in the exploration initiative, withthe following specific scientific goals:• reach a beller understanding of the role of gravity inbiological processes and in the evolution of organisms atlarge• determine the physical and chemical limits of life (frommicroorganisms to humans)• determine the strategies of life adaptation to extremeenvironments• acquire the knowledge recuired for a safe and efficienthuman presence in outer space (from the InternationalSpace Station via Moon to Mars).In terms of the enabling science and technology needed toreach these goals, further knowledge is required to enablea safe and efficient human presence in outer space:• responses of the human body to parameters ofspaceflight (weightlessness, radiation, isolation, etc.) anddevelopment of countermeasures• responses of the human body to surface conditions onMars and on the Moon, and protection measures• development of efficient life support systems includingbio-regenerative systems which can be done on Earthconditions, to be further adapted to specific missionconditions• development of a habitat providing a living and workingarea on Mars and the Moon

CONFERENCES 17

To reach these goals experiments must be supported tobetter understand the role of gravity on biologicalprocesses on the International Space Station(multigeneration experiments in microgravity and long­term adaptation of humans to microgravity), on the Moon(multigeneration experiments at 0,17 g and long-termadaptation of humans to low gravity), and on Earth(multigeneration experiments under hypo- andhypergravity).

ESF Workshop to evaluate and define the future ofELtPS programby Daniel Beysens

E At the request of

F~5:N ~~:~;:~:e (~~~:~!!£nINO SCIENCE AOENDAS FOil EUIIOPE Science Foundation

(ESF) organised aworkshop in Sasbachwalden (Black Forest, Germany) inFebruary 2008. Earlier meetings of this kind wereorganized in Bischenberg (2001) and Obernai/Evian(2005). These meetings aim to evaluate the achievementsand to define future strategic and scientific priorities of theESA programme in Life and Physical Sciences in space(ElIPS). The workshop was split in two parts, physicalsciences (PS) and life sciences (lS), taking placeconsecutively during the same week. Each disciplinaryworkshop gathered some 80 persons, scientists fromEurope and Canada as active participants and agencyrepresentatives (ESA and national) as observers. Thephysical sciences part was subdivided into three generalthemes: fluid physics, materials science, and fundamentalphysics; the life sciences part was also sub-divided intothree general themes: biology, physiology, andastrobiology. A general introduction to each workshop wasprovided by ESSC-ESF, detailing the objectives and theformat for the outcome. ESA also prepared a series ofgeneral and disciplinary overviews and briefings. Asynthesis meeting consisting of the rapporteurs and chairsof the various sessions of the two workshops plus a limitednumber of selected observers then met on 14 April 2008 inBrussels to finalize and approve the contents of theevaluation report.Many ELGRA members actively participated in thesemeetings and discussions like, J.-C. Legros as chairmanfor physical sciences, H.-J. Dittus, as rapporteur forfundamental sciences D. Beysens (ElGRA managementcommittee member) as chairman for fluid physics. OtherELGRA management commillee members; H. Kuhlmanand T. Karapantios (ELGRA vice-president) and J. vanLoon (ELGRA president) contributed to this evaluation.We expect from this effort a better understanding from thepoliticians of the needs and strategy of our community inlife and physical sciences in space related research. It isessential that especially the Columbus, as most importantEuropean investment in this field, is now ready to work. Inthe report it is stated that we also have to think and planbeyond Columbus as main experiment platform.Columbus and ISS have a limited life span and questions

******~** ..*****

18 CONFERENCES

in relation to gravity in life and physical sciences will not allbe solved al the time Columbus is decommissioned. Otherplatforms line sounding rockets, free flyers and groundbased facilities should be made available for the sciencecommunity. The ESF meeting also identified the need formore dedicated experiment facilities, in both biology andphysical sciences. The participants identified that a bettercommunication between various disciplines (between e.g.biology and human physiology but also between life andphysical sciences) should be pursuit in the future. ELGRA,as the European science organization which covers bothlife and physical sciences, could be the preferred platformto implement this cross communication.We think the organizers M. Grady (chair LS for themeeting, Open Univ. UK), J.C. Legros (chair PS for themeeting) and the ESF-ESSC members J.P. Swings J.C.Worms, J.P. N. Walter organized a very fruitful meeting.As ELGRA we surely hope that the recommendation bythe science community will be implemented so progressand quality of our sciences can be improved.

The final report can be downloaded from:hllp:/lwww.esf.org/research-areas/space.html

Organization of the meeting:Physical sciences workshop: Chair: Jean-Claude Legros

Fundamental physics: Chair: Gregor Mortill Rapporteur:Hans-J6rg DillusoPhysics of plasmas and solid/liquid dust particlesoCold atom clocks, maller-wave interterometers andBose-Einstein condensates

Materials science Chair: Hans Fecht Rapporteur: IvanEg",oThermophysical properties of fluids for advancedprocessesoNew materials, products and processes

Fluid physics Chair: Daniel Beysens Rapporteur:Christian EigenbrodoFluid, intertace and combustion physics

Life sciences workshop: Chair: Monica GradyPhysiology Chair: Helmut Hinghofer-Szalkay Rapporteur:Kevin Fongolntegrative gravitational physiologyo Non-gravitational physiology of spaceflight°Countermeasures

Biology Chair: Michael Lebert Rapporteur: Ralf AnkenoMolecularand cell biologyo Plant biologyo Developmental biology

Astrobiology Chair: Charles Cockell Rapporteur: PetraRettbergoOrigin, evolution and distribution of lifeo Preparation for human spaceflight exploration

ELGRA co-organized an international life sciencemeetingby Jack van Loon

ELGRA initiated and co- organized a broad internationalmeeting on life sciences held in Angers (France) last June.The meeting was hosted by the University of Anger andlocal organizer Prof. Marc-Antoine Custaud. Otherorganizing entities were the European Space Agency(ESA), the ISGP (International Society for GravitationalPhysiology), the ASGSB (American Society forGravitational and Space Biology) and CNES (FrenchSpace Agency). It was the second time ELGRA had acombined meeting with the ASGSB. The first time was inMontreal, Canada in 2000. For this meeting ELGRA alsosupported 3 students to present their work. In addition,Prof. Thodoris Karapantsios, our ELGRA vice-presidentand expert in the field of bubbles, presented a key lectureon his work on the impact of bubbles in the human bodywhen preparing for an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA,space walk). The meeting had more than 350 participantsmostly from Europe but also some 75 from the UnitedStates, more than 20 from Russia, as well as scientistsfrom Canada, Romania, Japan and China and othercountries. The success of such combined meetings shouldbe further investigated in order to improve communicationand reduce the number of meetings. Initial discussionsbetween ELGRA and ESA on how ELGRA and ESAmeetings on life and physical sciences have been takenplace. These discussions also comply with arecommendation of the European Space SciencesCommittee (ESSC) of the European Science Foundation(ESF) in a report that evaluates the future priorities ofESA's ELlPS-3 program, to improve interdisciplinarycommunication between the various European researchfields in space and gravitational sciences. (seewww.esf.org for additional info).

1. ELGRA·ESA Collaboration regarding StudentsParabolic Flightsby Jack van Loon

ESA has again pid<.ed up the opportunity forstudents to apply for a parabolic flight experiment. Thenew program is called "Fly Your Thesis!-. Theannouncement to participate to this first opportunity wasclosed last September. ESA, represented by Dr. JavierVentura·Traveset, head of ESAC Communications &Education Office near Madrid, Spain, has invited ELGRAto assist in the overall process of experiment review andsupport the young investigators in preparation andreporting on their findings.

This exciting program will enable universitystudents to fly their experiments in microgravity byparticipating in a series of parabolic flights on an AirbusA300 Zero-G aircraft. "Fly Your Thesis!" requires eachteam of students to design a scientific experiment to beperformed in microgravity, as part of their Masters thesis.PhD thesis or research program. From the proposedexperiments a Review Board will select up to 20 teams.who will be invited to elaborate a detailed scientificproposal, with the support of a scientific mentor. As acoodusion to this phase, the teams will present theirprojects to a Review Board during a dedicated wor1c>hopto be held at -ESTEC in Noord'Wijk, the Netherlands. Themembers of those teams will also visit the EuropeanAstronaut Centre (EAC) near Cologne, Germany. ELGRAwill assist ESA in both review boards. Finally three or fourteams will be selected to further develop and perform theirexperiment on an ESA Microgravity Research Campaignthat will take place in Bordeaux. France, during theautumn of 2009. There, the student teams will work. inclose contact with voluntary scientists from the ELGRAmembership. During the campaign, the students willaccompany their experiments on board for three flights of30 parabolas, experiencing about 20 seconds ofmicrogravity during each parabola. Some of the otherteams allending the ESTEC workshop may be selected tohave their experiments performed in another gravityresearch facilities like drop towers or centrifuges. Duringthe "Fly Your Thesis!" project, the participating teams willbe supported by the ESA Education Office, ESAmicrogravity experts and members of ELGRA ESA willoffer financial support to cover part of the cost of theexperiments, necessary travel and accommodation, andparticipation in a conference. This means that ELGRAmembers have the opportunity to participate in thisprogram by assisting young researchers in their first stepsin (micro-)gravity research. Future reports and publicationswill include the ELGRA supporting member(s). As ELGRA.together with ESA, we 'Will try to couple student proposalswith an ELGRA member(s). In order to foster cross­European collaborations we try to match students andmentors located in different countries within Europe. Soyou might be contacted in due time with the possibility tosupport this 2008/2009 parabolic night campaign or foryears to come. Also, you might point out this opportunity toyour students.

For future experiments ElGRA is also asked tomake an inventory of instruments that might be used bystudents for their parabolic flight experiments. ELGRA willset up a database of these instruments. So if you have

NEWS 19

inslnJments that have been used in the past duringparabolic flights Of that, with little modifications, might beused for future student experiments and can be includedin this database, please contact me : ·.vanloon vumc.nl

'Zero-G' Airbus A300 lor parabolic flights (courlesy ESA)

2. European Summer University: Origins of Life andLife in Spaceby Jack van loon

Since years a summer school on space and life sciencesresearch has been Ofganized in Banyuls-sur-Mer inFrance. The initial courses were supported by EuropeanUnion funding but for the lasy years the support camedirectly from various participating universities as well asfrom ESA and ELGRA. The course was previouslyorganized by our former ELGRA president Prof. Geraldperbal and after his retirement by Prof. Marie-ChistineMaurel from the Universite Pierre-et-Marie-Curie. ELGRAfirst supported a number of students in 2007. VariousElRGA members also lecture at course. Last year 45students form France, Gennany. Switzerland, Italy, theUnited Kingdom and Spain participated last year inBanyuls. This year 37 participated in Florence. We want toalert you on this possibility for you (as a student) or foreducators who might forward this possibility to theirstudents.Lectures were be given by European specialists on theorigins of life, space environment, the role of gravity inmolecular, cellular, animal and plant and human behavior,and the use of molecular tools in space biology.Additionally there were data analysis workshops andstudents working in small multinational groups in order topresent a project design. We will inform you on next year'slime and location of the summer school in due time.

European Summer University in Banyuls-sur-Mer. 2818-719, 2007

20 NEWS

European Summer University in Florence, 24/8-519, 2008

3. Facilities for artificial gravityby Jack van Loon

Recently two new large scale facility for human gravityrelated research have been opened. Both facilities werepresented during a meeting "Technology for ArtificialGravity and Microgravity Simulation" al ESA-ESTEC inNoordwijk, NL, last year December.The First facility 'Desdemona' is a motion based simulatorwhich can move vertically over 2 m and horizontally 8 mover a track. The horizontal track may rotate by itselfallowing a sustained 39 load. Applications are for flyingand driving, especially for those situations where ahexapod cannot provide sufficient motion cueing.Desdemona was designed originally for spatialdisorientation training of (student) pilots but can also beused as a centrifuge. Desdemona is an ideal 'clinical' toolfor vestibular examination of astronauts as well as formotion sickness provocation and desensitization inunusual g-environments. The system is located at TNOSoesterberg (NL) and developed in collaboration withAMST Systemtechnik, Ranshofen (AU). More informationon this can be found at: http://www.desdemona.eu.

(courtesy: TNO)

Another new centrifuge has been developed to serve boththe life and physical science community in conductinghypergravity experiments in a very versatile environment.The Large Diameter Centrifuge, LDC, has a maximumdiameter of 8 meters. On its four arms a total of 6 freeswinging gondola can be accommodated. Each gondolahas a capacity of an 80 kg. payload that can be exposedto 209. Each gondola is equipped with power and data

lines. Different gasses can be supplied to each gondola.The gondola can house various instruments such asfurnaces or modules for combustion sciences, fluid orplasma physics studies. The facility is also outfitted for(possibly future) long duration animal studies for basicresearch and in preparation for long duration space flightexperiments. The facility is fully programmable. Both,rotation profiles as well as experiment monitoring andcommanding is performed via standard Windows-basedLabView protocols. The LDC is located at ESA-ESTECand was build by Zeugma, Mafra (PT). More info at:http://www.esa.inUtechresources/ESTEC-Article-fuliArticie par-28 1202207743187.html

(courtesy: ESA-ESTEC)

4. News from National Space Agencies

4.1. The German Program "Research under SpaceConditions" (Space Life and Physical Sciences)by Gunter RuytersHead , Life Sciences Program, German Space Agency(OLR)

The German Space Life and Physical Sciences Programis managed - like all other space programs and activitiesin Germany - by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) inits role as space agency for Germany. As such DLR hasthree major responsibilities:• To establish the German Space Program with its

three integrated parts (national program, DLRintramural research & development program, ESAmicrogravity program) on behalf of the Germangovernment

• To implement the program by e.g. giving grants toresearch institutes (universities, Max-Planck- andother research institutes), placing contracts to industryfor the development of experiment facilities, and byproviding flight opportunities

• To establish international coordination (bi- andmultilateral)

Based on the federal government'S political objectives thecurrently valid space program was approved by theGerman government in May 2001. This program definesthe overall goals and objectives as well as the strategiccornerstones, by which these goals should be achieved.Forming part of the German national space program, the

NEWS 21

The Electromagnetic Levitalor TEMPUS in the Airbus A-300ZeroG during the 10th DLR Parabolic Flight Campaign

France, through CNES and ESA, has had activities in lifeand physical sciences in space for several decades. Overthe years, France has developed an expertise in manyareas, with a focus on human physiology, fluid physics,fundamental physics. biology and exobiology.More specifically, in physiology, CNES, in cooperation withDlR, has developed the instrument CARDIOLAB forcardiovascular research on board the ISS. There is also acooperation with Russia on CAROIOMED, an equipmentfor medical operations on the Station. Besides, newperspectives in cardiovascular research with China areinitialed. Other areas of interest in physiology areneurosciences and nutrition, for which many experimentsare performed on the ISS in cooperation with severalspace agencies around the world. One has also tomentio~ that in MEDES, a CNES subsidiary. many bedrestcampaigns have been performed to simulate the effects ofweightlessness on the human body.As far as fluid physics is concerned. the highlight isDECUC, an instrument to be flown in the near future onth~ .155. ~E~UC. which stands for DEvice for the study ofC~ltlcal liqUIds and Crystallization, is done in cooperationWith NASA. CNES is also developing research in granutarmatter.PHARAO, an atomic clock with a very high precision, isunder development at CNES and is to be integrated in theAtomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) project of ESAwhich is supposed to be attached to an external pallet ofCOLUMBUS in a few years. It will provide a very highprecision of time and may lead to several terrestrialapplications.France has been active for years in biology. CNES is nowpursuing the development of an advanced incubator,called PHENIX, with a fluorescence capability. Inexobiology, many French experiments are performed onthe ISS (EXPOSE instrument) and also on the Russianplatform FOTON.Most of the experiments in the fields mentioned before areoperated from CADMOS, the French center of theCOLUMBUS ground segment, co-funded by ESA andCNES and located in the CNES premises in Toulouse.CADMOS is in particular the leading European center forphysiOlogy.

u4.2 News from the French Space Agencyby Francois SpieroHuman Spaceflight and Exploration CNES

investigations on the effects of the special environmentalconditions of space - especially microgravity and radiation- on physical, chemical and biological processes andphe~rnena as 'Nell as on living systems. Gravity, asomnipresent and perpebJal constant, is a key factor hereand for the evolution of life that has 10 be modified oreliminated to understand its role in detail as well as forinvestigating phenomena masked by the presence ofgravity. This is achieved in space experiments.These activities are embedded in terrestrial research i ethey do not comprise a special research field. Inst~~d:new possibilities are opened up by spaceflightcomplementing terrestrial research. Thus, new discoveriesin science and technology are made possible that notseldom are translated into innovative applications to thebenefit of the people on Earth. Results of experimentsconducted in space help to improve production processesfor aircraft and automobile castings and to developinnovative medical devices.With its research under space conditions, DLR pursuesfour objectives, namely• to investigate basic vital functions,• to develop new methods of diagnosis and therapy in

medicine,• to expand the horizons of physical research and• to conduct innovative materials research.In implementing the program, the DLR Space Agencysupports German scientists in biology, medicine, physicsand materials research working at universities, MaxPlanck Institutes and other research institutions. Inaddition, OLR regularly commissions the space industry todevelop equipment specifically designed for use in space.Also, OLR offers scientists a variety of night opportunitiesr~nging from the Bremen Drop Tower, via parabolicalrplan flights with the Airbus A·300 ZeroG, TEXUSsounding rockets, research satellites such as the RussianFOTON to the International Space Station ISS. The ISS ispredominatly used in the frame of the ESA program, butalso via bilateral cooperation with other ISS partners.Especially with the new opportunities on ISS andColumbus with its innovative experiment facilities theprogram will get a new push. A multitude of German andother research projects has been selected that now awaitrealization. Consequently, there will be no lack of scientificwork for astronauts to do in the next few years. Basic andappticatiofl.ofiented research on the ISS will add to thesuccess story of the Gennan Ufe and Physical SciencesProgram. Thus, the results from space experiments willconsolidate Germany's leading position in many fields ofscience and industry.

The German ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter with the 3D EyeTracking Device during the Astrolab mission in 2006

22 NEWS

Last but not least, France provides parabolic flights toEurope thanks to the company NOVESPACE.Experiments on board the zero-g aircraft often prepare theones to be performed later on the ISS.In summary, CNES has a variety of activities in life andphysical sciences in space, mostly done in European orinternational cooperation.

the LargePositioning

The Netherlands has been involved in microgravityresearch already before the Spacelab era throughexperiments on sounding rockets. Almost from the start allDutch activities were part of ESA programmes like FSLP,EMIR and ELlPS, and over 50 Dutch scientists haveperformed some 100 microgravity experiments on variousplatforms. The main field of activity is life sciences,followed by physical sciences. Experiments currentlyunder preparation for ISS concern e.g. plant cells, colloidalcrystals, organic matter and plasma research.There is a relatively large number of Dutch PI's in ESA'spresent microgravity portfolio (7%) resulting in a steadilygrowing number of peer-reviewed papers, including arelatively lar!~e percentage of references worldwide (e.g.3% in life sciences).The Dutch government supports national microgravityactivities since the mid 1980's. Facility developmentconcerns e.g. the Gloveboxes (in MSG, Biolab etc.) andexperiment containers.Ground-based projects are performed withDiameter Centrifuge and the RandomMachine.A recent highlight was the Delta mission in 2004, whenDutch ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers performed some 20Dutch experiments. Many of the experiments generatedinteresting results, with also spin-off opportunities forapplications in everyday life.The mission also gave an impulse to national educationactivities: the Seeds-in-Space plant experiment wassimultaneously performed by 80,000 school children. Inaddition, th€i Delta Researchers Schools project wascreated to better involve elementary school children withscience and technology.Based on the experience generated in the past decades,the Dutch microgravity science community looks forwardto a promising Columbus era.

Dutch astronaut A. Kuipper

4.4 Short overview of microgravityresearch in 'The Netherlandsby G.G. van Ije HaarSRON Netherlands Insitute for Space Research

II4.3 News from the Italian Space Agencyby Jean Sabbagh and Vittorio ColroneiASI, Italian Space Agency

Medicine & Biotechnologies - MEDThe Italian Space Agency (ASI) Life Sciences Programmehas the specific objective of gaining knowledge throughspace research and Iransfering it 10 medical applicationson Earth. The primary goals of the Programme are:• Understand life processes and adaptation

mechanisms in the space environment;Boost medical research on ground with the results ofthe medical investigations in space;Foster the integration of multi-disciplinary expertise,both scientific and industrial, for programmes of high­level technology transfer.

The Programme is focused on five main application­oriented research areas which require special facilities andflight opportunities: Disorders of Cardiorespiratory andMotor Control (DCMC), Osteoporosis and Muscle Atrophy(OSMA), Biotechnological Applications (MoMa), Bio­regenerative Environmental Control (CAB), and Genomic,Proteomic and Metabolomic (GPM).ASI provides access to different space platform, fromparabolic flights to International Space Station, thanks to acooperation mainly with ESA, NASA and The RussianSpace Agency (RKA). To reach the goals of theseresearch areas a scientific and industrial network hasbeen created over the years. Today, more than onethousand researchers, 164 Institutes of research and 18private companies are involved in this venture.ASI has developed a national utilisation plan for the ISSthanks to the ASI-NASA MOU for Multi-Purpose LogisticsModules (MPLM), including development of reusablefacilities. Today, 4 Italian facilities are on board ISS(Alteino, ALTEA, HPA, ELiTE-S2) and a fifth one focusedon animal research MDS is lanned for 2009.

Astronaut Roberto Vitton', Italian national, using HPA in ISS

NEWS 23

5.2 Center of Applied Space Technology andMicrogravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremenby Hans J. Rath

Unfortunately, the flight units of the Facility Control Unit,the Power Supply Unit. the Pyrometer and the UltrasoundDiagnostics Device of the MSl (Materials SCienceLaboratory) rack are stitl on ground wailing for their tripinto orbit beginning of next year. They are targeting to theDestiny module.All of these equipments are periorming well in orbit or onground without creating troubles thus continuing Kayser­Threde's tradition in reliable, high quality and highperiormance space equipment. So we wish a scientifICallydemanding future to the ISS and its crew and excitingresults to all scientists involved.You want to see more - www.kayser-threde.com

~ZIIi"lM

ZARM is a research institute of the University of Bremenoperating the ZARM Drop Tower, which is a microgravitylaboratory unique in Europe. In comparison to orbitalsystems it represents a ground-based facility withpermanent access, open to scientists from all over theworld. The main users are investigating gravity-relevantphenomena of fundamental physics and applied scienceslike fluid physics, combustion, material sciences andbiology. Since 1990 the Drop Tower has offered anexperiment time under high quality microgravity conditionsof 4.7 seconds up to three times a day, which resulted inmore than 4,000 experiments so far. On 2nd December2004, the new catapult system was inaugurated. It aHowsdoubling the experiment lime to approximately 9.5seconds - a feature no other drop tower can provide.Moreover, there are two important factors that createextraordinarily precise experiment conditions in the DropTower Bremen: The drop tube can be evacuated in orderto reduce air resistance and it is protected against exteriorinfluences like wind and temperature by the tower building.Thus, ZARM acquires a world-wide unique quality ofmicrogravity and has developed into one the moslimportant university institutes for space technology inEurope.Please check our homepage for more information:www.zarm.uni-bremen.de

5.1 Kayser.Thredeby Kurt Kemmerle

5. News from ELGRA Supporting Members

We are proud to teU you that• HCUlCTCU, the Heater Control Unit and Cabin

Temperature Control Unit• Ducts & Unes, the tUbing system for the Life Support

Systemthe COF Video System

• about 100 individual boards of the SPLC (standardpayload computers)

are working well in the Columbus infrastructure andpayload racks on board ISS.

The Fluid Cell Assembly (see figure) and the AdaptationOptics, forming essential subsystems for the GeoFlowexperiment arrived well in orbit and are fully operationalsince begin of AuguSI2008.

Outside Columbus, EXPOSE-E, a mUlti-purpose exposurefacility, is periorming very well.In the Russian part of the ISS, the 9th experiment run ofthe German/Russian Plasma Crystal Experiment has beenperiormed successfully in the PK·3Plus facility.The Eye Tracking Device has been used several times bythe crew for investigations of the vestibular system.Two student experiments: Test of Reaction andAdaptation Capabilities and Oil Emulsion Experiment (seephoto from orbit) periormed also very well.So did the two commercialization experiments: BloodMeasurement Instrument and Skin Care.Since August 2007, ANITA, the Analyzing Interierometerfor Ambient Air, is taking care of the quality of theastronauts' breathing air.Also since last year, our Electrical Subsystems,Containers, and Recorders of MELFI are operationalwithout any constraint.

24 NEWS

equipment and the experiences from both DLR-Morabaand SSCfEsrange.Sounding rockets are primarily used in supportingmicrogravity, space and earth science research. TheEuropean sounding rocket activities for microgravityresearch started in 1976 with the German Texusprogramme with the first launch from Esrange on 13December 1977. Texus 44 and 45 was successfullylaunched in February 2008.The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) conducts theMASER Microgravity Rocket Programme since 1987, withthe purpose of providing flight opportunities to thescientific community for performance of experiments undermicrogravity conditions. MASER 11 will be launched inMay 2008.Both the Texus and Maser programmes are launched witha VSB-30 two-stage rocket providing 6 minutes ofmicrogravity. In 1990 the MAXUS programme wasintroduced as a joint venture between EADS and SSC. Forthe programme a single stage Castor 4b rocket providing13 minutes of microgravity is used. MAXUS 8 will belaunched in 2009.

Esrange Space Center located in northern Sweden hasduring 45 years been a leading launch site for bothsounding rockets and stratospheric balloons. SwedishSpace Corporation (SSG) has a unique combination ofmaintaining launch operations, building payloads,providing space vehicles and service systems. Sub-orbitalrocket flights and short to long duration balloon flights upto weeks are offered. The geographical location, landrecovery area and the long term experience makesSwedish Space Corporation and Esrange to an ideal gatefor space activities.Within the German / Swedish cooperation EuroLaunch(signed in 2003), we periorm operations at Esrange as theprime range including the capacity of global mobile rocketand balloon operations. EuroLaunch has the competence,

5.3 Esrange Space Centerby aile Norberg and Ola Widell

.. Swedish Span:.,.; CorpOl'alion

6. IN MEMORIAM

Ron Huijser(Amsterdam, 1951, - Leiden, 2005)

Ron Huijser died on December 10, 2005. He stru9g1edbravely for years with his disease, a fight he lost in theend. He was a key player within the Netherlands withregard to microgravity research and was well known in therelated international community, always actively exploringnew scientific ideas and industrial concepts for Spaceimplementation in order to promote and advance this area.In line with this he has always been a very active ELGRAmember. He played this role, which brought him bothprofessional satisfaction and motivation to continue hisstruggle, with admirable dedication till late 2005.Ron was born on April 29, 1951 in Amsterdam. He studiedphysics at the University of Amsterdam and obtained hisdoctors degree in Experimental Physics in 1982. His thesiswas on critical point experiments, for which he recognizedthe advantages of performing these in a microgravityenvironment. The development of a Critical Point Facility(CPF) for Spacelab, first at the university and later at theNational Aerospace Laboratory NLR, marked his first stepsin microgravity. Later on he joined Fokker Space (nowDutch Space) where he founded the microgravity groupand worked for 18 years as its inspiring leader. He madeimportant and numerous contributions to the developmentof various life science and physics experiments forsounding rocket missions (e.g. the Cells in Space CIS-1 ­CIS-6 series; CODAG-1, Wet Satellite Model, MAISexperiment) and various experiment hardware for the ISS,always trying to optimize the instruments to achieve themaximum scientific output.He worked in close collaboration with scientists from theconceptual phase up to the realization and interpretationof a space experiment, initiated required technologydevelopments and recognized the need to performadequate ground experiments beforehand. To this end, heled the development of a Random Positioning Machineand supporting equipments, which is now a commerciallyavailable and widely used instrument for microgravitysimulation, stimulating ground research regarding theeffects of microgravity on living organisms.Ron used a pragmatic, novel development approachwhich made extensive use of early prototyping, in contrastwith the traditional and more formal Space approach. Hesucceeded in realizing a laboratory environment ofworkshops at Dutch Space, based on his credibility andperformance, with which could adequately and quickly

NEWS 25

respond to user needs, bypassing red tape both insideand outside the company.He played a key role in the DELTA mission to the ISS withESA astronaut Andre Kuipers, sponsored by the DutchGovernment. Many of the experiments were developed byDutch researchers and built by Dutch industry andresearch institutions and Ron coordinated the Dutchindustrial support to the DELTA preparations andoperations, knowing the onboard experiments well andcontributing his extensive technical and operationalexperience.One of his last achievements was the prominent Dutchindustrial involvement in the development of the LifeMarker Chip, a candidate instrument for ESA's ExoMarsmission. He envisaged a synergistic combination of DutchSpace life science expertise and technical resources withleading Microsystems Technology available in theNetherlands for application in the new, appealing Auroraspace program. This was another result of Ron'sinnovative and lateral thinking and the final plans forcollaboration with the UK-led consortium were made byhim just a few months before his death.We will remember Ron as an inspiring colleague with anunusual combination of vision and both broad and in-depthexpertise, but above all as a friend with which we shareprecious memories.

by Eric Boom, Guus Borst, Jack van Loon

A quick and treasonous disease has carried away from usJune 27th, 2008, when still in full creative maturity, oureminent colleague and close friend Roberto Marco.Roberto was a Full Professor of Biochemistry in theAutonomous University of Madrid and active investigatorfor more than twenty years on the effects ofweightlessness on the embryo development and aging inDrosophila, and member of ELGRA from early times of theactivity of the Society.

26 NEWS

Roberto Marco graduated in Medicine and Chemistry inValencia (Spain), where he also gal the MD degree with athesis on History of Medicine, a topic not related to hisfurther research work, but never neglected, as a sideactivity and interest. He soon realized the limitations for aresearch career existing in Valencia in 1967 and decidedto move 10 Madrid, 10 work in one of the institutes of theScientific Research Council (CSIC) under the supervisionof Prof. Alberto Sols, an oasis of scientific excellence andmodern research concepts in the desert of mediocrity thatthen characterized the academic activities in Spain. In theSols' laboratory, Roberto Marco periormed a second PhDthesis work on the regulation of guconeogenesis, but,most important, he learned to do high level science, usingrigorous methods and paying attention to the last resultsappeared in international publications. Roberto maintainedfor all his life a permanent admiration and gratitude for hismaster, Prof. Sols.Following the Sols' advice, Roberto Marco moved to theUniversity of California at Stanford, for a three-yearpostdoctoral stay in the laboratory of Arthur Kornberg,Nobel Laureate in 1959. This was a new and decisivecontact with scientific excellence, in this case not isolated,but working in optimal conditions to develop a privilegedand enquiring mind. Probably Roberto could remain inCalifornia, given his good publications record and theclose relationship that he reached and maintained withProf. Kornberg; however, he came back to Spain to workin the new laboratories of the Department of Biochemistryof the Autonomous University of Madrid and the Instituteof Biomedical Research of CSIC, which soon was putunder the name of the Roberto's master, Alberto Sols.There, he focused his investigations on the biochemicalmechanisms controlling the embryo development andaging, mostly using the model system of the insectDrosophila. In particular, his major interests were theinvolvement of muscle and mitochondria in theseprocesses, applying biochemical, molecular and cellbiological methods. Roberto Marco has published morethan 150 papers in high impact journals, such as Nature,J. Cell BioI., J. BioI. Chem, PNAS, Biochemistry and manyothers.I never asked Roberto who or what was behind his interestand dedication to Space Biology. Probably his interactionwith Jaime Miquel, an expert in aging born in Spain, whoworked for many years in NASA, could have influencedhim. Whatever it was, Roberto began in the 1980s afruitful line of research, closely linked to his primaryresearch interests, directed to know the effects ofmicrogravity on the development and aging in Drosophila.In this field, Roberto was in Spain an absolute pioneer andhe sustained for 20 years the prestige of the SpanishSpace Biology in the European Space Agency. As anexample, a major and decisive part of the scientificexperiments designed in Spain to be performed in theSpanish Soyuz Mission, which took place in 2003 in theISS, was contributed by Roberto Marco.However, even considered in en European context, hisresearch work was at the level of the best investigationson the effects of microgravity on living beings. Robertobelonged to a generation of space researchers who, bymeans of experiments flown in Biosatellites, Biokosmos,Biopan, Foton, and in the American Space Shuttle, usingthe European device Biorack, contributed to the European

leadership in Space Biology, which promoted theconstruction of the "Columbus" module by ESA,recognized as the most important facility for biologicalresearch in the ISS. In the meeting organized in Toledo(Spain) in 2006, on the European Soyuz Missions,Roberto argued in favour of this European leadership andpromoted the necessity of an intense use of the ISS byEuropean scientists, establishing the necessary bilateralor multilateral agreements for the solution of logisticproblems.Among the major contributions of the work of RobertoMarco in Space Biology, I would like to mention two ofthem: firstly, the finding that microgravity acceleratesaging, as a consequence of the increase in the motility offlies on exposure to the space environment. Second, theappreciation of the paradox resulting from tile fact that theembryo development is largely normal in space, despitethe numerous alterations found at the molecular andcellular levels. Roberto was increasingly interested inSystem's Biology, and distant from the reductionism whichcharacterized for many years Molecular Biology. Theseideas were the object of much of his teaching activity, inthe University of Madrid and also in international courses,such as the Erasmus "Life in Space" which he attended formany years, or the "Virtual University" in which heparticipated, together with other five EuropeanUniversities.Roberto Marco was not only an outstanding scientist, buthe lived with passion, enthusiasm and commitment thepolitical events affecting Spain in the last decades; heknew and enjoyed the Spanish Geography, History andArt, and he loved good music, good painting and relaxedchat. Intimately treated, he manifested deep emotions forhis family (wife, sons, daughters, grandsons ... ). He wasfortunate in being fed with excellence from the verybeginning of his career, but he brightly developed witheffort and generosity what he learned from his mastersand what he continuously learned from many sources forall his life. It was a great luck to have had the opportunityof sharing ventures and feelings with Robert:o Marco.

by Francisco Javier Medina

7. Other News

7.1 The Declie Instrument

Origin: CNES - NASA bilateral cooperation agreements

Initiator. CNES

Participants: CNES and NASA

Laboratories: CNRS/ICMCB in Bordeaux andCNRSIL2MP in Marseille

Goals: Study critical fluids at high and low temperaturesStudy the fomlslion of the structure of matter duringthe freezing of transparent materialsStudy chemical reactions in supercritical fluids

Status: Delivery of the flight model to CNES: March 2007Delivery of the flight model to NASA: April 2008launch towards the ISS: June 2009

info: http://www.cnes.fr!.....Cbf6831-decJic.php

7.2 JEREMI Project

NEWS 27

Newsletter Articles WelcomeThanks to all the contributors of this issue of theElGRA Newsletter.All ELGRA members are invited and encouraged10 submit materials, including meetingannouncements and reviews, reports or summaries,books announcement and reviews, brief researchhighlights. member news and editorials.Please submit to ELGRA Publications Editor.

ELGRA Membership

For further information and to download theapplication form, please refer to the Elgra web siteat www.elgra.org

JAXA has recently selected for ISS a project namedJEREMI. It has been developed in the framework of theInternational Topical Team 'Marangoni Instabilities inSystems with Cylindrical Geometries'. The overallscientific proposal was submitted jointly by Japanese andEuropean scientist. The Kick-Off Meeting was in April2008. In the experiments planned for mid-2011 will becarried out in FPEF of KISO. The aim of the experimentsare investigations are high precision measurements ofsurface-tension driven flows with particular emphasis onthe flow and heat transfer in the gas phase and itsinfluence on the hydrodynamic instabilities. In addition, thedynamics of suspended particles will be investigatedwhich have been shown to exhibit certain particleaccumulation structures (PAS) on a MAXUS precursorexperiment.Contact: V. Shevtsova ([email protected] ), H. Kuhlmann([email protected] ).

Membership

Student MemberRegular MemberSupporting Member

fee

free€ 50,00€ 600,00

ELGRA Management Committee

IJPresidentDr. Ing. Jacl( J.W.A. van LoonDESC (Dutct, Experiment Support Center)ACTA - Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsPhone: +31 (0)20444 8686E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.desc.med.vu.nlDiscipline Gmvitational and Space Biology / Physiology,Ground Based Facilities. User Support, ELGRA web master

Vice - Presid..ntProf. Dr. Thodoris D. Karapanl$iosDepartment (>1 ChemistryAristotle University of ThessalonikiUniversity Box 11654124 Thessaloniki, GreecePhone: +30 Z310 99 7772,E-mail: [email protected]: Fluids & Interfaces Science. Multiphase Flows

~General Seen.taIY

"'t Prof. Dr.Hendrik KuhlmannInstitute of Fluid Dynamics and Heat TransferTechnical University of Vienna. AustriaPhone: +43 (1) 58801-32212E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.f1uid.tuwien.ac.atlDiscipline: Fluid Mechanics

TreasurerDr. Kurt KemmerleKayser -Threde GmbHWollralshauserstr.480-81379 Mijnchen, GermanyPhonel .. +49(0}89 72495 210, Fax +49(0}89 72495 215E-mail: [email protected]: www.elgra,org

Discipline: Space Science Instrumentation

Members:

Prof.Dr. Daniel BeysensCEA & ESPCI, PariS. FranceE-mail: [email protected]: +33 ·,(0)-1 40795806 Fax: +33-{O)-1 40794523Web: http://www,drfmc,ceaJr/SBT/ESEMEIDiscipline: S"per Critical Fluids

Dr. F. Javier MedinaCentro de Investigaciones Biologicas (CSIC)Ramiro de M,eztu 9, E-28040 Madrid. SpainPhone: +34 9183731 12 #4261Fax: +34 91536 04 32E-mail: [email protected]:htlp:/Iwww.cib.csic.esJenlgrupo.php?idgrupo=32Discipline: Plant Cell Biology/Cell Nucleus

~Dr. Monica I"'oniciCEO - Centre of Excellence in Optronics .University of Florence. ItalyTel +39055 4271217, Fax: +39 055 4271413E-mail: moni<:oa.monici @unili.itWeb http://www3.unifi.itldpfiscDiscipline: Cell Biology. Photobiology, FluorescenceMicroscopy

~Prof. Dr. Floris L. WUylsDirector 01 AUREA (Antwerp University Researchoontre for Eq"illbnum and Aerospace)University of AntwerpUZA - Dept of ENT: Wilrijkstraat 10,B-265O Edegem, BelgiumTel: +32.3,821.47.10. Mob: +32.486.63,75,50Web Site: IW./W,ua.ac.be/Floris.WuytsDiscipline: Human Vestibular Physiology,Spatial Disorientation, Vertigo.Medical Physics, Biostatistics

ELGRA SUPPORTING MEMBERS

ASTRIUM GmbH

0-88039 Friedrichshafen

Germany

OHB-System AG

0-28359 Bremen

Germany

HTSAG

CH-8304 Wallisellen

Switzerland

KAYSER-THREDE GmbH

0-81379 Munchen

Germany

SWEDISH SPACE CORPORATION Esrange

S-98128 Kiruna

Sweden

ZARM Drop Tower Operation & Service Camp.

0-28359 Bremen

Germany

ESA-ESTEC

Noordwijk

The Netherlands

Special thanks to ESA-ESTEC (HME) for theircontinuous and substantial support to their sciencecommunity through ELGRA.

How to become Member of ELGRA

ELGRA offers three differenllypes of membership:

• student: undergraduate or postgraduate. No membership fee.

• regular: individuals or publicly-funded scientific institutions.

• supporting: individuals, institutions or companies.

If you want to join ELGRA:• connect to www.elgra,org• download and fill the Membership Application Form

send it to the President