The proposals are currently under review at
JSC.NASA. The Title and Abstract of our 2006 research proposal follow:
Title: Centrifugal Microgravity Mass
Assessment System
Abstract:
In
space, efforts to weigh samples are inhibited by a lack of gravitational force
assisting in taking measurements. The gravitational force exhibited between the
mass of a sample and the mass of the earth is easily measured on earth’s
surface, but measuring this is complicated in conditions of microgravity. As
has been demonstrated in numerous experiments, centrifugal force is analogous
to gravitational force when acting in a direction orthogonal to the axis of
rotation. This can be used in conjunction with force reading devices to gather
the masses of samples in conditions of microgravity. By measuring the speed at
which a centrifuge rotates, a computer system can gather and calculate the
expected centripetal acceleration, compare it to the force exerted by the
sample, and work out the mass by Newtonian mechanics.
The
proposed research is a proof of concept model that seeks to demonstrate these
principles in practice, and show their efficacy in determining known masses
independently of earth’s gravity. Uses for mass determination in
conditions of microgravity include real-time feedback on the conditions of
microorganisms on shuttle missions, dietary information for diagnosis of
medical conditions for people and other life kept in space, measurement of
productive output for agricultural plants kept in orbit, astrogeological
analysis of samples collected in deep space, and a multitude of applications to
chemical analyses.
A
microgravity environment is required for proper testing and operation of this
device to counter weight and acceleration induced effects on the strain gauges
and to eliminate weight related friction forces inhibiting the accuracy of
measurement.
Test
Objectives:
We
aim to test efficacy of a new centrifuge style mass measurement device designed
to accurately measure small masses in microgravity.
We
aim to verify the accuracy of measurement for such a method. We also desire to
measure the level of calibration necessary and test the sensitivity of our
method to movement during flight.
This
experiment is not a follow up to a prior experiment, but would benefit from
later tests of improvements suggested by the results of initial flights.