(for other entries in the Chemistry in Space series, click here) Chemistry in space has been greatly aided by the addition of the Destiny Laboratory Module (see also: here for overview, and here for images) to the International Space Station.  Destiny was delivered by the Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-98 in February 2001.  It is the first permanent operating orbital research station since Skylab was vacated in February 1974.  Destiny is a cylinder measuring 28 feet long and 14 feet wide.  Inside, there are 24 ‘racks’ (6 on each side) measuring 73 inches by 42 inches.  The racks can be configured for storage, life support systems, or – more importantly – science experiments (check out the interactive on this page).   13 racks are available for science, while 11 are used for other purposes. One rack bay remains open and houses the highlight of the module: a 20 inch optically perfect window made of telescope-quality glass – the largest produced for use in space.  It allows the use of high quality video and still cameras primarily for capturing images of Earth in detail not before possible.  One rack bay houses the Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI).  It has 4 dewars of 75 liters which can hold samples of various sizes and shapes and keep them at variable controlled temperatures.  Currently, temperatures of -80 degC, -24 degC and +4 degC are in operation on the ISS. The purpose of Destiny is to provide space for scientific...

Photo: Techchee.com (for other entries in the Chemistry in Space series, click here) This doesn’t exactly fit in with the direction I was planning on taking with the posts on space science, but a story on MSNBC.com on Wednesday got my attention.  The story discusses NASA’s long endeavor into the search for life outside of Earth.  It used to be called exobiology (which I find to be an awesome name), but is now referred to as astrobiology. NASA has previously attempted to find life on Mars with the Viking program in the 1970s.  Probes were sent to Mars to look for life… Earth life, that is.  The tests the probes ran attempted to find life that would exist at physiological conditions on Earth, a supposition that perhaps seems silly in hindsight. An option in line with NASA’s recent change in direction could have the potential to bring Martian samples back to Earth for another attempt to find life on Mars.  The program – still in theoretical infancy – would last some 3-4 years and could begin in 2018 with sending a joint US/European rover to Mars to collect samples.  In 2020, a return vessel would go to Mars, get the samples, and return. The story talks about the potential hazards of bring unknown astrobiological samples to Earth and the need to handle them in the equivalent of a Biosafety Level 4 Lab. Anyway, my point in bringing this up is to share with you a short story – a commentary, really – by one of my favorite science...

(for other entries in the Chemistry in Space series, click here) Who knew boiling a liquid was so complicated?  When you put a pot of water on the stove or heat your reaction-in-toluene solution in an oil bath several things happen.  The liquid closest to the heating element starts to get hot.  Convection circulates the hot liquid up and the cold liquid down due to the density differences of hot and cold liquids.  Eventually, the liquid near the heating element becomes hot enough to move into the vapor phase and bubbles start to form.  Buoyancy causes the bubbles to float to the surface and pop, while more convection continues to circulate the water.  Eventually, you get a rolling boil. Everything changes in the microgravity environment of space.  Buoyancy and convection no longer play a role.  The heated fluids no longer circulate and the bubbles no longer naturally rise to the surface.  So what happens when you try to heat a liquid to boil in microgravity?  Astronauts tested this during the course of several space shuttle missions during the 1990s.  They arrived at some very interesting conclusions. First, the liquid nearest the heating element starts to get hot, just as it does on Earth.  But it doesn’t rise and circulate due to convection.  It just gets hotter and stays next to the heating element.  It eventually gets hot enough to move into the vapor phase, just as it does on Earth, but the bubbles don’t rise to the surface and pop.  Instead, they...

(for other entries in the Chemistry in Space series, click here) The below picture is of sodium chloride crystals.  I’ve made them dozens of times in left over aqueous layers that have been in my hood so long that all the water evaporated. Crystalline sodium chloride is one of my favorite crystals to grow.  Very easy (although it takes a while), the crystals can get quite large and beautiful.  And they have the characteristic X running through them.  Especially awesome to me, because I did my undergrad at Xavier University.  It’s nice to know that even my chemistry loves XU What makes this picture so cool, though, is the crystals were grown in space.  The picture is from NASA’s Image of the Day.  The crew aboard the International Space Station‘s Destiny lab grew the crystals in a water bubble as part of the program to do chemistry in space.  From NASA: Looking for all the world like a snowflake, this is actually a close up view of sodium chloride crystals. The crystals are in a water bubble within a 50-millimeter metal loop that was part of an experiment in the Destiny laboratory aboard the International Space Station and was photographed by the Expedition 6 crew. Space has long fascinated me, and I’ve been trying to get the info and motivation to start a miniseries on chemistry in space.  So I guess today’s IotD is a good way to begin.  Stay tuned over the next several weeks to hear more about awesome chemistry in space!