DEVELOPING SCIENTIFIC GROUND MODELS OF THE PROTEIN CRYSTALLISATION DIAGNOSTICS FACILITY TO PREPARE FOR PROTEIN CRYSTALLISATION INVESTIGATIONS ON BOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
- Paper ID
IAC_03_J_5_01
- author
- company
European Space Agency
- country
The Netherlands
- year
2003
- abstract
Perfect crystals of proteins or macromolecules are needed to reveal structural information necessary for the understanding of their functions. Weightless conditions encountered during orbital space flights have been shown to yield better and larger crystals. The facilities and instruments used so far to grow crystals in space have mostly focused on the growing of crystals for post-flight analysis, and less on the understanding of phenomena associated to the crystallisation processes. A new facility, the Protein Crystallisation Diagnostics Facility (PCDF), is presently in development by Astrium under contract of the European Space Agency (ESA), that will allow to observe with several diagnostics means the crystallisation of macromolecules over long periods in microgravity. The PCDF is intended to fly on the International Space Station (ISS), accommodated in the European Drawer Rack, in ESA's Columbus Laboratory module. In order to prepare for the scientific use of the PCDF and of its diagnostics, ESA is developing several ground models with PCDF similar capabilities to allow scientists to prepare protein crystallisation experiments. A Laboratory Model and a Science Reference Model are being developed to allow scientists to conduct ground experiments using PCDF crystallisation reactors in order to conduct reference experiments on ground and to prepare experiment procedures and scenarios. The paper presents the design of the various ground models of the PCDF and details the approach to prepare the scientific community to use the PCDF in orbit.