After two days of experimenting in weightlessness, a team of researchers from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have their feet firmly planted on the ground.
The team spent April 28 and 29 on parabolic flights with ZERO-G in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The flight — which achieves various levels of microgravity by performing maneuvers known as parabolas — provided the team with an opportunity to study the formation of potentially destructive amyloid fibrils, or protein clusters, like those found in the brain tissue of patients battling neurodegenerative diseases. The experiment, called the ring-sheared drop, was developed by Marshall and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, New York.
Marshall materials science engineer, Ellen Rabenberg, has supported the project for nearly five years. After two flights on ZERO-G’s modified Boeing 727 — G Force One — in 2016 and 2020, she supported the payload from the ground this year. As ground support, she was responsible for preparing and installing the equipment for flight.
Marshall’s ground support team tracked the parabolic flight on Flight Aware’s live map while G Force One performed 30 parabolas. (Flight Aware)
To track the flight in real time, Rabenberg followed the live updates on Flight Aware. Over the course of approximately two hours each day, she monitored the map as G Force One completed 30 parabolas.
Now, Rabenberg and her colleagues will analyze the data gathered in flight and determine next steps for their payload.
How do you prepare for weightlessness? A team of researchers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center has been doing so in preparation of their April 28 and 29 parabolic flights with ZERO-G in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The Marshall team exits the G Force One after the first day of parabolic flights. (NASA)
So what is on their parabolic pre-flight checklist?
An easily digestible breakfast
The flight team is served a doctor-recommended breakfast of bagels, fruit, and juice — all of which digest quickly and easily to provide fuel for their bodies as they experience periods of variable gravity.
Proper attire Fort Lauderdale is a subtropical climate with warm and humid conditions in the spring. Participants wear light, comfortable clothing and closed toed shoes for movement in the hangar, on the ramp, and on the aircraft. Each flyer wears a ZERO-G flight suit, which enables ease of movement in air.
A COVID-19 test All non-vaccinated participants are tested for COVID-19 daily to ensure safety of all parties.
Identification Just like a typical commercial flight, each individual must complete a TSA check before boarding the aircraft. They must present a valid driver’s license, passport, or other TSA-approved identification.
Once all the pre-flight boxes are checked, the team will board a modified Boeing 727 — named G Force One — to execute their experiment in a weightless environment.
Marshall’s flight team completes a TSA check before boarding G Force One. (NASA)
While in the air, the team will test an experiment known as the Ring-Sheared Drop. Developed by Marshall and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, New York, the experiment will study the formation of potentially destructive amyloid fibrils, or protein clusters, like those found in the brain tissue of patients battling neurodegenerative diseases — such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
To track the flight path as it performs parabolas, check out Flight Aware.
For more updates on the flight, the team, and the experiment, continue to follow Watch the Skies blog in the coming week.
A team of researchers from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is preparing to take flight and evade gravity in pursuit of science.
Team members are traveling to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to test an experiment known as the Ring-Sheared Drop. Developed by Marshall and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, New York, the experiment will study the formation of potentially destructive amyloid fibrils, or protein clusters, like those found in the brain tissue of patients battling neurodegenerative diseases — such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
The Ring-Sheared Drop team boards G Force One in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with their equipment. (NASA)
In Earth-based experiments, researchers determined that amyloid fibrils may be created by shear flow, or the difference in flow velocity between adjacent layers of a liquid. In the case of ground experiments, that formation is affected by the presence of container walls and by convection, or the circular motion that occurs when warmer liquid rises while cooler liquid descends.
The goal now is to conduct experiments in microgravity — in a containerless reactor — where the liquid specimens form spherical drops, containing themselves via surface tension. Researchers will “pin” a droplet of liquid between two rings and cultivate amyloid fibrils for study.
The experiment was initially launched to the International Space Station in 2019. However, when the experiment failed, efforts began on Earth to improve the testing apparatus for future testing. Now, before the equipment is ready for another trip to the space station, the team will “practice” pinning liquid drops on a parabolic flight.
The research team installs their experimental hardware on G Force One in preparation for April 28, 29 parabolic flights. (NASA)
How exactly is weightlessness reached? A modified Boeing 727 — named G-Force One — achieves periods of variable gravity through a series of maneuvers called parabolas. The team will be able to interact with their hardware in zero gravity for 22 seconds at a time.
NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, within the Space Technology Mission Directorate, makes these experiment flights possible by facilitating rapid demonstration of promising technologies for space exploration, discovery, and results benefit life on Earth.
The program matures capabilities needed for NASA missions and commercial applications while strategically investing in the growth of the U.S. commercial spaceflight industry.
The Ring-Sheared Drop team is scheduled to fly with their hardware April 28 and 29 on a parabolic flight managed by Zero G of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Continue to follow NASA’s Watch the Skies blog in the coming weeks for the latest updates on the team, the parabolic flight, and the results of the Ring-Sheared Drop experiment.
Earth Day – also known as the birth of the modern environmental movement – is Thursday, April 22, 2021. It began in 1970, giving a voice to an emerging public consciousness about the state of our planet. The celebration is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world, with more than a billion people participating annually in support of preserving the health and beauty of our planet.
In observance of Earth Day, NASA will host a virtual event April 21-24 to show how we are #ConnectedByEarth with a week of online events, stories, and resources. The event platform will feature live presentations by NASA scientists, as well as interactive chats with Earth science experts. Visitors can explore the connections between Earth’s atmosphere, water cycle, forests, fields, cities, ice caps, and climate through videos and interactive science content, a kid-friendly fun zone, a scavenger hunt, hundreds of downloadable resources, and more. Some content also will be available in Spanish.
This Earth Day, NASA highlights science and technology that is helping us all live more sustainably on our home planet and adapt to natural and human-caused changes. Credits: NASA
On Earth Day at 11 a.m. EDT, NASA will host a special live conversation with Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes and five people living and working in space: NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Dr. Shannon Walker, and Mark Vande Hei; and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi. The event will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Learn more about NASA’s Earth Day plans and free online registration.
After several months of a meteor drought in 2021, we also have the annual Lyrid meteor shower coming up on Earth Day. The Lyrids will peak in the predawn hours of Earth Day (April 22). If you miss the peak, the wee hours of the following morning (April 23) offer another chance to see this shower, though the number of meteors will be down about 30% from the night of the 21st/22nd.
Composite image of Lyrid and not-Lyrid meteors over New Mexico from April, 2012. Credits: NASA/ MSFC/ Danielle Moser
Observers in the Northern Hemisphere will see the most Lyrids, with the best time to watch between midnight and dawn. Although you’ll see a fairly bright Moon in the evening sky, it will set before the shower peaks near dawn. Peak rates for the Lyrids are around 10-20 meteors per hour. The meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Lyra, but they can appear anywhere in the sky, which is why it is important to lie on your back and take in as much sky as possible.
The Lyrids is among the oldest of known meteor showers, with records going back for 2,700 years or more. It is produced by dust particles left behind by Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861. The shower runs annually from April 16-25.
