Astronaut: Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger

Team: Space Bats

Experiment: To investigate the metabolic changes of methanotrophic bacteria in microgravity.

Astronaut: Steve Swanson

Team: PEGASUS IV

Experiment: To determine if microgravity has an effect on the properties of self-healing materials.

Astronauts: Scott Kelly, Steve Swanson & Tony Antonelli

Team: A*SSET-12

Experiment: To determine if zero gravity affects the epigenetics of Dictyostelium discoideum, specifically whether the individual amoeba cells are able to come together to form a multicellular slug when resources are depleted, as they do on Earth.

Astronauts: Barbara Morgan & Michael Foale

Team: Mission Waterfall

Experiment: Exploring Biofilm - Biofilms on bacteria will degrade at an increased rate in microgravity than on earth.

Astronauts: Tony Antonelli & Michael Foale

Team: Nebula 21

Experiment: To determine the effect of microgravity and varying pressure on the efficiency of a ferrofluid energy harvester.

Astronaut: Tony Antonelli

Team: Covalent

Experiment: Investigating Urease activity in microgravity.

Astronauts: Michael Foale & Steve Swanson

Team: The Argonauts

Experiment: Determining whether yeast is able to undergo sexual reproduction in a microgravity environment.

Astronaut: Steve Swanson

Team: Mission Force 28

Experiment: Sending earthworms to the ISS to test whether they can keep soil stable in a micro-gravity environment.

Astronaut: Tony Antonelli

Team: Chimera

Experiment: investigating the effects of micro-gravity on the biomass and PHA production of Haloarchaea.

Astronaut: Michael Foale

Team: Interstellar Intellectuals

Experiment: Determining whether increasing root pressure in microgravity would improve the effectiveness of plant growth.

Astronaut: Tony Antonelli

Team: Refractive Minds

Experiment: How the presence of gravity will affect the qualitative nutritional value of carbohydrates, broken down by the enzyme salivary amylase, in food.

Astronaut: Tony Antonelli

Team: Apol10

Experiment: Measuring the rate of cell division in space using GFP.

Astronaut: Steve Swanson

Team: Star Sailors

Experiment: The effectiveness of antibacterials produced by flies on E. Coli in Microgravity!

Astronaut: Michael Foale

Team: TITAN pHive

Experiment: Planarian Flatworm Regeneration in Microgravity

Astronaut: Tony Antonelli

Team: Orbit

Experiment: Vitamin C deterioration in space

Astronaut: Steve Swanson

Team: Orion

Experiment: Looking at Wax worms and their consummation of plastic in the hope to find a more efficient way to dispose of plastic on the International Space Station.

Astronaut: Michael Fincke

Team: NOZK2AS

Experiment: The effectiveness of natural antibacterials in inhibiting the growth of Escherichia Coli (E.coli) DH5-Alpha in microgravity.

Astronaut: Steve Bowen

Team: Lunartics

Experiment: The effect of Phospholipase a2 (venom) on Staphylococcus Aureus in microgravity.

Astronaut: Steve Swanson

Team: SPACE MONKEY MAFIA

Experiment: Speeding up the process of germination in space.

Astronaut: Michael Foale

Experiment: Usefulness of heat, mixing, straws and pipetting in separating immiscible liquids neatly into their separate components on the International Space Station.

Astronaut: Michael Foale

Team: The Kepler 16b

Experiment: Testing electric fields as a method of transporting polar liquids.

Astronaut: Michael Foale

Team: Space Raiders

Experiment: The effect of microgravity on the electricity produced by phytoplankton through photosynthesis.

Astronaut: Steve Swanson

Team:EQUILIBRIUM

Experiment: Investigating whether Aloe Vera gel is effective at stopping the growth of fungi in space

Astronaut: Ken Bowersox

Team: Suns of Ananke

Experiment: Determining if probiotic bacteria is the best antiseptic for use in space.

Astronaut: Michael Foale

Team: Icarus

Experiment: Determining whether electricity generating bacteria, once taken to a microgravity environment, will increase either the rate or amount of electricity generated when compared with the same process on Earth.

Astronaut: Steve Swanson

Team: Propulsion

Experiment: Determining whether symbiotic relationships between plants and bacteria are maintained in a microgravity environment.

Astronaut: Steve Bowen

Experiment: Testing the impact of bacterial phages on different types of bacteria, such as e-coli, in zero gravity conditions.

Astronaut: Michael Foale

Team: Positive Charge

Experiment: Test whether ionic liquids are effective lubricants in microgravity.

Astronaut: Jerry Ross

Experiment: Examining the 3D applications of electrowetting in microgravity.

Astronaut: Nicole Stott

Experiment: Looking at luciferase (the enzyme that gives fireflies their ‘glow’) activity in microgravity in a set up very similar to a ‘glow stick’.

Astronaut: Ken Ham

Experiments:

1. Treatment of red-eye (conjunctivitis) in space: Astronauts are required to spend 2 weeks in isolation before any launch to the ISS to prevent them from catching any illness and to allow any illnesses that they have already caught to transpire. As commercial space flight starts to become a reality, the possibility of putting people in quarantine for such a long period will become practically impossible. Conjunctivitis has approximately a 2 day incubation period in humans. It is possible that when commercial space flights increase in length, such illnesses with short incubation periods will require treatment on board the spacecraft. This experiment will therefore determine the effectiveness of treatments for conjunctivitis in microgravity.

2. Carbon dioxide consumption by cacti in microgravity: Elevated carbon dioxide levels are a potential problem in space. Although plants can readily consume CO2, they are notoriously difficult to grow in microgravity due to fluidic problems. Cacti require very little water and so are predicted to have a much better survival rate. This experiment will see whether their rate of CO2 consumption in space can also be maintained.

Astronaut: Ken Ham & Michael Foale

Experiments:

1. The effect of microgravity on motor function of Drosophila with symptoms of Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms: Feany & Bender (2000) first reported a model of Parkinson’s disease in Drosphila which has enabled the study of this disease in a species which can be easily manipulated without the same ethical considerations as models in rodents and higher species. This experiment will determine the impact of microgravity on the symptoms of this disease, as related to motor function.

2. Chemical reactions in Alzheimer’s disease in microgravity: This experiment will compare the rate of amyloid beta-protein aggregation on earth versus microgravity. Aggregation of this protein is considered to be a major contributor to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and further understanding of the nature of its aggregation is of potential benefit for future treatments.

Astronaut: Ken Ham

Experiments:

1. Daphnia magna in space: Daphnia will produce sexually or asexually depending on the nature of their environment. Under stressful conditions, they will resort to sexual reproduction. The aim of this study is to determine whether the microgravity environment of the ISS is stressful enough to initiate sexual reproductive activity through analysis of eggs.

2. Effect of plant steroids on plant growth in microgravity: Plants are notoriously difficult to grow in microgravity, but they will provide an essential food source for long-term space missions. This experiment will determine whether plant steroids can potentiate their growth in a microgravity environment.

Astronaut: Ken Ham

Experiments:

1. To test the effectiveness of antibiotics on E. coli in space.

2. To examine slime mould’s reaction to zero gravity

Astronauts: Ken Ham (left), Mike McCulley (right)