Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have developed a modular, self-contained device to cultivate microorganisms, which could enable scientists to carry out biological experiments in outer space.

In a study published in Acta Astronautica, the team showed how the device can be used to activate and track the growth of a bacterium called Sporosarcina pasteurii over several days, with minimal human involvement.

Understanding how such microbes behave in extreme environments could provide valuable insights for human space missions such as "Gaganyaan," India's first crewed spacecraft, set for launch in 2022. In recent years, scientists have been increasingly exploring the use of lab-on-chip platform that combine many analyses into a single integrated chip for such experiments. But there are additional challenges to designing such platforms for outer space, when compared to the lab.

"It has to be completely self-contained," points out Koushik Viswanathan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and a senior author of the study. "Besides, you can't simply expect the same operating conditions as you would in a normal laboratory setting … and you can't have something that guzzles 500W, for example.

NASA's Scientific Balloon Program's 2021 fall campaign is now underway in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, launching the first three of eight missions in August.

The missions planned for this campaign include an annual student experiment, three missions from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and technology demonstrations for NASA's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility.

The campaign window opened in mid-August and will run through mid-October.

"After a successful spring campaign, we hope to continue that success into our fall campaign," said Debbie Fairbrother, Scientific Balloon Program Office chief at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. "These flights continue to not only be important to our university and NASA partners, but to the next generation who get a hands-on experience building and flying their experiments aboard a real science platform.