Contract activities on ISS Russian Segment

Experiment BIOKIN 4

Objective:

Develop a biotechnological system for the removal of gaseous and airborne contaminants originating in confined atmospheres.

Task:

Compare bacteria parameters in lag phase, degradation rate and biomass yield between space and ground experiments.

Science Hardware Used:

• KUBIK incubator with BIK containers (8);
• Soft pouch for return of BIK containers.

Experiment Results:

BIK return containers.

Expected Results:

• Test the hypothesis that altered bacterial cell growth in microgravity is the result of absence of differential sedimentation of cells and excreted intermediate metabolites
• Determine growth parameters and second to measure growth parameters of Xanthobacter autotrophicus, a candidate bacteria for use in a biological air filter.