These images, from David Weitz’s liquid crystal research, show ordered uniform sized droplets (upper left) before they are dried from their solution. After the droplets are dried (upper right), they are viewed with crossed polarizers that show the deformation caused by drying, a process that orients the bipolar structure of the liquid crystal within the droplets. When an electric field is applied to the dried droplets (lower left), and then increased (lower right), the liquid crystal within the droplets switches its alignment, thereby reducing the amount of light that can be scattered by the droplets when a beam is shone through them.

DCAM, developed by MSFC, grows crystals by the dialysis and liquid-liquid diffusion methods. In both methods, protein crystal growth is induced by changing conditions in the protein. In dialysis, a semipermeable membrane retains the protein solution in one compartment, while allowing molecules of precipitant to pass freely through the membrane from an adjacent compartment. As the precipitant concentration increases within the protein compartment, crystallization begins. In liquid-liquid diffusion, a protein solution and a precipitant solution are layered in a container and allowed to diffuse into each other. This leads to conditions which may induce crystallization of the protein. Liquid-liquid diffusion is difficult on Earth because density and temperature differences cause the solutions to mix rapidly.

iss047e004376 (3/11/2016) --- A view during the installation and configuration of the Observation and Analysis of Smectic Islands in Space (OASIS) hardware into the Microgravity, in the U.S. Laboratory. OASIS studies the unique behavior of liquid crystals in microgravity, including their overall motion and the merging of crystal layers known as smectic islands. Liquid crystals are used for display screens in televisions and clocks and they also occur in soaps and in cell membranes. The experiment allows detailed studies of the behavior of these structures and how microgravity affects their unique ability to act like both a liquid and a solid crystal.

iss044e005118 (6/26/2015) --- Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka in the U.S. Laboratory in the process of aligning the Observation Analysis of Smectic Islands in Space (OASIS) Macro Camera. The Observation and Analysis of Smectic Islands In Space (OASIS) studies the unique behavior of liquid crystals in microgravity, including their overall motion and the merging of crystal layers known as smectic islands. Liquid crystals are used for display screens in televisions and clocks, and they also occur in soaps and in cell membranes. The experiment allows detailed studies of the behavior of these structures, and how microgravity affects their unique ability to act like both a liquid and a solid crystal.

iss035e006283 (3/18/2013) --- Photo documentation of the Hicari (Growth of Homogeneous Silicon-Germanium [SiGe] Crystals in Microgravity by the Traveling Liquidous Zone [TLZ] Method) Experiment Sample Cartridge (SC) following its removal from the Kobairo Rack during Expedition 35. The materials science investigation Growth of Homogeneous SiGe Crystals in Microgravity by the TLZ Method (Hicari) aims to verify the crystal-growth by Travelling Liquidous Zone method, and to produce high-quality crystals of Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) semiconductor using the Japanese Experiment Module-Gradient Heating Furnace (JEM-GHF).

Gaseous Nitrogen Dewar apparatus developed by Dr. Alex McPherson of the University of California, Irvine for use aboard Mir and the International Space Station allows large quantities of protein samples to be crystallized in orbit. The specimens are contained either in plastic tubing (heat-sealed at each end). Biological samples are prepared with a precipitating agent in either a batch or liquid-liquid diffusion configuration. The samples are then flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen before crystallization can start. On orbit, the Dewar is placed in a quiet area of the station and the nitrogen slowly boils off (it is taken up by the environmental control system), allowing the proteins to thaw to begin crystallization. The Dewar is returned to Earth after one to four months on orbit, depending on Shuttle flight opportunities. The tubes then are analyzed for crystal presence and quality

iss064e038062 (2/26/2021) --- A view of the Industrial Crystalization Facility (ICF) abord the International Space Station (ISS). The Industrial Crystallization Facility demonstrates a unique method to grow crystals in space that is not possible on Earth. The technology uses a small module filled with liquid solution to grow crystals large enough for commercial use on Earth, including in scientific research and development of new materials.

iss064e038065 (2/26/2021) --- A view of the Industrial Crystalization Facility (ICF) abord the International Space Station (ISS). The Industrial Crystallization Facility demonstrates a unique method to grow crystals in space that is not possible on Earth. The technology uses a small module filled with liquid solution to grow crystals large enough for commercial use on Earth, including in scientific research and development of new materials.

The MEPHISTO experiment is a cooperative American and French investigation of the fundamentals of crystal growth. MEPHISTO is a French-designed and built materials processing furnace. MEPHISTO experiments study solidation (also called freezing) during the growth cycle of liquid materials used for semiconductor crystals. Solidification is the process where materials change from liquid (melt) to solid. An example of the solidification process is water changing into ice.

STS073-131-014 (20 October-5 November 1995) --- Astronaut Kent V. Rominger, STS-73 pilot, uses a camcorder to record progress in the Hand-Held Diffusion Test Cell (HHDTC) experiment. This test dealt with crystal growth by liquid-to-liquid diffusion. Four HHDTC units containing four test cells each produced protein crystals by diffusing one liquid to another. Rominger joined four other NASA astronauts and two guest researchers for 16 days of in-space United States Microgravity Laboratory 2 (USML-2) research aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.

iss040e054521 (7/10/2014) --- A photo of Hicari sample cartridge 2 from the Gradient Heating Furnace (GHF) removed in preparation for return on SpaceX-4. The materials science investigation Growth of Homogeneous SiGe Crystals in Microgravity by the TLZ Method (Hicari) aims to verify the crystal-growth by Travelling Liquidous Zone method, and to produce high-quality crystals of Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) semiconductor using the Japanese Experiment Module-Gradient Heating Furnace (JEM-GHF).

iss040e054526 (7/10/2014) --- A photo of Hicari sample cartridge 2 from the Gradient Heating Furnace (GHF) removed in preparation for return on SpaceX-4. The materials science investigation Growth of Homogeneous SiGe Crystals in Microgravity by the TLZ Method (Hicari) aims to verify the crystal-growth by Travelling Liquidous Zone method, and to produce high-quality crystals of Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) semiconductor using the Japanese Experiment Module-Gradient Heating Furnace (JEM-GHF).

Crystal Growth in magnetic fields, a float-zone sample, the surface tension of the melt keeps the sample suspended between the sample rods in the furnace forming an actual liquid bridge. Principal Investigator: Dr. Frank Szofran

High school students screen crystals of various proteins that are part of the ground-based work that supports Alexander McPherson's protein crystal growth experiment. The students also prepared and stored samples in the Enhanced Gaseous Nitrogen Dewar, which was launched on the STS-98 mission for delivery to the ISS. The crystals grown on the ground will be compared with crystals grown in orbit. Participants include Joseph Negron (shown), of Terry Parker High School, Jacksonville, Florida; Megan Miskowski, of Ridgeview High School, Orange Park, Florida; and Sam Swank, of Fletcher High School, Neptune Beach, Florida. The proteins are placed in plastic tubing that is heat-sealed at the ends, then flash-frozen and preserved in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aboard the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be analyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center.

High school students screen crystals of various proteins that are part of the ground-based work that supports Alexander McPherson's protein crystal growth experiment. The students also prepared and stored samples in the Enhanced Gaseous Nitrogen Dewar, which was launched on the STS-98 mission for delivery to the ISS. The crystals grown on the ground will be compared with crystals grown in orbit. Participants include Joseph Negron, of Terry Parker High School, Jacksonville, Florida; Megan Miskowski (shown), of Ridgeview High School, Orange Park, Florida; and Sam Swank, of Fletcher High School, Neptune Beach, Florida. The proteins are placed in plastic tubing that is heat-sealed at the ends, then flash-frozen and preserved in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aboard the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be analyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center.

High school students screen crystals of various proteins that are part of the ground-based work that supports Alexander McPherson's protein crystal growth experiment. The students also prepared and stored samples in the Enhanced Gaseous Nitrogen Dewar, which was launched on the STS-98 mission for delivery to the ISS. The crystals grown on the ground will be compared with crystals grown in orbit. Participants include Joseph Negron, of Terry Parker High School, Jacksonville, Florida; Megan Miskowski, of Ridgeview High School, Orange Park, Florida; and Sam Swank (shown), of Fletcher High School, Neptune Beach, Florida. The proteins are placed in plastic tubing that is heat-sealed at the ends, then flash-frozen and preserved in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aboard the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be analyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center.

Experiments with colloidal solutions of plastic microspheres suspended in a liquid serve as models of how molecules interact and form crystals. For the Dynamics of Colloidal Disorder-Order Transition (CDOT) experiment, Paul Chaikin of Princeton University has identified effects that are attributable to Earth's gravity and demonstrated that experiments are needed in the microgravity of orbit. Space experiments have produced unexpected dendritic (snowflake-like) structures. To date, the largest hard sphere crystal grown is a 3 mm single crystal grown at the cool end of a ground sample. At least two more additional flight experiments are plarned aboard the International Space Station. This image is from a video downlink.

Advanced finite element models are used to study three-dimensional, time-dependent flow and segregation in crystal growth systems. In this image of a prototypical model for melt and crystal growth, pathlines at one instant in time are shown for the flow of heated liquid silicon in a cylindrical container. The container is subjected to g-jitter disturbances along the vertical axis. A transverse magnetic field is applied to control them. Such computations are extremely powerful for understanding melt growth in microgravity where g-jitter drives buoyant flows. The simulation is part of the Theoretical Analysis of 3D, Transient Convection and Segregation in Microgravity Bridgman Crystal Growth investigation by Dr. Jeffrey J. Derby of the University of Mirnesota, Minneapolis.

United States Microgravity Payload-4 (USMP-4) experiments are prepared to be flown on Space Shuttle mission STS-87 in the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This horizontal tube is known as MEPHISTO, the French acronym for a cooperative American-French investigation of the fundamentals of crystal growth. This experiment, designed for the study of solidification (or freezing) during the growth cycle of liquid materials used for semiconductor crystals, aims to aid in the development of techniques for growing higher quality crystals on Earth. All STS-87 experiments are scheduled for launch on Nov. 19 from KSC

A Memphis student working at the University of Alabama in Huntsville prepares samples for the first protein crystal growth experiments plarned to be performed aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The proteins are placed in plastic tubing that is heat-sealed at the ends, then flash-frozen and preserved in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aboard the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be analyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

A Memphis student working at the University of Alabama in Huntsville prepares samples for the first protein crystal growth experiments plarned to be performed aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The proteins are placed in plastic tubing that is heat-sealed at the ends, then flash-frozen and preserved in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aboard the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be analyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

Memphis students working at the University of Alabama in Huntsville prepare samples for the first protein crystal growth experiments plarned to be performed aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The proteins are placed in plastic tubing that is heat-sealed at the ends, then flash-frozen and preserved in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aboard the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be analyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

iss047e012491 (03/21/2016) --- NASA astronaut Tim Kopra stows hardware from the OASIS experiment aboard the International Space Station. OASIS, which stands for Observation and Analysis of Smectic Islands In Space, studies the unique behavior of liquid crystals in microgravity.

ISS047e012492 (03/21/2016) --- NASA astronaut Tim Kopra stows hardware from the OASIS experiment aboard the International Space Station. OASIS, which stands for Observation and Analysis of Smectic Islands In Space, studies the unique behavior of liquid crystals in microgravity.

iss065e442804 (Oct. 7, 2021) --- Expedition 65 Commander Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) gathers fluid physics and materials research hardware inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. Also called DECLIC, or Device for the Study of Critical Liquids and Crystallization, the science gear allows researchers to study ambient temperature critical point fluids, high temperature super-critical fluids, and the dynamics and morphology of the fronts that form as a liquid material solidifies.

iss065e442823 (Oct. 7, 2021) --- Expedition 65 Commander Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) installs a fluid physics and materials research device inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. Also called DECLIC, or Device for the Study of Critical Liquids and Crystallization, the device allows researchers to study ambient temperature critical point fluids, high temperature super-critical fluids, and the dynamics and morphology of the fronts that form as a liquid material solidifies.

The Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment (IDGE), flown on three Space Shuttle missions, is yielding new insights into virtually all industrially relevant metal and alloy forming operations. IDGE used transparent organic liquids that form dendrites (treelike structures) similar to the crystals that form inside metal alloys. Comparing Earth-based and space-based dentrite growth velocity, tip size and shape provid a better understanding of the fundamentals of dentritic growth, including gravity's effects. These shadowgraphic images show succinonitrile (SCN) dentrites growing in a melt (liquid). The space-grown crystals also have cleaner, better defined sidebranches. IDGE was developed by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institude (RPI) and NASA/ Glenn Research Center(GRC). Advanced follow-on experiments are being developed for flight on the International Space Station. Photo gredit: NASA/Glenn Research Center

The Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (AADSF) with the Experimental Apparatus Container (EAC) removed flew during the USMP-2 mission. During USMP-2, the AADSF was used to study the growth of mercury cadmium telluride crystals in microgravity by directional solidification, a process commonly used on earth to process metals and grow crystals. The furnace is tubular and has three independently controlled temperature zones . The sample travels from the hot zone of the furnace (1600 degrees F) where the material solidifies as it cools. The solidification region, known as the solid/liquid interface, moves from one end of the sample to the other at a controlled rate, thus the term directional solidification.

The Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (AADSF) flew during the USMP-2 mission. During USMP-2, the AADSF was used to study the growth of mercury cadmium telluride crystals in microgravity by directional solidification, a process commonly used on earth to process metals and grow crystals. The furnace is tubular and has three independently controlled temperature zones. The sample travels from the hot zone of the furnace (1600 degrees F) where the material solidifies as it cools. The solidification region, known as the solid/liquid interface, moves from one end of the sample to the other at a controlled rate, thus the term directional solidification.

Chemist Arna Holmes, left, from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, teaches NaLonda Moorer, center, and Maricar Bana, right, both from Terry Parker High School in Jacksonville, Fl, procedures for preparing protein crystal growth samples for flight aboard the International Space Station (ISS). NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, is a sponsor for this educational activity. The proteins are placed in plastic tubing that is heat-sealed at the ends, then flash-frozen and preserved in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aborad the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be analyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

Watching molecules of the iron-storing protein apoferritin come together to form a nucleus reveals some interesting behavior. In this series of images, researchers observed clusters of four molecules at the corners of a diamond shape (top). As more molecules attach to the cluster, they arrange themselves into rods (second from top), and a raft-like configuration of molecules forms the critical nucleus (third from top), suggesting that crystal growth is much slower than it could be were the molecules arranged in a more compact formation. In the final image, a crystallite consisting of three layers containing approximately 60 to 70 molecules each is formed. Atomic force microscopy made visualizing the process of nucleation possible for the first time. The principal investigator is Peter Vekilov, of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Vekilov's team at UAH studies protein solutions as they change phases from liquids to crystalline solids. They want to know if the molecules in the solution interact with one another, and if so, how, from the perspectives of thermodynamics and kinetics. They want to understand which forces -- electrical, electrostatic, hydrodynamic, or other kinds of forces -- are responsible for the interactions. They also study nucleation, the begirning stage of crystallization. This process is important to understand because it sets the stage for crystal growth in all kinds of solutions and liquid melts that are important in such diverse fields as agriculture, medicine, and the fabrication of metal components. Nucleation can determine the rate of crystal growth, the number of crystals that will be formed, and the quality and size of the crystals.

Astronaut James D. Halsell, Jr., mission commander, uses a Hi-8mm camcorder to videotape the Hand Held Diffusion Test Cells (HHDTC), in the Spacelab Science Module aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-94). Each test cell has three chambers containing a protein solution, a buffer solution and a precipitant solution chamber. Using the liquid-liquid diffusion method, the different fluids are brought into contact but not mixed. Over a period of time, the fluids will diffuse into each other through the random motion of molecules. The gradual increase in concentration of the precipitant within the protein solution causes the proteins to crystallize.

iss065e442803 (10/7/2021) --- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet gathers fluid physics and materials research hardware inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. Device for the Study of Critical Liquids and Crystallization (DECLIC) is a multi-user facility developed by the agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (French Space Agency, CNES) and flown in collaboration with NASA. It is designed to support experiments in the fields of fluid physics and materials science. Special inserts allow researchers to study both ambient temperature critical point fluids and high temperature super-critical fluids. Another class of insert studies the dynamics and morphology of the fronts that form as a liquid material solidifies.

STS083-313-012 (4-8 April 1997) --- Astronaut James D. Halsell, Jr., mission commander, uses a Hi-8mm camcorder to videotape the Hand Held Diffusion Test Cells (HHDTC), in the Spacelab Module aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. Each test cell has three chambers containing a protein solution, a buffer solution and a precipitant solution chamber. Using the liquid-liquid diffusion method, the different fluids are brought into contact but not mixed. Over a period of time, the fluids will diffuse into each other through the random motion of molecules. The gradual increase in concentration of the precipitant within the protein solution causes the proteins to crystallize.

iss038e045758 (2/12/2014) --- A view of Columnar-to-Equiaxed Transition in Solidification Processing-2 (CETSOL-2) test sample 7 which is to be installed into the Material Science Laboratory (MSL) Solidification and Quench Furnace (SQF). This investigation aims to deepen the understanding of the physical principles that govern solidification processes in metal alloys. The patterns of the crystals resulting from transitions of liquids to solids is important for processes used to produce materials such as solar cells, thermoelectrics, and metal alloys.

Astronaut Michael Clifford places a liquid nitrogen Dewar containing frozen protein solutions aboard Russia's space station Mir during a visit by the Space Shuttle (STS-76). The protein samples were flash-frozen on Earth and will be allowed to thaw and crystallize in the microgravity environment on Mir Space Station. A later crew will return the Dewar to Earth for sample analysis. Dr. Alexander McPherson of the University of California at Riverside is the principal investigator. Photo credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center.

iss022e015850 (12/30/2009) --- The image shows a front view of EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station EXPRESS Rack 4 (Rack 4,JPM/1F5) in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Japanese Pressurized Module (JPM). Equipment visible in the EXPRESS Rack includes the Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller (BSTC) and the Gas Supply Module (GSM) support hardware for the CBOSS (Cellular Biotechnology Operations Support Systems) investigations, and the Device for the Study of Critical Liquids and Crystallization (DECLIC).

Astronaut Tom Akers places a liquid nitrogen Dewar containing frozen protein solutions aboard Russia's space Station Mir during a visit by the Space Shuttle (STS-79). The protein samples were flash-frozen on Earth and will be allowed to thaw and crystallize in the microgravity environment on Mir Space Station. A later crew will return the Dewar to Earth for sample analysis. Dr. Alexander McPherson of the University of California at Riverside is the principal investigator. Photo credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center.

iss038e045760 92/12/2014) --- A view of Columnar-to-Equiaxed Transition in Solidification Processing-2 (CETSOL-2) test sample 7 which is to be installed into the Material Science Laboratory (MSL) Solidification and Quench Furnace (SQF). This investigation aims to deepen the understanding of the physical principles that govern solidification processes in metal alloys. The patterns of the crystals resulting from transitions of liquids to solids is important for processes used to produce materials such as solar cells, thermoelectrics, and metal alloys.

Christiane Gumera, right, a student at Stanton College Preparatory High School in Jacksonville, AL, examines a protein sample while preparing an experiment for flight on the International Space Station (ISS). Merle Myers, left, a University of California, Irvine, researcher, prepares to quick-freeze protein samples in nitrogen. The proteins are in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aboard the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be anlyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

Researchers have found that as melted metals and alloys (combinations of metals) solidify, they can form with different arrangements of atoms, called microstructures. These microstructures depend on the shape of the interface (boundary) between the melted metal and the solid crystal it is forming. There are generally three shapes that the interface can take: planar, or flat; cellular, which looks like the cells of a beehive; and dendritic, which resembles tiny fir trees. Convection at this interface can affect the interface shape and hide the other phenomena (physical events). To reduce the effects of convection, researchers conduct experiments that examine and control conditions at the interface in microgravity. Microgravity also helps in the study of alloys composed of two metals that do not mix. On Earth, the liquid mixtures of these alloys settle into different layers due to gravity. In microgravity, the liquid metals do not settle, and a solid more uniform mixture of both metals can be formed.

Researchers have found that as melted metals and alloys (combinations of metals) solidify, they can form with different arrangements of atoms, called microstructures. These microstructures depend on the shape of the interface (boundary) between the melted metal and the solid crystal it is forming. There are generally three shapes that the interface can take: planar, or flat; cellular, which looks like the cells of a beehive; and dendritic, which resembles tiny fir trees. Convection at this interface can affect the interface shape and hide the other phenomena (physical events). To reduce the effects of convection, researchers conduct experiments that examine and control conditions at the interface in microgravity. Microgravity also helps in the study of alloys composed of two metals that do not mix. On Earth, the liquid mixtures of these alloys settle into different layers due to gravity. In microgravity, the liquid metals do not settle, and a solid more uniform mixture of both metals can be formed.

Kim Nelson, left, of Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, FL, helps Steven Nepowada, right, of Terry Parker High School in Jacksonville, practice loading a protein sample into a thermos-like container, known as Dewar. Students from Jacksonville worked with researchers from NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), as well as universities, in Huntsville, AL, on an experiment for the International Space Station (ISS). The proteins are placed in plastic tubing that is heat-sealed at the ends, then flash-frozen and preserved in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aboard the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be analyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

iss022e015852 (12/30/2009) --- The image shows a front view of EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station EXPRESS Rack 4 (Rack 4,JPM/1F5) in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Japanese Pressurized Module (JPM). Equipment visible in the EXPRESS Rack includes the Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller (BSTC) and the Gas Supply Module (GSM) support hardware for the CBOSS (Cellular Biotechnology Operations Support Systems) investigations, and the Device for the Study of Critical Liquids and Crystallization (DECLIC). Also visible is the Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) II.

This is a photograph of the Spacelab module for the first United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-1) mission, showing logos of the Spacelab mission on the left and the USML-1 mission on the right. The USML-1 was one part of a science and technology program that opened NASA's next great era of discovery and established the United States' leadership in space. From investigations designed to gather fundamental knowledge in a variety of areas to demonstrations of new equipment, USML-1 forged the way for future USML missions and helped prepare for advanced microgravity research and processing aboard the Space Station. Thirty-one investigations comprised the payload of the first USML-1 mission. The experiments aboard USML-1 covered five basic areas: fluid dynamics, the study of how liquids and gases respond to the application or absence of differing forces; crystal growth, the production of inorganic and organic crystals; combustion science, the study of the processes and phenomena of burning; biological science, the study of plant and animal life; and technology demonstrations. The USML-1 was managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center and launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (STS-50) on June 25, 1992.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, April Spinale, a payload integration specialist with Bionetics, places a set of vials for the Protein Crystal Growth 2 experiment into a vacuum chamber for an acceptance leak test. The vials have been filled with clear water and the test will verify that the hardware is providing adequate containment for the liquids. Spinale is a consultants for the Center for Advancement of Science in Space, or CASIS. The experiment is one of many that will be delivered to the International Space Station on the SpaceX-4 commercial cargo resupply mission. Kennedy's ISS Ground Processing and Research Project Office is providing the necessary laboratories, equipment, supplies and consumables for 61 principal investigators, including 17 from other countries, as they prepare their science experiments for flight. The SpaceX-4 flight is targeted to launch in September 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, April Spinale, a payload integration specialist with Bionetics, and Ray Polniak, a quality assurance specialist with Dynamac, place a set of vials for the Protein Crystal Growth 2 experiment into a vacuum chamber for an acceptance leak test. The vials have been filled with clear water. The test will verify that the hardware is providing adequate containment for the liquids. Both are consultants for the Center for Advancement of Science in Space, or CASIS. The experiment is one of many that will be delivered to the International Space Station on the SpaceX-4 commercial cargo resupply mission. Kennedy's ISS Ground Processing and Research Project Office is providing the necessary laboratories, equipment, supplies and consumables for 61 principal investigators, including 17 from other countries, as they prepare their science experiments for flight. The SpaceX-4 flight is targeted to launch in September 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, vials for the Protein Crystal Growth 2 experiment are being prepared for an acceptance leak test. The vials will be filled with clear water and then put in a vacuum chamber to verify that they are providing adequate containment for liquids. The experiment is one of many that will be delivered to the International Space Station on the SpaceX-4 commercial cargo resupply mission. Kennedy's ISS Ground Processing and Research Project Office is providing the necessary laboratories, equipment, supplies and consumables for 61 principal investigators, including 17 from other countries, as they prepare their science experiments for flight. The SpaceX-4 flight is targeted to launch in September 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, April Spinale, a payload integration specialist with Bionetics, and Ray Polniak, a quality assurance specialist with Dynamac, prepare vials for the Protein Crystal Growth 2 experiment for an acceptance leak test. The vials have been filled with clear water and will be put into a vacuum chamber to verify that the hardware is providing adequate containment for the liquids. Both are consultants for the Center for Advancement of Science in Space, or CASIS. The experiment is one of many that will be delivered to the International Space Station on the SpaceX-4 commercial cargo resupply mission. Kennedy's ISS Ground Processing and Research Project Office is providing the necessary laboratories, equipment, supplies and consumables for 61 principal investigators, including 17 from other countries, as they prepare their science experiments for flight. The SpaceX-4 flight is targeted to launch in September 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

This graphic depicts the evolutionary process of "shallow lightning" and ammonia-water hailstones called "mushballs." An anvil-shaped thunderstorm cloud originates about 40 miles (65 kilometers) below Jupiter's visible cloud deck. Powered by water-based moist convection, the cloud generates strong updrafts that move liquid water and water ice particles upward. About 12 miles (19 kilometers) up, temperatures are so low that all of the water particles turn to ice. Still climbing, the ice particles cross a region located about 14 miles (23 kilometers) below the upper clouds, where temperatures are between minus 121 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 85 degrees Celsius) and minus 150 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 100 degrees Celsius), (depicted as green-hashed layer). At that point, ammonia vapor in the atmosphere acts like an antifreeze, melting the water-ice crystals, transforming them into ammonia-water liquid droplets which then grow and gather a solid icy shell to become mushballs. Once big enough, these slushy hailstones fall down, transporting both ammonia and water into Jupiter's deep atmosphere where the mushballs eventually evaporate. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24042

United States Microgravity Payload-4 (USMP-4) experiments are prepared to be flown on Space Shuttle mission STS-87 in the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Seen at right in the circular white cover is the Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment (IDGE), which will be used to study the dendritic solidification of molten materials in the microgravity environment. The large white vertical cylinder in the center of the photo is the Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (AADSF) and the horizontal tube to the left of it is MEPHISTO, a French acronym for a cooperative American-French investigation of the fundamentals of crystal growth. Just below MEPHISTO is the Space Acceleration Measurement System, or SAMS, which measures the microgravity conditions in which the experiments are conducted. The The metallic breadbox-like structure behind the AADSF is the Confined Helium Experiment (CHeX) that will study one of the basic influences on the behavior and properties of materials by using liquid helium confined between solid surfaces and microgravity. All of these experiments are scheduled for launch aboard STS-87 on Nov. 19 from KSC

ISS019-E-014473 (5 May 2009) --- Salt ponds in Nueva Victoria, northern Chile are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 19 crew member on the International Space Station. This view shows a long alluvial fan, sloping from east to west (left to right) in northern Chile with solar evaporation (or salt) ponds, some brightly colored, near the foot of the fan. The alluvial fan sediments are brown and contrast sharply with tan sediments of the Pampa del Tamarugal, the great hyper arid inner valley of Chile?s northern Atacama Desert. Nitrates and many other minerals are mined in this region. A few extraction pits and ore dumps are visible at bottom right, but most of the shallow diggings (0.5?5 meters deep) of a mine extracting caliche deposits ? a hard, cemented layer in the soil formed by downward movement and redeposition of sodium salts ? lie just outside the picture. Iodine is one of the products from mining; it is first extracted by a process known as heap leaching. Waste liquids from the iodine plants are dried in the tan and brightly colored evaporation ponds to crystallize nitrate salts for collection. Fertilizer production for higher-value crops is the main use for the recovered nitrates, but there are many other uses including the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, explosives, glass, ceramics, water treatment and metallurgical processes.

This infrared view of Ganymede was obtained by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft during its July 20th, 2021, flyby. JIRAM "sees" in infrared light not visible to the human eye, providing information on Ganymede's icy shell and the composition of the ocean of liquid water beneath. It was designed to capture the infrared light emerging from deep inside Jupiter, probing the weather layer down to 30 to 45 miles (50 to 70 kilometers) below Jupiter's cloud tops. During the flyby, Juno came within 31,136 miles (50,109 kilometers) of the icy orb. Together with the previous observational geometries provided, this data gives the opportunity for JIRAM to see different regions for the first time, as well as to compare the diversity in composition between the low and high latitudes. Because Ganymede has no atmosphere to impede the solar wind, or progress of charged particles from the Sun, the surface at its poles is constantly being bombarded by plasma from Jupiter's gigantic magnetosphere. The bombardment has a dramatic effect on Ganymede's ice: Ice is crystallized by heating at the equator and amorphized by particle radiation at the polar regions. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24791

United States Microgravity Payload-4 (USMP-4) experiments are prepared to be flown on Space Shuttle mission STS-87 in the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Seen in the foreground at right is the Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment (IDGE), which will be used to study the dendritic solidification of molten materials in the microgravity environment. The metallic breadbox-like structure behind the IDGE is the Confined Helium Experiment (CHeX) that will study one of the basic influences on the behavior and properties of materials by using liquid helium confined between solid surfaces and microgravity. The large white vertical cylinder at left is the Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (AADSF) and the horizontal tube behind it is MEPHISTO, the French acronym for a cooperative American-French investigation of the fundamentals of crystal growth. Just below the left end of MEPHISTO is the Space Acceleration Measurement System, or SAMS, which measures the microgravity conditions in which the experiments are conducted. All of these experiments are scheduled for launch aboard STS-87 on Nov. 19 from KSC

Scientists think that ancient groundwater formed this weblike pattern of ridges, called boxwork, that were captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Dec. 10, 2006. The agency's Curiosity rover will study ridges similar to these up close in 2025. Boxwork can form on Earth when groundwater flows through a web of rock fractures underground. Minerals carried by the water can coat the cracks and be deposited within the rock nearby. Eons later, if the rock erodes away, the minerals filling the cracks or the hardened rock leave a weblike pattern of ridges exposed. In the area captured by HiRISE, dark sand filled the spaces between these ridges, making them stand out more dramatically in the black-and-white image. The Martian boxwork Curiosity is headed toward formed in the foothills of lower Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain the rover has been ascending since 2014. Mount Sharp's boxwork structures stand apart from those on Earth, both because they formed as water was disappearing from Mars and because they're so extensive, running as long as 6 to 12 miles (10 to 20 kilometers). Scientists are eager to study them up close because minerals in the Martian boxwork crystallized underground, where it would have been warmer, with liquid flowing through. The rover's science team will study whether microbes could have survived in that ancient environment. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26306

In elementary school, students learn that water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). That is true most of the time, but there are exceptions to the rule. For instance, water with very few impurities (such as dust or pollution particles, fungal spores, bacteria) can be chilled to much cooler temperatures and still remain liquid—a process known as supercooling. Supercooling may sound exotic, but it occurs pretty routinely in Earth’s atmosphere. Altocumulus clouds, a common type of mid-altitude cloud, are mostly composed of water droplets supercooled to a temperature of about -15 degrees C. Altocumulus clouds with supercooled tops cover about 8 percent of Earth’s surface at any given time. Supercooled water droplets play a key role in the formation of hole-punch and canal clouds, the distinctive clouds shown in these satellite images. Hole-punch clouds usually appear as circular gaps in decks of altocumulus clouds; canal clouds look similar but the gaps are longer and thinner. This true-color image shows hole-punch and canal clouds off the coast of Florida, as observed on December 12, 2014, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite. Both types of cloud form when aircraft fly through cloud decks rich with supercooled water droplets and produce aerodynamic contrails. Air expands and cools as it moves around the wings and past the propeller, a process known as adiabatic cooling. Air temperatures over jet wings often cool by as much as 20 degrees Celsius, pushing supercooled water droplets to the point of freezing. As ice crystals form, they absorb nearby water droplets. Since ice crystals are relatively heavy, they tend to sink. This triggers tiny bursts of snow or rain that leave gaps in the cloud cover. Whether a cloud formation becomes a hole-punch or canal depends on the thickness of the cloud layer, the air temperature, and the degree of horizontal wind shear. Both descending and ascending aircraft—including jets and propeller planes—can trigger hole-punch and canal clouds. The nearest major airports in the images above include Miami International, Fort Lauderdale International, Grand Bahama International, and Palm Beach International. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>