Esa Microgravity Research Activities In The Field Of Physical Sciences And Applications |
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| Authors: | Minster Olivier Kufner Ewald Vago Jorge Jarvis David |
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| Institution: | (1) Physical Sciences Unit, ESA-ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, P.O. Box 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk ZH, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | During the eighties, microgravity research focussed predominantly on the investigation of fundamental phenomena, often with
limited industrial support. Although this approach led to some rather impressive breakthroughs in terms of new theoretical
insights and microgravity experimentation, the need for increased co-ordination and interest from industry became increasingly
apparent. In this decade, a user-driven research strategy has been instigated by ESA to promote microgravity research. The objective is to coordinate ESA, national
activities and industry into an overall European strategy, which will allow valuable application-oriented microgravity research
to be performed aboard the International Space Station (ISS). On this basis, it is expected that scientific progress will
evolve even more rapidly due to the easier planning, regular access and longer experiment-durations associated with the ISS.
This paper highlights the wealth of microgravity research being co-ordinated by ESA in the field of physical sciences. A number of key areas of research under microgravity conditions are currently being explored such as alloy solidification,
crystal growth,measurement of thermophysical properties, combustion mechanisms, fluid flow, cold atom physics and complex
plasmas, to name but a few. The following sections will provide background information relating to the various ESA research
programmes, as well as emphasising their microgravity relevance.
This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. |
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| Keywords: | Alloy solidification cold atom physics combustio complex plasmas crystal growth ESA fluid dynamics International Space Station microgravity multiphase systems physical sciences |
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