The Gravitational Plant Physiology Facility--description of equipment developed for biological research in Spacelab.
In January 1992, the NASA Shuttle mission STS 42 carried a facility designed to perform experiments on plant gravi- and photo-tropic responses. This equipment, the Gravitational Plant Physiology Facility (GPPF) was made up of a number of interconnected units mounted within a Spacelab double rack. The details of these units and the plant growth containers designed for use in GPPF are described. The equipment functioned well during the mission and returned a substantial body of time-lapse video data on plant responses to tropistic stimuli under conditions of orbital microgravity. GPPF is maintained by NASA Ames Research Center, and is flight qualifiable for future Spacelab missions.
Heathcote
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DG
Gravitational Plant Physiology Laboratory, University City Science Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3323, USA.
Chapman
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DK
Brown
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AH
Lewis
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RF
D018554:Avena / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D004867:Equipment Design; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D008027:Light; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D013026:Space Flight / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014908:Triticum / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D014743:Videotape Recording; D014893:Weightlessness