Advanced Facility Computerized Lab

ADVANCED FACILITY COMPUTERIZED LAB

Biolab (Biological Experiment Laboratory) is a single-rack multi-user science payload designed for use in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station. Biolab support biological research on small plants, small invertebrates, microorganisms, animal cells, and tissue cultures. It includes an incubator equipped with centrifuges in which the preceding experimental subjects can be subjected to controlled levels of accelerations.

These experiments help to identify “the role that microgravity plays at all levels of an organism, from the effects on a single cell up to a complex organism including humans.”

BioLab provides an on-orbit biology laboratory that enables scientists to study the effects of microgravity and space radiation on unicellular and multicellular organisms, including bacteria, insects, protists (simple eukaryotic organisms), seeds, and cells. The BioLab facility includes an incubator, microscope, spectrophotometer (instrument used to measure the spectrum of light absorbed by a sample), and two centrifuges to provide artificial gravity. BioLab allows researchers to illuminate and observe individual experiment containers (ECs), and BioLab’s life support system can regulate the content of the atmosphere (including humidity).