UW-Madison experiments lost aboard space shuttle

Along with the seven crewmembers aboard the space shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated upon re-entry Saturday, Feb. 1, were two experiments led by UW–Madison’s Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics. Both projects investigated the biological changes of plants in a weightless environment.

The first experiment involved the effects of the microgravity environment on the production of essentials oils by two flowers – a miniature American hybrid rose known as Jerry O, which has a traditional rose fragrance, and an Asian rice flower, which has a jasmine scent. The plants were placed in a special chamber. Designed by WCSAR and controlled from their headquarters in Madison, the chamber regulated the plants’ exposure to light, water, carbon dioxide, nutrients, temperature and humidity. Sensors inside the chamber monitored the status of the aromatic plants.

Similar experiments conducted by WCSAR and an industry partner in the past have yielded new fragrances, which have been synthetically produced by perfume companies. The research project aboard Columbia was funded in part by International Flavors & Fragrances in New York, one of the world’s largest perfume companies.

The second experiment investigated the effects of weightlessness on the genetic transformation of plants. Specifically, the project looked at the likelihood of transferring a specific gene into wheat microspores in microgravity. This experiment took place in a specially designed glove box.

“The second [project] is really exciting,” said Laurel Clark during an interview last June with officials from UW–Madison (Clark worked closely on both WCSAR experiments during the mission). “Gene transfer is actually a potentially incredibly important thing. . . . You can take characteristics – beneficial characteristics – from plants and transfer them to [other] plants so that they’re resistant to disease or very different environmental conditions.”

While WCSAR scientists use data transmitted during space shuttle missions to analyze changes in plants’ biology, they rely significantly on samples preserved during the flight for post-mission analysis, says Weijia Zhou, WCSAR director and primary investigator of the two experiments. Although this information was lost when the space shuttle broke apart upon re-entry, Zhou says, “Our loss, compared to the families whose loved ones were onboard Columbia, is insignificant. Our thoughts are with the families of the crewmembers.”

Before the mission, WCSAR staff worked closely with the spaceflight crew, especially Clark, to train them on conducting the experiments. Recalling one email he received from Clark during the mission, Zhou says, “Laurel had shared her love for the state of Wisconsin and UW–Madison and she wanted us to share that with everyone else.”

More about WCSAR. More about previous research projects.