Configurable platform for conducting experiments in space
Embodiments provide experiment platforms comprising hardware, software, and user-specified data structures for user-conducted orbital experiments-by-proxy that focus on microgravity as a variable. The experiment is repeated in normal gravity as a control, on a similar platform that may or may not have been constructed and/or programmed by the user. Differences in experimental results performed by similar platforms are thus attributed to the influence of gravity on observed phenomena. Experiments are specified by user-defined data structures which govern the operation of control programs typically previously installed on orbital and ground hardware. Experimentation by proxy and parameter specification allows earthbound students to participate in space-based research at various levels of involvement and at sharply reduced cost, encouraging interest in science and technology in education and future work.
1. An orbital experiment platform, comprising:
an experiment module comprising control software stored in a memory and executed by a hardware-based processor, actuators that modify an experimental environment, and sensors that acquire measured data pertaining to a phenomenon in the experimental environment, the experiment module operable in microgravity according to a data structure defined by a user and specifying a sequence of parameterized operations governing the actuators and the sensors; and
a hardware-implemented management server providing data transfer services for the experiment module and an orbiting space station.
2. The experiment platform of claim 1 , wherein the data transfer services transfer the measured data in real-time.
3. The experiment platform of claim 1 , wherein the data transfer services transfer the user-defined data structure in real-time.
4. The experiment platform of claim 1 , further comprising a second, corresponding, non-orbital experiment module to perform the experiment in a non-microgravity environment.
5. The experiment platform of claim 1 , the experiment module further comprising a desiccant case that selectively modifies a humidity of the experimental environment.
6. A method for performing an experiment by proxy, comprising:
defining an experiment according to a data structure specified by a user, the data structure comprising a sequence of parameterized operations for programmatic execution by a platform having a hardware-based processor, control software stored in a memory, actuators that modify an experimental environment, and sensors that acquire measured data describing a phenomenon in the experimental environment;
communicating the experiment to an orbital platform and to a similar non-orbital platform;
executing the experiment separately with each of the platforms in accordance with the data structure;
transmitting the measured data from at least one of the executions; and
differentiating the measured data from each of the platforms to determine the influence of gravity on the phenomenon.
7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising comparing the determined influence to a predicted influence to test a hypothesis.
8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the transmitting is in real-time.
9. The method of claim 6 , further comprising dynamically reconfiguring the experiment by modifying the experiment data structure.
10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the user programs and uploads the control software.
11. The method of claim 6 , wherein the actuators include a desiccant case that selectively modifies a humidity of the experimental environment.
12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform operations comprising:
defining an experiment according to a data structure specified by a user, the data structure comprising a sequence of parameterized operations for programmatic execution by a platform having a hardware-based processor, control software stored in a memory, actuators that modify an experimental environment, and sensors that acquire measured data describing a phenomenon in the experimental environment;
communicating the experiment to an orbital platform and to a similar non-orbital platform;
executing the experiment separately with each of the platforms in accordance with the data structure;
transmitting the measured data from at least one of the executions; and
differentiating the measured data from each of the platforms to determine the influence of gravity on the phenomenon.
13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , further comprising operations comparing the determined influence to a predicted influence to test a hypothesis.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the transmitting is in real-time.
15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , further comprising dynamically reconfiguring the experiment by modifying the experiment data structure.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the user programs and uploads the control software.
17. The experiment platform of claim 1 , wherein the user-defined data structure is dynamically reconfigurable, including during experiment execution.
18. The experiment platform of claim 1 , wherein the user programs and uploads the experiment module control software.