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Spacelab IML-1

Another major life sciences project for ESA was Spacelab IML-1. ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold, along with one Canadian and five American astronauts, manned the International Microgravity Laboratory during 22-30 January 1992. ESA provided two main life sciences facilities for the mission: Biorack and the Vestibular Sled. Both platforms had been used previously on Spacelab D1. Biorack is a general purpose facility for the study of cellular and developmental processes in plants and animals. Aboard IML-1, 17 life sciences experiments were fielded, including insects, bacteria, animal tissue, frog eggs, molds, yeasts, and several plants. The Vestibular Sled is a track-mounted chair that is used to test human nervous system responses to a variety of accelerations in weightlessness. Biorack was flown for a third time on IML-2 in July, 1994.

Sources and Resources

• Adapted from: Europe and Asia in Space 1993-1994, Nicholas Johnson and David Rodvold [Kaman Sciences / Air Force Phillips Laboratory]

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