In a previous post, we discussed what parabolic
flights are and why they are used. But
why are we using them this time? We are
flying our custom imaging systems (FLEX) to observe how various genes behave in
zero gravity in three distinct ways.
These methods are either contained within FLEX imager itself or are
external experiments designed to complement and verify the data collected
within the imager.
We have two FLEX imager units, named Rocky and
Bullwinkle. One unit will be operational
on the ground, and the other will fly on the C-9 parabolic aircraft. This experimental design allows parallel data
collection so we know that when we compare flight to ground, our differences
are solely in what is happening during flight.
Part one of our experiment is green fluorescent
protein (GFP) imaging. This system will
take pictures of GFP in our plants by using blue LEDs to excite the GFP and
filters to see where the GFP is located.
We have already tagged GFP to genes of interest, and using this system
will allow us to watch where these genes are active how they behave over the
course of the parabolic flight.
Part one is supported by a floor harvest. During the course of a parabolic flight, we
can do 10 parabolas before we run out of airspace and need to turn around. During these turns, we are able to open our
Arabidopsis plates, take all the plants off of the plates, and put them into a
solution that "freezes" (chemically preserves) the plants. We can to this at each of the turns (after
10, 20, 30, and 40 parabolas). For this
campaign, we are harvesting the same plant "breeds" (lines) we are
imaging in part one to verify that the change in GFP we may see through the
camera is correct.
Part two of our experiment uses a FLIR thermal
imaging camera. We are comparing two
different lines of Arabidopsis where one of the lines cools itself better than
the other. We want to see how the leaf
temperature of these lines differ in zero gravity, since air can move
differently in zero g.
Part three is an experiment designed to see what
happens to plants at the beginning of one of these flights. Using a Kennedy Space Center Fixation Tube
(KFT), we are going to preserve plants at various early points in the flight to
separate the plant responses to hyper gravity and zero gravity.
Currently, we are in Building 993 at Ellington
Air Field, awaiting the final go-ahead that we are ready to fly. Rocky and Bullwinkle are ready to go, and so
are all of our plants. More updates soon! - Eric Schultz
