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| Pressurized Module |
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| Biological Experiment Unit: BEU |
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BEUs meet the demand of various experiments for micro-gravity
 Description
The automated cultivation system encased in a small body
that supports life-science experiment on orbit.
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| Canisters are set on CBEF micro-gravity sample tray and
a turntable |
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| :Engineers are checking a PEU captured image through CBEF
on IPU monitor. |
The BEU Series are the equipment dedicated to life-science experiment on the
International Space Station. Four types* of BEU have been developed
to support typical life science experiments in the KIBO/ISS. (Refer to following
pages for the individual BEU types.) The BEU installed in the CBEF which provides
general environment controls such as temperature, humidity and CO2 concentration.
The BEU, connected to the external PC, performs various functions as followings
automatically, which are required in life-science experiment.
- Culture-medium exchange
- Water delivery
- Air circulation
- Data acquisition(Temperature, Humidity)
- Video capture
- Sample fixation and/or collectio
*Plant Experiment Unit (PEU)
Cell Experiment Unit type 1(CEU)
Cell Experiment Unit type 2(CEU2)
Measurement Unit(MEU)
CBEF: Cell Biology Experiment Facility
IPU: Image Processing Unit
Control
from
the earth
The data communication which enables researchers
to acquire real-time data and control operation from the ground
The experiment operation center for KIBO is set up on Tsukuba Space Center.
The researcher can monitor down-linked data and send up-link commands which
control the operation of the BEU, if required, from the experiment operation
center.
Available data on the ground are as follows:
- Temperature and Humidity
(Both inside cultivation container and environment surrounding the container)
- Operation logs of the mechanical components
- Observation image
PEU
Description
The experiment unit equipped with basic functions for plant cultivation
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1,2 PEU
3 Plant chamber
4,5 Arabidopsis
thaliana is the
model plant |
The PEU encases components, required for plant cultivation experiment, in
the canister. They are a plant growth container, a water delivery control system,
an air ventilation control system, an illumination system (LED), a CCD camera,
a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor.
When the operation command is sent to the PEU from the PC, the PEU controls
functions of components. Thus, the PEU enables to conduct a plant growth experiment
through the life cycle from seed to seed. Also the researcher can monitor operational
data such as temperature, humidity and water content of the plant bed, and
observe real-time image of the growing plant.
After the experiment, a sample recovery, a fixation or a freezing are possible
utilizing the dedicated tools and freezers.
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| Setting for PEU operation on the ground |
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| Engineers check plant condition |
Specifications:
- Size: W210 mm x H80 mm x D130 mm
- Mass: 2,500 g (at the maximum)
- Capacity of the plant growth container: 120 ml (Shoot Height: 50 mm)
- Main components:
- Water delivery pump
- Ventilation pump
- Air circulation fan
- Color CCD camera
- Illumination for plant growth; Blue(470 nm) and Red(660 nm) LEDs
- Illumination for observation; White LEDs
- Water content sensor
- Temperature/humidity sensor
- Water bag
Operational parameter settings for a model experiment
- Growth container temperature: 22 deg. C ± 1
- Growth container humidity: 70 - 80 %RH
- Illumination: 190 micro-mol/m2 sec
- Plant bed: Rock wool
- Experiment duration: 40 to 60 days
CEU
Description
The experiment unit equipped with basic functions for cell cultivation
The CEU encases components, required for cell culture experiments, in the canister.
They are culture chambers, a culture medium exchange system, a temperature sensor
and a humidity sensor. When the operation command is sent to the CEU from the
PC, the CEU controls functions of components and performs cell cultivation automatically.
The culture chamber is equivalent in cell growth and microscopic observation
with a commercial T-type culture flask.
The whole fluid loop is sterilized and closed to prevent contamination. The culture
chamber is able to detach from and attach to the CEU easily with the sterile
joint.
A recovery, an extraction pretreatment and a fixation of cells are possible in
the culture chamber utilizing the dedicated tools.
1 CEU
2 Culture cell
3 Culture chambers
4 Pre Fixation Kit
5 Cell Fixation Kit
| Cell culture experiment |
| Day6 |
Day9 |
Day15 |
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Upper：Culture chamber |
Lower：T25 flask |
Specifications:
- Size: W210 mm x H80 mm x D130 mm
- Mass: 2,500 g (at the maximum)
- Number of culture chambers: two
- Cultivation area of the chamber: 10 cm2, 30 cm2
- Medium capacity of the chamber: 3 ml, 9 ml
- Main components:
- Culture medium circulation pump
- Fresh medium container (80 ml total)
- Spent medium container
- Temperature/humidity sensor
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| Engineer is operating the chambers |
Operational parameter settings for a model experiment
- Cultivation temperature: 37 deg. C ± 1
- Environment humidity: 90 %RH
- CO2 concentration: 5 %
- Experiment duration: 10 days
CEU2
Description
The experiment unit which enables cultivation and fixation
of floating organisms.
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| Culture chambers lit by lazer light |
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| Large size canister on a turntable of the CBEF |
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| Culture chamber |
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| Video image from CCD camera |
The CEU2 encases components, required for floating organism culture experiments,
in the canister. They are culture chambers, an organism dilution system, a sampling/fixing
system, an observation system, a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor. After
manual inoculation of the organism, the CEU2 performs cultivation, dilution,
sampling and fixation automatically.
The CEU2 has two culture chambers. Each chamber has the independent organism
dilution system and sampling/fixing system. During dilution operation, organisms
which are pushed off from the chamber can be sampled and fixed in the sampling/fixing
system. The sampling/fixing system has nine sampling bags that hold fixing agent.
The sampling/fixing system is detachable from the CEU2 and can be stowed in a
refrigerator.
The mounted CCD camera provides the images of cultivation areas of the chambers
which are illuminated by the laser. The user is able to count numbers of organisms
by the down-linked images.
Specifications:
-
Size: W290 mm x H220 mm x D160 mm
- Mass: 5,600 g (at the maximum)
- Number of culture chambers: two
- Cultivation space of the chamber: 3 mm x 3 mm x 60 mm
- Number of sampling bags: nine (for each culture chamber)
- Capacity of the bag: 1.5 ml
- Main components:
- Culture medium pump
- Fresh medium container (50 ml for each culture chamber)
- Spent medium container
- Flow control valves
- CCD camera
- Illumination laser
- Sampling unit rotation motor
- Temperature/humidity sensor
Operational parameter settings for a model experiment
- Cultivation temperature: 24 deg. C ± 1
- Environment humidity: 90 %RH
- Experiment duration: 30 days
MEU
Description
The experiment unit for a simple cultivation of sample
The MEU has been developed to support cultivation experiments which do not require
automatic operations. It is a kind of container having a holding mechanism for
cultivation chambers. A commercial T25 cultivation flask or other types of flask
can be installed into the MEU.
The temperature sensor is installed which enables to monitor the temperature
of the cultivation area. The MEU has an auxiliary port to which some electrical
equipment can be installed on a user’s preference.
A standard dosimeter package is available to install in the MEU.
Specifications:
- Size: W210 mm x H80 mm x D130 mm
- Mass: 2,500 g (at the maximum)
- Containable capacity: 1300 cm3 approx. (Six-T25 flasks are containable.)
- Main components:
- Temperature senso
- Dosimeter package (4 cm×5 cm×1 cm)
1 MEU 2 Chambers on the microscope 3 Investigators check image of culture cell
on the CB LCD monitor 5,6 Cultured Cell 7 Dosimeter package
CB: Clean Bench
Last Updated : February 9, 2005
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