| Results
of theme selection for "Microgravity Science Research International Announcement
of Opportunity 2000" | |
NASDA(JAXA) completed preliminary theme selection for "Microgravity
Science Research International Announcement of Opportunity 2000" (
"IAO 2000") and selected five research projects as Principal Investigator
(PI) themes and three as Co-Investigator (CI) themes. These themes will
proceed to the definition phase, and the research plans will be refined
as flight investigations.
 | Introduction
of IAO | The purpose of the International Announcement of Opportunity
(IAO) is to obtain the highest quality research through international solicitation
and scientific peer review of research proposals, to increase the effective use
of the International Space Station (ISS) through international cooperation and
utilization of the ISS
facilities, and to avoid duplication of projects by fostering international
collaboration.
| Brief
history of the IAO and the selection process | (1) The international
announcement of opportunity (IAO) was proposed at the Second meeting of the International
Microgravity Science Strategic Planning Group (IMSPG)
in 1997 and IMSPG started discussions for the release of the first IAO.
(2) NASDA(JAXA) and the other agencies participating in IAO 2000 started
solicitations in the fall of 2000. By the due date of January 12, 2001,
19 PI research themes and 19 CI research themes were submitted to NASDA(JAXA).
(A total of 115 research themes was submitted to all the space agencies
participating in IAO 2000.)
(3) Science reviews, evaluations of science merit and need for long-duration
microgravity, were made by international science review panels organized
by IMSPG. Preliminary technical assessments were then made by the space
agencies developing the requested research facilities. Program reviews were
made by NASDA(JAXA). The sub-committee on Microgravity Science of the Space
Utilization Research Committee of Japan reviewed the results of these evaluations
and concluded that five Principal Investigator (PI) research themes and
three Co-Investigator (CI) research themes were worth selecting.
(4) Based on this recommendation, NASDA made the preliminary selection
on January 23, 2002.
| Evaluation
Results |  | Science
review results | The science merit and need for long-duration
microgravity were reviewed by the international science review panels. The sub-committee
on Microgravity Science reviewed the results and concluded that nine themes scoring
in the top one-third in each panel and one theme that a reviewer strongly recommended
were worth considering in the preliminary technical assessments.
| Results
of the preliminary technical assessments |
The feasibility of the proposals was evaluated from the technical point
of view. The proposals requesting use of NASDA(JAXA) multi-user facilities
were evaluated by NASDA, and the ones requesting use of foreign facilities
were evaluated by the developing agency. The sub-committee on Microgravity
Science reviewed the results and concluded that five of the 10 themes passing
the science reviews were judged as being beyond the capabilities of that
relevant facility development; the remaining five themes were worth considering
in the program review.
| Program
review results |
Time spans and feasibility of the flight preparations, costs, and compatibility
with the science scenario in Japan were reviewed
by NASDA(JAXA), and international coordination regarding the use of foreign
facilities was initiated. As a result, no major problems were identified
in terms of time spans and feasibility of the flight preparations and compatibility
with the science scenario in Japan. However, it was concluded that efforts
toward cost reductions were necessary. In addition, the need for continued
discussions regarding the use of foreign facilities was pointed out.
| CI
theme results | The sub-committee on Microgravity Science evaluated
CI themes based on the standard that a Japanese CI should play a significant and
substantial role in a proposal and original outputs should be expected. The Committee
concluded that three themes satisfying the standard were worth selecting as CI
themes. When the theme is not selected as a flight experiment by the PI's agency,
the selection is withdrawn.
| Preliminary
selection results | The five PI themes listed in Table 1 and three
CI themes listed in Table 2 were selected. The theme proposers will be requested
to solve all the problems pointed out in each review, particularly cost reductions
and international coordination regarding the use of foreign facilities, in the
definition phase. The candidate themes must then pass the flight theme selection
to be carried out at the end of the definition phase.
| PI
themes | PI
(Affiliation) | Satoshi Matsumoto (Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency) | Title | Experimental
Assessment of Dynamic Surface Deformation Effects in Transition
to Oscillatory Thermocapillary Flow in Liquid Bridge of High Prandtl
Number Fluid | Requested
Facility
(Development Agency) | | Abstraction | This
study verifies the essential mechanism of transition to oscillatory
thermocapillary flow. The results will contribute to clarifying
the effect of thermocapillary flow during material processing. |
PI
(Affiliation) | Toshio Itami (Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency) | Title | Role
of the short range order on the self- and impurity diffusion of
group 14 (IVB) elements with a different degree of complexity | Requested
Facility
(Development Agency) | AFEX
(JAXA) and/ or DMI (NASA) | Abstraction | The
diffusion coefficient of molten germanium will be measured with
high accuracy using shear-cell technique. Based on the experimental
results in space, a new theoretical model of diffusion in molten
semiconductor material will be constructed. |
PI
(Affiliation) | Kazuhiko Kuribayashi (Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency) | Title | Containerless
Crystallization of Silicon in Microgravity | Requested
Facility
(Development Agency) | | Abstraction | The
morphological instability of crystallization in the undercooled
silicon melts will be investigated in microgravity experiments.
The results will applied to the process of spherical semiconductor
crystals that contribute to the development of new electronic devices. |
PI
(Affiliation) | Kyoichi Kinoshita (Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency) | Title | Growth
of Homogeneous In0.3Ga0.7As Single Crystals
in Microgravity | Requested Facility
(Development
Agency) | | Abstraction | Verification
of one-dimension theory related to a new crystal growth technique
that can achieve homogeneous InGaAs crystals in order to establish
the growth technique. This technique will contribute to developing
optical devices of the next generation. |
PI
(Affiliation) | Osamu Fujita (Hokkaido University) | Title | Effect
of Material Properties on Wire Flammability in a Weak Ventilation
of Spacecraft | Requested
Facility
(Development Agency) | | Abstraction | This
research verifies a hypothesis concerning flame spread mechanisms
by using solid fuel. The results of this study should contribute
toestablishing an advanced flame spread model and improving the
evaluation of material flammabilities in a space environment. |
| CI
themes | CI
(Affiliation) | Hiroshi Kawamura (Science University
of Tokyo) | Function
of CI | Perform the experiment by using
FPEF and analyze the experiment results | PI
(Affiliation) | Hendrik C. KUHLMANN
(ZARM - University of Bremen) | Title
| Dynamics of suspended particles in periodic vortex
flows | Abstract of the Proposal | This
study verifies the prospect for the non-trivial structure formed
by the dynamic particle segregation in thermocapillary flow under
microgravity conditions. |
Materials Science Discipline
CI
(Affiliation) | Taketoshi Hibiya (NEC Corporation) | Function
of CI | Provide knowledge of handling
silicon melt sample. Analyze data of experiment results | PI
(Affiliation) | Konrad Samwer (Univ.
Gottingen) | Title | Investigations
of thermophysical properties of liquid semiconductors in the melt
and in the undercooling state under microgravity conditions (SEMITHERM) | Abstract
of the Proposal | The thermophysical properties
of silicon melt will be measured with high accuracy in an electro-magnetic
levitation furnace |
Materials Science Discipline
CI (Affiliation) |
Takao Tsukada (Tohoku University) |
Function of CI |
Improve computer fluid dynamics related
to industrial Si processing reflecting the space experiment results |
PI (Affiliation) |
Konrad Samwer (Univ. Gottingen) |
Title |
Investigations of thermophysical properties of
liquid semiconductors in the melt and in the undercooling state
under microgravity conditions (SEMITHERM) |
Abstract of the Proposal |
The thermophysical properties of silicon melt
will be measured with high accuracy in an electro-magnetic levitation
furnace |
Last Updated : October 1, 2003
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