Canada's space protein crystal growth program prepares for ISS

In preparation for utilizing the International Space Station (ISS), the Can adian Space Agency's Microgravity Sciences Program (CSA MSP) is developing space hardware and supporting science in order to meet the needs of the Can adian scientific community. The utilisation philosophy includes a permanent presence on ISS on an EXPRESS rack. A Microgravity Vibration Isolation Mou nt (MIM) Base Unit will host simple visiting payloads in each of our resear ch fields of materials science, protein crystal growth, and fluid science. Ground support, especially in the field of protein crystal growth (PCG), wi ll be emphasized, in order to increase science success. Through the previou s PCG missions the CSA has gained experience in this field. With our accumu lated knowledge and an opportunity to utilize the Canadian allocation on IS S, we are now in a good position to fulfill the requirement of providing ac cess to space through the use of a new, Canadian-designed apparatus built t o meet our particular needs. The hardware development process, ground opera tions, and science support are being addressed as a single program, sharing resources at different phases of the project. The five main components of the program that will be discussed in this project are: Concept studies, Fl ight hardware development, Benchmark protein set, CSA PCG Mission Support C entre, and Science support. Crown Copyright (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.