ADVANCED AVIAN RESEARCH MODULE FOR MICROGRAVITY EXPERIMENTS

THE AVIAN EGG HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY SPACE BIOLOGISTS AS AN EXCELLENT, SELF-CONTAINED MODEL FOR LIFE-SCIENCE RESEARCH FOR MORE THAN A DECADE. MORE RECENTLY, BIRDS HAVE GAINED ATTENTION AS A POSSIBLE BIOREGENERATIVE LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SPACE STATIONS AND LUNAR/MARS MISSIONS. BEFORE THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THESE AVIAN MODELS CAN BE REALIZED, AN ADVANCED, EXPERIMENTAL TESTING APPARATUS, AN INNOVATIVELYDESIGNED INCUBATOR, MUST BE DEVELOPED TO ENABLE THIS PIONEERING RESEARCH TO MOVE FORWARD. THIS STATE-OF-THE-ART EXPERIMENTAL TOOL WILL DRAMATICALLY INCREASE THE RESEARCH CAPABILITIES OF THE SPACE LIFE-SCIENCE COMMUNITY. THE ADVANCED INCUBATOR WILL PROVIDE MAXIMUM CONTROL OF BOTH EXPERIMENTAL AND FLIGHT VARIABLES. PHASE I WILL INVESTIGATETHE FEASIBILITY OF INTEGRATING SEVERAL NOVEL SYSTEMS WITH EXISTING, FLIGHT-PROVEN HARDWARE TECHNOLOGY. THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE A UNIQUE EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF MANY INVESTIGATORS. PHASE I WOULD CULMINATE IN AT LEAST TWO CONCEPTUAL ENGINEERING DESIGNS FOR THE ADVANCE FLIGHT HARDWARE WHICH IS KNOWN AS THE AVIAN RESEARCH MODULE (ARM). THE AVIAN EGG HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY SPACE BIOLOGISTS AS AN EXCELLENT, SELF-CONTAINED MODEL FOR LIFE-SCIENCE RESEARCH FOR MORE THAN A DECADE. MORE RECENTLY, BIRDS HAVE GAINED ATTENTION AS A POSSIBLE BIOREGENERATIVE LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SPACE STATIONS AND LUNAR/MARS MISSIONS. BEFORE THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THESE AVIAN MODELS CAN BE REALIZED, AN ADVANCED, EXPERIMENTAL TESTING APPARATUS, AN INNOVATIVELYDESIGNED INCUBATOR, MUST BE DEVELOPED TO ENABLE THIS PIONEERING RESEARCH TO MOVE FORWARD. THIS STATE-OF-THE-ART EXPERIMENTAL TOOL WILL DRAMATICALLY INCREASE THE RESEARCH CAPABILITIES OF THE SPACE LIFE-SCIENCE COMMUNITY. THE ADVANCED INCUBATOR WILL PROVIDE MAXIMUM CONTROL OF BOTH EXPERIMENTAL AND FLIGHT VARIABLES. PHASE I WILL INVESTIGATETHE FEASIBILITY OF INTEGRATING SEVERAL NOVEL SYSTEMS WITH EXISTING, FLIGHT-PROVEN HARDWARE TECHNOLOGY. THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE A UNIQUE EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF MANY INVESTIGATORS. PHASE I WOULD CULMINATE IN AT LEAST TWO CONCEPTUAL ENGINEERING DESIGNS FOR THE ADVANCE FLIGHT HARDWARE WHICH IS KNOWN AS THE AVIAN RESEARCH MODULE (ARM).