A Rapid Fabrication Methodology for Payload Modules, Piloted for the Observation of Queen Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) in Microgravity
Name
A_Rapid_Fabrication_Methodology_for_Payload_Modules,_Piloted_for_the_Observation_of_Queen_Honey_Bees.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
931.67 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
b834c3f30cedae09a44a8ab8fc9295b7
Author(s)
Smith, Rachel Soo Hoo
Kraemer, Felix
Bader, Christoph
Smith, Miana
Weber, Aaron
Simone-Finstrom, Michael
Wilson-Rich, Noah
Oxman, Neri
Date Issued
June 2021
Journal
Gravitational and Space Research
Publisher
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Citation
Smith, Rachel Soo Hoo, et al. "A Rapid Fabrication Methodology for Payload Modules, Piloted for the Observation of Queen Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) in Microgravity." Gravitational and Space Research, vol. 9, no. 1, American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, 2021, pp. 104-114.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Microgravity experiment modules for living organisms have been instrumental to space research, yet their design remains complex and costly. As the private space sector enables more widely available payloads for researchers, it is increasingly necessary to design experimental modules innovatively so that they are proportionately accessible. To ease this bottleneck, we developed a rapid fabrication methodology for producing custom modules compatible with commercial payload slots. Our method creates a unified housing geometry, based on a given component layout, which is fabricated in a digital design and subtractive manufacturing process from a single lightweight foam material. This module design demonstrated a 25–50% reduction in chassis weight compared with existing models, and is extremely competitive in manufacturing time, simplicity, and cost. To demonstrate the ability to capture data on previously limited areas of space biology, we apply this methodology to create an autonomous, video-enabled module for sensing and observing queen and retinue bees aboard the Blue Origin New Shepard 11 (NS-11) suborbital flight. To explore whether spaceflight impacts queen fitness, results used high-definition visual data enabled by the module's compact build to analyze queen-worker regulation under microgravity stress (n = 2, with controls). Overall, this generalizable method for constructing experimental modules provides wider accessibility to space research and new data on honey bee behavior in microgravity.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Media Laboratory
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.2478/gsr-2021-0008
