New Scientist Australian Edition – 24 August 2019

24 August 2019 | New Scientist | 21

SPHERICAL FLAMES

On Earth, hot gas tends to rise.

Not so in space, with interesting

implications for fire. NASA studied

this in its Flame Extinguishment

Experiment aboard the

International Space Station

(ISS) in 2009. One part of the

experiment tested how liquid

fuels burn in a sealed chamber.

It confirmed that droplets did so

in a sphere, with flames pointing

in all directions. It also found that

combustion happens more slowly

and at cooler temperatures in

microgravity, and that more

material is needed to put fires out.

DARK MATTER HUNTER

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

is a doughnut-shaped detector

strapped to the ISS that measures

particles hitting it from space. In

2013, it spotted an unexpected

number of antimatter particles

called positrons. These may

have been created by dark matter

particles annihilating one another,

meaning that studying the

positrons more closely could tell us

more about dark matter. There are

more mundane explanations for

the positrons, however, such as

spinning stars called pulsars. The

detector could operate for years

yet and not provide a firm answer.

SPACE GARDEN

It would be useful to grow plants

in space as a source of food and

oxygen. For a long time, it was

unclear how they would perform

in low gravity. That’s one reason

why astronauts have been

growing plants in the ISS’s Lada

greenhouse since 2002. The

research has been remarkably

successful, showing that plants

don’t need gravity to thrive. In

2015, astronauts ate lettuce

grown and harvested in space

for the first time. We have even

sprouted cotton seeds on the

moon, aboard China’s Chang’e 4

lander, although the plants died

almost immediately.

SQUID THAT REALLY FLOAT

It isn’t just dogs that have been

put in space. In 2014, a group

from the University of Florida sent

three squid to the ISS along with

luminescent bacteria to test how

microgravity affects the way

beneficial microbes interact with

living tissue. The bacteria were

able to colonise the squid, but we

don’t yet know what this might

mean for human health.

The most interesting experiments in space

Longer term, having the brands

we encounter all the time in space

could make it feel less cold and

sterile, and more familiar. If a

Toyota is driving around on

the moon, we might be able to

imagine a city there. If astronauts

can play with the same slime as

children’s entertainers, kids might

imagine themselves doing so in

orbit, too. Having brands in space

could normalise human activity

up there.

“It’s about making what we

know to be the human experience

translatable to space,” says space

consultant Laura Forczyk.

In principle, then, the brands

in space could benefit everyone.

Brands get good PR, NASA gets

paid and the rest of us get an

opportunity to dream about a

home far from home. If the space

economy continues to grow, that

dream may someday come true. ❚

survive in space and so may now

be living, more or less, on the

moon. Agencies like NASA take

great care to sterilise spacecraft

so that other places are shielded

from Earth’s living things.

The marketing plans could

also backfire on the companies.

“A failing Toyota part on a critical

piece of equipment or slime

gumming up a piece of equipment

on the ISS would create negative

publicity,” says Drew Martin,

who studies marketing at the

University of South Carolina.

a laboratory in space while using

the lion’s share of the money it

currently spends on the ISS on

bigger and better things. Like

going back to the moon, and then

on to Mars.

“This is all an experiment,

but it is an absolutely necessary

one,” says Mary Lynne Dittmar

at the Coalition for Deep Space

Exploration advocacy group.

“If there is to be any possibility

of sustained economic activity in

low Earth orbit, the ISS is the only

means at present to explore this.”

There are potential downsides

to the further privatisation of

space. It may mean less stringent

regulation. Earlier this month,

news emerged that the Israel-

made Beresheet spacecraft

brought thousands of tiny

organisms called tardigrades with

it when it crash-landed on the

moon in April. These creatures can

▲ Mice

A new mouse for your PC.

Researchers say that mice

(yup rodents) could help

spot AI-made fake videos.

▲ Albums

It’s a long way to the top...

except for hit albums. Hits

no longer climb through

the charts. Instead they

reach number 1 in the

first week or not at all.

▲ Speedy bikes

Neil Campbell smashed

the men’s cycling speed

world record by reaching

280 kilometres per hour.

His secret? Being tugged

by a Porsche just before

the speed gun clocked him.

▼ Bolsonaro

Brazil’s president, Jair

Bolsonaro, says we should

“poop every other day”

to save the planet, an idea

that should be quickly

flushed down the toilet.

▼ Fridge tweets

Cold off the press. A story

that went viral of a teen

using a smart fridge to

tweet about her phone

being confiscated turns

out not to be true.

Working

hypothesis

Sorting the week’s

supernovae from

the absolute zeros

More Insight online

Your guide to a rapidly changing world

newscientist.com/insight

Slime ping-

pong anyone?

If kids see

familiar

products in

space, it could

feel more

accessible

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