The Israeli Space Agency and the Ramon Foundation, which selected the experiments to be performed by the second Israeli space traveler - space tourist Ilan Stiva, hope that they will lead to technological and scientific breakthroughs * Some of the experiments will be performed in collaboration with school students
Another step in the journey of the space tourist and the second Israeli in space Eitan Stiva to space: The Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ramon Foundation announced today (Wednesday) at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation the scientific experiments that the second Israeli space tourist will perform in space as part of sky mission. The selected experiments are innovative and ground-breaking experiments from diverse content worlds, the experiments were chosen from technological, scientific and medical fields, were chosen based on their research potential and their expected economic impact.
on December 23, 2020 The Israel Space Agency and the Ramon Foundation announced a call for scientists, Israeli researchers and entrepreneurs, who over the past few months have submitted their proposals for experiments to be carried out on the International Space Station as part of the 'Sky' mission. The experiments were chosen by a scientific and technological committee headed by Inbal Kreis, a senior in the space industry in Israel, and the director of innovation in the missile and space systems division of the aerospace industry. The experiment selection process included training seminars and consultation meetings in order to adapt the experiments to space conditions, and the experiment teams were given access to the scientific and technological platforms on the International Space Station. This morning the 44 experiments selected by the professional committee were announced.
The experiments will be launched subject to the approval of NASA and Axiom Space to the International Space Station as part of Axiom Space's Ax1 mission together with the second Israeli in space, Eitan Stiva, in early 2022.
From fast battery charging to viscous liquid telescope lenses
Among the selected experiments you can find, for example, an experiment by the Electric Company in collaboration with the Storedot company, in the field of energy. The experiment will test the performance of an innovative lithium-ion battery in microgravity conditions. Today, there is a restriction on the commercial use of the product and within the conditions the process will be perfected - hence its great value. The conclusions from the experiment may lead to rapid charging of the batteries, which are found in most electrical and electronic devices including wristwatches, mobile phones, electric vehicles and energy storage facilities, which are at the core of the future of the electricity sector.
Another experiment is the result of the work of the oncology unit at the Schneider Pediatric Center of the Klalit Group. The purpose of the study is to characterize the conditions of leukemia in subgravity conditions in the presence and absence of chemotherapy. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is common among children treated with chemotherapy - a treatment that may cause side effects. The findings of the research that will take place in space will be compared to an identical experiment that will be conducted on Earth while monitoring the changes in the division of cancer cells and genetic expression. The research results can contribute to the development of innovative treatments that are more effective and with fewer side effects.
Ten of the selected experiments bring to light Israeli cooperation with the international community. One of these experiments, FLUTE - Fluidic Telescope Experiment, was designed and built by researchers from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technion, collaborating with NASA's research center, AMES. The experiment will examine the ability to utilize the microgravity conditions in space in order to produce high-quality lenses by shaping liquids into the desired shape and subsequently hardening them. The success of the experiment on the space station will pave the way for the production of advanced optical components in space, including the creation of extremely large space telescopes. Because the use of liquids will make it possible to overcome the limitation that exists today in which the size of the telescope depends on the size of the launcher with which the telescope is placed in space.
For the complete list of experiments
A significant leap forward in the field of space
the stay of Stiva on the International Space Station It is a national mission, which will promote the local space industry, strengthen blue-and-white science and technology, and inspire millions of Israelis. At the beginning of 2022 Stiva will fly into space as part of AX-1, a private mission of Axiom Space to the International Space Station. The Israeli mission inside AX-1, which was named "Rakia", is managed by the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ramon Foundation association. The second Israeli astronaut will spend about 200 hours on the space station, during which he will conduct a series of scientific experiments selected in recent months.
Due to the microgravity conditions, outer space is considered laboratory conditions where chemical and physical phenomena can be examined in a new research perspective. The range of fields that can benefit from experiments in space is enormous: air and water purification technologies, renewable energies, agriculture, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, astrophysics, materials engineering, psychology, physiology, biology, quantum communication, remote sensing and more. This is exactly the rare opportunity that the Rakei program offers to researchers and entrepreneurs. Inbal Kreis, the head of the scientific and technological committee and the director of innovation in the rocket and space systems division of the Aerospace Industry, said this morning that "in recent years the Israeli space industry has grown and today we are marking a significant leap forward in the field of space in Israel and in positioning Israel as a technological leader in the global space community. The 'Rakia' mission fulfills the dreams of Israeli entrepreneurs, researchers and scientists, and brings to light international collaborations with the world's leading academic and research institutions.
Shi-Lee Spiegelman, CEO of the Ministry of Science and Technology said that "The Ministry of Science and Technology is proud to be a partner in the 'Sky' mission, which is a unique and ground-breaking combination of science, technology, innovation and space. We, together with the Israel Space Agency, and as those who lead the partnership of the government ministries in the project, work to help finance some of the selected scientific experiments. In recent years, the global space industry has been developing at a dizzying pace and Israel has a huge potential to become a major player in the arena.
"We believe that the 'Rakia' mission significantly reduces the barriers that stand in the way of scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs, accelerates the development processes of the industry and brings with it new and significant opportunities. All of this as part of a long-term strategy promoted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, to create a local civil space industry of about 350 companies, employing about 25 people and raising over half a billion dollars in private investments every year. Along with the scientific opportunity, the Rakiye mission is also a first-rate national-educational mission, which will connect not only today's scientists and women scientists, but also all the boys and girls of Israel, the future generation of research, science and the Israeli space industry."
Eitan Stiva, the second Israeli in space, added that "research in space is designed to break through the limits of human knowledge, from the attempt to solve the unsolved, to decipher the hidden. A sky mission ignited the imagination of so many talented people sitting here today, including young scientists from schools across the country, who are behind the varied experiments and activities planned to fill my time in space. Thanks to the strenuous and professional work of the scientific and technological committee, a full space of scientific and technological content was created, and soon the educational and cultural content will also be exposed. What started as a dream, is growing skin and tendons before our eyes. The depth of a whole and fascinating world opens up to me, and every day I learn something new - thanks to you."
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