When the Artemis missions launch, NASA's Orion spacecraft (and crew as of the Artemis II mission) will be exposed to the deep space radiation environment beyond the protection of Earth's magnetosphere. Hence, it is essential to characterize the effects of space radiation, microgravity, and the combination thereof on cells and organisms, i.e., to quantify any correlations between the deep space radiation environment, genetic variation, and induced genetic changes in cells. To address this, the Artemis I mission will include the Peristaltic Laboratory for Automated Science with Multigenerations (PLASM) hardware containing the Deep Space Radiation Genomics (DSRG) experiment. The scientific aims of DSRG are (i) to identify the metabolic and genomic pathways in yeast affected by microgravity, space radiation, and their combination, and (ii) to differentiate between gravity and radiation exposure on single-gene deletion/overexpressing strains' ability to thrive in the spaceflight environment. Yeast is used as a model system because 70% of its essential genes have a human homolog, and over half of these homologs can functionally replace their human counterpart. As part of the experiment preparation towards spaceflight, an Experiment Verification Test (EVT) was performed at the Kennedy Space Center to verify that the experiment design, hardware, and approach to automated operations will enable achieving the scientific aims. For the EVT, fluidic systems were assembled, sterilized, loaded, and acceptance-tested, and subsequently integrated with the engineering parts to produce a flight-like PLASM unit. Each fluidic system consisted of (i) a Media Bag, (ii) four Culture Bags loaded with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (two with deletion series and the remaining two with overexpression series), and (iii) tubing and check valves. The EVT PLASM unit was put under a temperature profile replicating the anticipated different phases of flight, including handover to launch, spaceflight, and splashdown to handover back to the science team, for a 58-day period. At EVT completion, the rate of activation, cellular growth, RNA integrity, and sample contamination were interrogated. All of the experiment's success criteria were satisfied, encouraging our efforts to perform this investigation on Artemis I. This manuscript thus describes the process of spaceflight experiment design maturation with a focus on the EVT, its results, DSRG's preparation for its planned launch on Artemis I in 2022, and how the PLASM hardware can enable other scientific goals on future Artemis missions and/or the Lunar Orbital Platform – Gateway.

The Freezer / Refrigerator / Incubator Device for Galley and Experimentation (FRIDGE) is a middeck locker-sized unit developed by BioServe Space Technologies for use within the Galley rack of the In-ternational Space Station (ISS) for food storage as well as in the EXPRESS rack for science experiment support. FRIDGE was optimized to provide a large Temperature Controlled Compartment (TCC) volume with the interior dimensions of 43.8 x 28.2 x 19.7 cm (17.25 x 11.10 x 7.75 in, DxWxH), which can be temperature-controlled from-20 to + 48 degrees C. Temperature control of the TCC is accomplished using a total of four thermoelectric coolers (TECs) mounted to the top and bottom surfaces of the TCC. FRIDGE utilizes the ISS-provided Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) as a thermal sink for the TECs and avionics. FRIDGE is based and improved on the Space Automated Bioproduct Lab (SABL) that has been in continuous op-eration onboard the ISS for over 5 years. Thermal improvements include the addition of vacuum panels into the insulation, optimized heat exchanger heat distribution and removal, improved door design, as well as the use of novel multistage bidirectional heat pumps (TECs). FRIDGE was designed without a single rotating part to minimize any maintenance work. This paper focuses on the thermal, mechanical, electrical, and software design of the payload compared to the initial test results from the verification testing. Thermal feedback control and safety monitoring is implemented using a suite of sensors that in-terface to an NI sbRIO-9636 data acquisition and control computer. Performance of the engineering unit was characterized to verify thermal models of operation, cooling/heating times, and robustness against uneven internal heat loads and off-nominal operation. After starting development at the end of 2018, the first two out of eight FRIDGE units were launched onboard NG-14 and commissioned onboard the ISS in the fall of 2020. This work was made possible by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under grant REMIS-C2A-TO-003-GRF.(c) 2022 International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Space Automated Bioproduct Lab (SABL) is an EXPRESS locker-sized incubator developed by BioServe Space Technologies for use on the International Space Station (ISS). SABL provides a 41.9 x 27.9 x 19.4 cm (16.6'' x 11.1'' x 7.8'', DxWxH) sized science research module (SRM) volume, which can be temperature-controlled from -5 to +43 °C. SABL improves over the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA) in several aspects including higher thermal ramp rate, lower thermal gradients, enhanced experiment control, software adaptability, and crew interaction. SABL is designed to accommodate a variety of existing legacy life sciences hardware that was previously used with CGBA, enabling SABL to function as a flexible lab for biological experiments in microgravity. This paper focuses on the thermal design of the payload as well as on the verification testing of the engineering unit. The design process for SABL focused on minimizing thermal gradients within the SRM volume, improving thermal ramp rates between temperature set points, and eliminating the usage of forward facing cabin air exhaust systems that produce unacceptable acoustic noise. Temperature control of the SRM is accomplished using a total of four thermoelectric coolers (TECs) mounted to the top and bottom surfaces of the SRM. SABL utilizes the EXPRESS Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) as a thermal sink for the TECs and avionics. Thermal feedback control and safety monitoring is implemented using a suite of sensors that interface to an NI sbRIO-9636 data acquisition and control computer. Performance of the engineering unit was characterized to verify thermal models of operation, cooling/heating times, and robustness against uneven internal heat loads and off-nominal operation. After starting development in 2011, the first two SABL units are manifested to launch to the ISS onboard SpaceX CRS-8 in the fall of 2015.