The free fall machine is designed to permit the development of small biological sample such as cell cultures without the effect of gravity under free fall conditions.

Description

The free fall machine (FFM) addresses some of the problems of the simple horizontal clinostat

Clinostat

A clinostat is a device which uses rotation to negate the effects of gravitational pull on plant growth and development . It has also been used to study the effects of microgravity on cell cultures and animal embryos.-Description:...

. In a typical machine samples are allowed to cycle between free fall for about a metre down a column (0 g) and a "bounce" back to the top of the column that is intended to be so fast (20 g) that it is undetected by the biological sample. The sample therefore effectively grows at 0 g.

External links

• ETH Space Biology Free Fall Machine