DropCoal, an experiment developed entirely in Romania by the Romanian InSpace Engineering (RISE) with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA), is set to launch in a few days to the International Space Station (ISS). It will run for 6 months on the ISS, studying how two droplets merge and mix in microgravity.

The launch is expected to take place in early November from the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, according to a RISE announcement. Once on board the ISS, it will take its place in the ICE Cubes Facility of the Columbus module. 

The device will be remotely operated from the ground by a RISE engineer, who will follow the scenarios outlined by the science team, which will analyze the results and draw conclusions.

“DropCoal was designed to study the coalescence and mixing of liquids during a 6-month mission aboard the International Space Station. More precisely, during an experiment, the device generates two drops of different substances, filming with an ultra-fast camera how they come together and mix in microgravity. DropCoal was designed to run 560 such experiments over the course of the entire mission,” reads a press release quoted by Agerpres.

The findings resulting from this experiment are of particular importance for space exploration, as they will help scientists improve the way of administering medicine to astronauts or fueling various spacecraft.

Further information can be found here.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

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