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Japan and Life Science

The first Japanese life sciences experiment in space took place in late 1990, when Toyohiro Akiyama, a journalist from the Tokyo Broadcasting System, boarded the Mir space station. This was the result of a private Japanese company negotiating with GLAVKOSMOS and Energiya NPO and had no official sponsorship by the Japanese government or space agency. While on Mir, Akiyama performed several experiments on six Japanese Tree Frogs, gauging their adaptation to weightlessness (Reference 12). Japan's space agency NASDA fielded its first major orbital life sciences experiment with the assistance of the US Space Shuttle program. Spacelab J, launched 12 September 1992 for an eight-day mission, included NASDA payload specialist Mamoru Mohri, NASDA's first astronaut. The Japanese experiment docket was also known as FMPT, First Materials Processing Test. The mission, which also hosted several materials science experiments, included biological investigations with live insects, frogs, chicken embryos, and fish. Biologists were encouraged by the first successful effort to fertilize frog eggs in weightlessness (References 13-14).

A reusable free-flying platform called the Space Flier Unit (SFU) has been scheduled to be launched aboard the third flight of Japan's new H-II launch vehicle, but development problems with the new booster pushed the launch of the SFU into 1995. SFU-1 is intended primarily for advanced technology and materials processing, but some biological experiments are expected to be fielded, including one (Space Biology Experiment) dealing with the growth of newts from egg to adult. After several months in space, the SFU is to be retrieved by the US Space Shuttle. The SFU is a 3,500-kg craft with a 4.6 m diameter and two 9.6 m solar arrays. The effort is a joint project of NASDA, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) (References 15-17).

Japan had some involvement in the numerous life sciences experiments aboard the 1992 Spacelab IML-1. Japan's major contribution to the mission was the Organic Crystal Growth Facility. On IML-2 Japan was responsible for the Thermoelectric Incubator/Cell Culture Kit, the Free-Flow Electrophoresis Unit, the Aquatic Animal Experiment Unit, and the Realtime Radiation Monitoring Device.

By far the largest orbital life sciences project underway in Japan is the major module for the International Space Station, JEM (Japanese Experiment Module). A consortium of 14 Japanese companies have formed Japan Manned Systems Corporation to coordinate construction of the shuttle-deployed module. JEM will be configured to allow a broad range of materials, observational, and life sciences studies. Construction of a working prototype of JEM was begun in 1992 for configuration testing and training. JEM is now scheduled for launch in two segments by the US STS in the year 2000.

The proposed layout of JEM consists of three main modules. The Pressurized Module (10 m long, 4 m diameter, 10,00 kg) contains numerous experiment racks and controls for JEM. The Experiments Logistics Module (4 m high, 4 m diameter, 2,450 kg), which is located above the Pressurized Module, is largely a storage and transport module for replenishing perishable items used for JEM. An exposed rack can be mounted on the Experiments Logistics Module to facilitate equipment and resupply cargo shuffling. The Exposed Facility consists of two external pallets (each 2.5 m high, 1.4 m wide, 4 m long) with a total mass of 2.8 metric tons and a manipulator arm for servicing the exposed experiments without EVA. Expected power requirements are 6 to 9 kW, depending on mission parameters.