The experiments last six minutes in zero gravity with a Swedish rocket

At 08:00 on Wednesday morning the Suborbital Express 3 rocket launches from Esrange outside Kiruna. It is the fifteenth in a series of launches from Kiruna that began in 1987.

The rocket is a so-called Maser rocket. Maser is an acronym for materials science experimental rocket and the rocket program is managed by the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC).

On board are twelve different experiments developed by companies and universities from countries around the world. Among other things, a Swedish experiment will look into stem cells for diabetes research.

The rocket is sent 260 kilometers into the air and provides the experiments with six minutes of microgravity.

– Various mechanisms are easier to study in microgravity, because gravity often has a strong influence on the experiments we work with. This year’s Suborbital Express campaign has a payload of twelve experiments from very different fields that have the potential to give us answers that directly impact life on Earth. It is wonderful that Sweden and the SSC can be part of such an important research, says Stefan Krämer, program manager for referral in a Press release.

Here are the various experiments

Neurobeta is a project led by Uppsala University. The experiment takes living stem cells and insulin-producing beta cells into space. By exposing cells to microgravity, researchers hope to get one step closer to a treatment for type 1 diabetes.

Arles is a Belgian project which includes two experiments. These will examine how drops of different liquids behave during evaporation. Among other things, the experiments will vaporize droplets in microgravity under different conditions, for example by introducing an electric field to see how the droplets are affected.

Chip is a German project that will study how electrically charged particles behave in space. The goal is to learn more about the formation of planets.

Mini-Irene it is the only experiment that does not return to Earth with the other experiments. The Italian experiment will test a sort of umbrella-shaped capsule for mid-air deceleration.

Strong is a Swiss watch company that will test mechanical wristwatches under extreme speeds, forces, and microgravity.

Muse is led by a research team from Costa Rica who will try to find answers to questions about Panama disease, which is a fungus that causes plant diseases on banana trees.

Adi-Alpha is an Australian project brings with it two experiments in a cube satellite. The former will look at yeast cells, and the latter a special microfluidic chip.

Paper laboratory is an experiment focused on the study of a paper sensor that can be used in the identification of glucose and antibiotics.

Aurora-1 won the annual summer competition organized by the Gioventù Astronomica association. The experiment will examine cosmic radiation using a home-made scintillation counter.

Newtons is a project with the goal of raising public awareness of the space. Newton will take fruit tree parts into space and then plant them around Sweden in various science centers, so that everyone can taste the space.