Preparing Rotifer-2 experiment

NASA astronaut and Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Michael Hopkins shakes an experiment container containing biological samples to displace bubbles before placing it into the Kubik incubator facility. Hopkins was servicing the samples for the Rotifer-B2 experiment that is exploring the effects spaceflight has on DNA repair mechanisms of the bdelloid rotifer Adineta vaga, a plankton-like microscopic organism.

Rotifers are microscopic animals that are known to be very resistant to radiation. Researchers are eager to understand how the organisms manage to repair their DNA after receiving radiation damage. A bunch of these animals were sent to the Space Station on Dragon and Mike prepared their home in advance: ESA’s Kubik incubator centrifuge. After a week, Mike removed the organisms and put them in the Station’s freezer ready for shipment back to Earth.