Installing PASTA-3 in FSL

This picture was published as part of a set on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:

"Day 158, orbit 2449 — Bittersweet moment in Columbus on Friday 17 July as the European Fluid Science Laboratory (FSL) was decommissioned. This facility was installed in Columbus when the module launched aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in February 2008, and its initial activation and commissioning were carried out by French ESA astronaut Léopold Eyharts on 17 February.

Over 18 years of operations and more than 101,000 orbits, FSL has facilitated groundbreaking research into fluid dynamics in the microgravity environment. As part of ESA’s ISS Utilisation Programme, research teams from across Europe have used FSL to study topics such as granular matter, foams, emulsions, and boiling dynamics, helping us better understand how fluids behave in space and improving our knowledge of fluid-related processes on Earth.

Back in April, it was also where I installed the European experiment PASTA-3 , which investigated how emulsions form in microgravity.

FSL’s operations have been supported over the years by ESA’s ISS teams and industrial partners, and B-USOC in Belgium handled the day-to-day science operations. A huge thank you and congratulations to everyone who helped make FSL’s lifetime such a remarkable success!"