Columbus: Past, present and future…

Mankind has always been fascinated by the unknown. The earliest explorers went in search of food and better homes. Later, the search for new lands and trading posts led to huge developments in ships and navigation. Now, the search for life on other planets and exploring the universe holds the same fascination as it always has done. Progress made in technology and science has enabled man to land on the Moon in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Today, mankind has a permanently manned human outpost in Low Earth Orbit. It is called the International Space Station, to which the European “contribution”, the Columbus Laboratory, is due to be attached in early 2008.

The ships (Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria) were between 15 and 36 metres in length and had a mass of around 50 000 to 100 000 kilograms (kg).

The ships had a logo (ensign) – which showed they were sailing for King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain.

Columbus navigated using a compass and dead reckoning (using a transverse board) which helped to plot the direction of sailing.

The ships were powered by wind and could travel at a speed up to 15 kilometres per hour (km/h), covering approximately around 170 km per day.

Food consisted mainly of salted fish stored in barrels, cheese, wine, water, live pigs and chickens. The crew needed to stop at a land mass for re- supplying and repairs.

The crew experienced various problems and hardships during their long voyage: interactions with the natives of the new lands, shortage of food supplies, disease (lack of vitamin C leading to severe scurvy) and internal conflict. Despite all these problems Christopher Columbus became known as a determined explorer who did not give in easily and opened up new trading opportunities. He was also credited as the first European to discover the Americas.

How is this happening…?

Columbus has a cylindrical shape and measures 6.87 metres in length. Its diameter is 4.48 metres and it has an internal volume of 75 cubic metres. The reason why the dimensions become so critical is because Columbus is transported as one piece and fully equipped with the research racks. So everything has to be made very light-weight and compact.

Experiments can be performed in the weightless environment on board the ISS. On Earth everything is affected by gravitational force. Jump up and you will land on the ground – this is gravity at work!

In space gravitational force also affects everything, however as the ISS is in free fall, the astronauts float.

Why is it important to be doing experiments in a laboratory in weightlessness?

New knowledge gained in space has practical uses on Earth. Many processes, such as mixing of fluids, combustion or solidification, are influenced by gravity. Studying those processes in weightlessness reveals insights that can be used to better understand these processes on Earth. A better understanding of the combustion process in a motor can for example improve the design of cars that use less fuel and create less pollution.

What kinds of experiments will be taking place?

The experiments cover a wide range of science disciplines. Technology demonstrations and educational activities will also be performed with the help of facilities on Columbus. Not only scientists, but also industry is invited to use the ISS and Columbus. Scientific experiments are performed for example in the areas of biology and physics. Also the behaviour of the human body is investigated; the astronauts can be the subjects of this research. Many of the experiments will be carried out with the help of special experiment racks. These racks contain equipment and resources. For example, the Biolab rack is a facility to support biological experiments on micro-organisms, cells, tissue cultures and plants. By comparing what happens in conditions of weightlessness with what happens on Earth, the impact of weightlessness on all levels of an organism can be identified.