Space Test of Amoeba Response: Dictyostelium
STAR-D investigates how microgravity affects phagocytosis, a key immune-like process, by studying cell–particle interactions in a diffusion-dominated environment.
WHY ?
In space, gravity no longer drives sedimentation or fluid convection.
This deeply alters how cells interact with their environment.
Yet, these physical changes may directly impact immune system functions : a critical challenge for long-duration space missions.
SUPPORTED BY
STAR-D is part of the
German-Swedish student programme REXUS/BEXUS
In microgravity, cells no longer behave the same. Transport, interaction, and biological processes are fundamentally altered.
THE SCIENCE...
EXPERIMENT SETUP
Controlled particle injection
Live-cell observation chambers
Brightfield and fluorescence
microscopy
Onboard data acquisition
and storage
SYSTEM OVERVIEW
Raspberry Pi (high-level control & imaging)
ESP32 (real-time control & safety-critical systems)
Autonomous thermal regulation
Onboard data storage (SSD)
THE TEAM
