A European space exposure experiment will be hauled back inside the International Space Station after attempts to coax signals from it failed.The EXPOSE-R experiment is a companion to one mounted on the aft end of the European Columbus science laboratory, which was delivered to the station by a shuttle crew in February.
The experiment was launched to the station in November aboard a robotic Russian Progress cargo carrier. Equipped with three trays, the experiment is loaded with a variety of biological samples, including plant seeds and spores of bacteria, fungi and ferns. The plan had been to expose the samples to the space environment for about 18 months.
EXPOSE-R is part of the European Space Agency's research in astrobiology -- the study of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe. The idea was to subject the samples to solar ultraviolet radiation, the vacuum environment, cosmic rays and extreme temperature swings to see how the samples fared.
The experiment was mounted to a platform on the outer hull of the Russian Zvezda Service Module. Spacewalkers Mike Fincke and Yury Lonchakov now are disconnecting the experiment so it can be taken back inside the station. European engineers then will try to determine why the experiment failed to beam telemetry back to Earth.
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