Student Experiences With a Clinostat for Microgravity Simulation

There is a need to study the behavior of living organisms and other objects of interest under microgravity conditions. To investigate the effects of microgravity, one would typically need to send these items into space. However, this approach is relatively expensive, costing around $80,000.00 per kilogram sent into space, excluding the costs of developing the experiment. To address this issue, it is essential to find a way to simulate microgravity on Earth, thereby avoiding the high costs associated with space travel. This proposal aims to design a clinostat to simulate the effects of microgravity. The design features a dual-axis rotation to create a 3D clinostat with variable speeds to achieve a random positioning machine. The device uses two motors that rotate between 20 and 90 revolutions per minute and has a work area of 20 × 20 × 20 cm3. A robust design has been achieved to conduct various experiments to test the effects of microgravity on microorganisms.