Water Quality Management for Low Temperature Marine Fishes in Space

• Published in: Biological Sciences in Space Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. 327 - 332
• Main Authors: Nagaoka, Shunji, Matsubara, Shoji, Kato, Mitsuyasu, Uchida, Satoko, Uemura, Masaru, Sakimura, Toru, Ogawa, Naoki, Nakamura, Hiroshi K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Japanese Society for Biological Sciences in Space 1999; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Animals; Aquaculture; Aquatic Life Support; Body Weight; Filtration - methods; Fishes - physiology; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Life Support Systems - instrumentation; Neurolab; Nitrifying Bacteria; Nitrites - metabolism; Nitrobacter - metabolism; Nitrosomonas - metabolism; Oyster Toadfish; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds - analysis; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds - metabolism; Seawater; Space Flight - instrumentation; Space life sciences; Temperature; Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU); Water Purification - methods; Weightlessness
• ISSN: 0914-9201; 1349-967X
• DOI: 10.2187/bss.13.327

Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU), one of the Spacelab facility flown in Neurolab mission (STS-90) in April, 1998, was to support neurophysiological research using a marine fish, Opsanus tau (oyster toadfish). The functions of the VFEU were primarily a quality management of environmental water during the mission at 14°C and for acquiring physiological signals from implanted micro-electrodes in the otolith nerves as well as the spatial acceleration of the fish. A key element of the life support system was a balanced biological filter containing two types of nitrifying bacteria, Nitrosomonas for ammonia oxidization and Nitrobacter for nitrite oxidization. Although the 16 days mission was successful, two toadfishes died in late phase of the mission. Ammonium concentration in those two life support systems elevated to remarkably high level at the end of the mission whereas the other two indicated very low. This report summarizes the results of the water quality management of the VFEU during the Neurolab mission based on analysis of water samples taken during the flight and those taken prior and just after the flight.