posted 03-30-2018 11:23 AM               

The commercially developed, owned and operated Techshot Multi-use Variable-g Platform (MVP) includes two internal carousels that simultaneously can produce up to 2g of artificial gravity. MVP is used to conduct research in space with a wide variety of sample types, such as fruit flies, flatworms, plants, fish, cells, protein crystals and many others.

Design of the payload patch for the Techshot Multi-use Variable-gravity Platform depicting the device's two internal carousels and examples of sample types that can be accommodated in it in space.

posted 03-30-2018 11:25 AM               

The Multi-use Variable-gravity Platform (MVP) Validation mission will install and test the MVP.

Before the hardware can be made available for researchers to use, it must be validated – meaning that the hardware will be installed and tested in the International Space Station to make sure that it works as intended. After confirming that the hardware is operational, it can then be used for scientific research. Though the MVP is designed for research with many different kinds of organisms and cell types, this validation mission will focus on Drosophila melanogaster, more commonly known as the fruit fly.