Avian Development Facility

The Avian Development Facility(ADF) is an incubator used for the study of quail embryo development (embryogenesis) in space and allowed researchers to study how bone developed in the space flight environment.

First used Dec 2001 on a 12-day mission of STS-108 to the ISS.

The ADF is a fully automated egg incubator capable of housing 36 Japanese quail eggs. consisting of two independent specimen centrifuges of 18 sample containers that can be operated to produce inertial accelerations equivalent to 0 to 5 G under feedback control. Each container is designed to hold one Japanese-quail egg for a study of the effects of microgravity on the development of fixed or live embryos. A chemical robot injects solutions into the sample containers under triple-containment conditions.

The original purpose of the STS-108 flight was to evaluate the ability of the unit to support the quail embryo development in microgravity. This was amended to also support the research objectives focusing on vestibular and skeletal systems by initiating and preserving embryo development in weightlessness.

Each egg was placed in an individual holder residing on one of two centrifuges that served to provide microgravity or 1-g conditions (77 rpm) under the same controlled environment. Pre-programmed controls regulated the temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and oxygen levels. An automated fixation system was set to operate at time intervals determined by the principal investigators. Prior to launch the eggs were kept chilled to inhibit development until reaching orbit. Initiation of incubation was then started and the unit operated autonomously until leaving orbit.