Ax-1 astronaut builds liquid telescope lens on space station

Experiment with the extraction of liquid polymers in space using ultraviolet light.

For the first time, a private company has arrived at the International Space Station with scientific research missions. 

Axiom Space, an American company, has flown four astronauts to the station. 

They will be at the station for eight days on a 10-day mission.

The Fluidic Telescope Experiment (FLUTE) program, which aims to make lenses or mirrors out of liquids, is one of the travelers' missions to the station as part of the X-1 mission.

The goal is to make a telescopic lens that can be used with liquids in the absence of gravity. 

Ethan Stibein, an AX-1 mission specialist from Israel, is in charge of the research.

The experiment involves condensing liquid polymers in space using ultraviolet light. 

Using a laser, it is possible to quickly observe the exact shape of the fluid. 

You can see the liquid turning into a liquid lens in a matter of seconds. 

The lenses will be brought to Earth and studied by researchers at NASA's AIMS Research Center.

'Under the gravitational and weightless conditions of space, liquids change shape to make lenses and mirrors. 

Lenses made in this way may be useful for making larger telescopes than one might think. ' 

Said Edward Balaban, Principal Investigator of the Flute Program.

Researchers at NASA's Ames Research Center, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have already tested the technology twice. 

It was first tested on artificial weights made artificially under water. 

The 'Zero G' was later tested during a parabolic flight using aircraft. 

Now the experiment is about to take place in space.