Heading to Space: Crystallization of Organic Compounds on the International Space Station

03.04.2025

The Chemical Crystallography Research Laboratory (Chemical Crystallography Research Laboratory – HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences) of Centre for Structural Science, HUN-REN RCNS has developed a method to crystallize organic compounds in microgravity by the invitation of Space Application Services with the guidance of Japan Manned Space Systems who provided information about the working conditions at the International Space Station.

Two compounds synthetized by the Organocatalysis Research Group of the Institute of Organic Chemistry of HUN-REN RCNS (OrgCat - Soós Organocatalysis Research Group) will get to the board of the ISS for 30 days in the frame of the HUNOR program in order to grow single crystals of hydrogen bonded organic framework materials (HOF).

We expect that single crystals grown in microgravity will have a larger internal order, be more unidimensional and larger in size than crystals grown on the ground, because diffusion becomes superior to convection in microgravity.

Kirara#6 experiment will take place as part of SpaceX-32 mission. The launch will happen in spring 2025 at the Kennedy Space Center.

To follow the event: SpaceX Dragon CRS-2 SpX-32 Falcon 9 Block 5 Rocket Launch

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