Flávio Dieguez
Reporter - Agencia Brasil

Moscow (Russia) – This Monday (3), the coordination of the Centennial Mission evaluated as positive the activities of Brazilian astronaut Marcos César Pontes at the International Space Station (ISS). According to the Assistant Manager for scientific experiments, Marta Humman, Pontes has so far covered the chronogram without any problems.

Since Saturday, when he arrived at the station, Pontes has been working with experiments elaborated by Brazilian scientists. This Sunday (2), he started developing the heat minitubes experiment (MHP), of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). The objective is to transfer concentrated heat from a warm area to a cooler one, acting as a transfer device in microgravity environments, in a way as to expand its use for the control of electronic components in space. The experiment will last four days.

One other experiment investigates if, in space, beans germinate the same way as in Earth. Another one evaluates how plants produce chlorophyll when they are weightless, on orbit.

Pontes will stay in space for eight days.

Translation: Andréa Alves