BRIC (Biological Research in Canisters)

Spaceflight Research Tool

Samantha Cristoforetti with BRIC (Biological Research in Canisters)
Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti with a BRIC. | Image Credit: ESA/NASA
  • Full Name: Biological Research in Canisters
  • A.K.A: BRIC, BRIC Series
  • Affiliation: NASA
  • Country: United States
  • Focus Areas: Small Biological Specimens
  • Type: Spaceflight
  • Spacecraft: Various
  • In Service: 1994 – Present
  • Key Features:
      • Small Hardware
      • Modifiable – new configurations of BRIC are made to suit an experiment’s needs
  • Confirmed Plants Grown:
      • Arabidopsis thaliana
      • Medicago truncatula
      • Hemerocallis (Daylily)
      • Lycoperscion esculentum (Tomato)
      • Ceratodon
      • Dactylis glomerata (Cat grass)
      • Ceratopteris richardii
      • Nicotiana tabacum (Tobacco)
      • Glycine max (Soybean)
      • Cucumis sativus (Cucumber)

Summary

Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) is scientific hardware developed by NASA to carry smaller biological samples into space.  Different types of BRIC cylinders serve different purposes depending on their content.  BRIC is relevant to astrobotany research because they have been used to grow a large number of plants in space- the majority being Arabidopsis thaliana. 

Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) BRIC-16
From BRIC-16: Root skewing of Arabidopsis thaliana on a Petri dish. | Image Credit: John Z. Kiss

BRIC Hardware Variants

  • BRIC-100
      • accommodates 9 x 100 mm Petri dishes
  • BRIC-60
      • accommodates 24 x 60 mm Petri dishes 
  • BRIC-OPTI
  • BRIC-LED
      • has blue, red, far-red, and white light LEDs
  • BRIC-PDFU
      • Petri Dish Fixation Unit

List of Astrobotany BRIC Experiments

A special thanks to friend of the site Emma Doughty for compiling this list.  Check out her excellent write-up of BRIC hardware for more information. 

  • BRIC-02: Dactylis glomerata (Cat grass)
  • BRIC-03: Glycine Max (Soybean)
  • BRIC-05: Hemerocallis (Daylily)
  • BRIC-08: Hemerocallis (Daylily)
  • BRIC-09: Lycoperscion esculentum (Tomato), Nicotiana tabacum (Tobacco)
  • BRIC-10: Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana tabacum (Tobacco)
  • BRIC-11: Arabidopsis thaliana
  • BRIC-12: Ceratopteris richardii
  • BRIC-13: Dactylis glomerata (Cat grass)
  • BRIC-PEG/C: Cucumis sativus (Cucumber)
  • BRIC-14: Ceratodon
  • BRIC-16: Arabidopsis thaliana
  • BRIC-17: Arabidopsis thaliana
  • BRIC-18: Arabidopsis thaliana
  • BRIC-19: Arabidopsis thaliana
  • BRIC-20: Arabidopsis thaliana
  • BRIC-22: Arabidopsis thaliana
  • BRIC-24: Arabidopsis thaliana
  • BRIC-SyNRGE: Medicago truncatula
  • BRIC-LED-001: Arabidopsis thaliana
  • BRIC-LED-002: Arabidopsis thaliana
  • BRIC-MIR: Hemerocallis (Daylily)

References