What are zeolite crystals and why are space station residents growing them in orbit?
The answer could revolutionize life back on our planet. Zeolites, which have a rigid structure with interlocked tunnels and cells like a honeycomb, are crucial components in many industrial processes, including the production of most of the gasoline in the world. After arriving in June, the current space station crew is cooking up a new batch of the super-crystals, and the initial results look promising. On Earth, zeolite crystals are rather small, roughly the size of bacteria, between 2 and 8 microns. In the weightlessness of space, baked in special ovens, the crystal structures can grow much larger, offering scientists a better opportunity to unlock the secrets of their complex properties. Zeolites remain hard as a rock while soaking up liquids and gases like petroleum and hydrogen, and will release the material only when heated or placed under reduced pressure. With this particular batch of the versatile crystals, NASA scientists hope to find ways to improve the printing and electro
