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It's not though the crystals are used to determine the structure of the molecule itself through XRay crystallography. We have to grow larger crystals that are t
by rtkwe 7y ago
It's not though the crystals are used to determine the structure of the molecule itself through XRay crystallography. We have to grow larger crystals that are then used to determine the shape of the individual molecules. Some crystalize easily and we were able to study them using crystals grown here on Earth but others were more difficult and had to be grown in space. Just because the research takes place in space doesn't mean it's only applicable in space!
- Retric 7y agoYou can do that same XRay crystallography on the same substances on earth. Going to space is pure cost benefit analysis for growing crystals, not some exclusive experiment you can only do in space. That said, when you get a massive subsidy by NASA, these costs are less obvious.
- rtkwe 7y agoYou can't currently because we've not been able to grow sufficiently high quality crystals here on Earth with gravity. Basically anything that needs more than 30-60 seconds of microgravity can't be done anywhere on Earth no matter how much money you want to spend. NASA is already up there to learn about the effects on the human body (which again we can only really do holistically actually IN space) so trying to put the whole cost amortized over all the experiments isn't going to come up with a reasonable number. But even beyond that this is precisely what governments are supposed to do, gather and distribute costs that would make little sense for individual companies or even massive conglomerates to do.