GSBMS, a Ground Based Facility in Toulouse for plants, cells and microorganisms

GSBMS (Scientific Group of Space Biology and Medicine) was created in 1992 by a group of scientists willing to share their skills, knowledge and expertise on space science. Our main topics are: gravitational biology, physiology, radiobiology and medicine at the University of Toulouse. GSBMS is a horizontal structure, supported by CNES, which can help user teams to prepare and develop experiments which require microgravity environment (Space Station, automatic spacecraft, Airbus-0g ). GSBMS is also part of the ESA-Ground Based Facility program. The scientific teams that have been granted to carry out a space experiment can find in GSBMS the expertise needed to finalize their project by doing preliminary tests necessary to prove the relevance of future space experiments and all over the following operational phases of a selected experiment until the launching. GSBMS make available to scientific teams, some devices to generate either Hypergravity (centrifuge 1g-5g) or alteration of the gravitational stimulus (RPM and clinostats). GSBMS has also developed an innovating device providing continuous low dose γ radiations (patent pending). GSBMS has participated to several Biological Space experiments using devices like Biobloc, Cytos, Biorack, Biopan, Ibis, Kubik, EMCS. Recently, GSBMS participated to the logistics ant technical support for PolCa, Gravigen and Genara-A Experiment in the last two years.