Rhodium SOPHIA 01

Facility Description

Rhodium SOPHIA™ 01 (RhSOF-01) supports up to 12, 5 mL Rhodium BioCuvettes for a total working volume of 144 mL per facility. The RhSOF-01 has been flight safety certified to operate between -100oC and +85oC, permitting use of the facility at all biological growth and preservation temperatures. The facility is equipped with individual LED lights above each BioCuvette to support plant/photosynthetic growth. However, the configuration can support growth of any biological system from microorganisms, to fungi, to plants and microeukaryotes. The facilities compact, rugged form reduces upmass and orbit stowage requirements, increasing flight feasibility and permits replicate facilities to be operated in tandem. Science teams are encouraged to utilize the Rhodium BioCuvettes during preflight tests to optimize growth parameters and avoid non-experiment variables from altering flight data interpretations. Rhodium can provide access to the proprietary Rhodium Quality, Industry Compatible (QuIC) Space Process™ for industry-recognized quality assurances that help de-risk the overall mission. As of Summer of 2024, The RhSOF-01 facility had one ISSInternational Space Station science experiment with multiple missions manifested for launch and operation in 2025.

The Rhodium SOPHIA™ 01 (RhSOF-01) is available for immediate use and can support launches within 6-9 months of mission kickoff. The Rhodium Science and Mission Operations Teams will work to develop the best mission plan to optimize results and maximize success potentials for each science experiment.

Listed are examples of samples that can be supported by the Rhodium SOPHIA™ 01 (RhSOF-01): liquid or lyophilized cultures of bacteria, fungi, plants, virus, microeukaryotes, medical-grade fecal material, human biological material, plants, seed growth, plants, soils, food production, synthetic biology, tissue culture, organoids, and stem cells. Additional support for inorganic chemistry solutions/reagents, crystalline formations, pharmaceutical formulations, and material samples.