ABSTRACT
In the case of gravity, this means that experimental environments have to be created where no or only minor gravitational forces prevail. Platforms providing access to simulated microgravity are of great interest because they offer almost unlimited experimental capacity. Simulated gravity is also used in experiments with algae, plant cell cultures, and whole plants. Mammalian cell cultures are frequently employed to study the direct effects of microgravity on the fundamental processes in the cells of our body. Cell lines, especially with fibroblast characteristics, are often used because of the easy handling and experiment preparations. Numerous comparative studies between real and simulated microgravity have also been performed with semi-adherent or non-adherent cells of the immune system. Taken together, ground-based facilities for simulated microgravity are of great value and should be frequently used for preparation and/or validation of real microgravity experiments, where time and sample numbers are often limited.
