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The Gravity-Driven Aggregation in Catastrophic Post-Wildfire Debris Flows (UCSD_SND03/04/05/06) investigation examines how burned soil, water, and trapped air interact to form fast-moving debris flows after wildfires. Led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, the investigation studies how gravity influences the movement and organization of water-repellent soil particles and air bubbles within these complex mixtures. The results could improve models used to predict debris flows and support more effective hazard assessments and early-warning systems on Earth.
Space Tango serves as the payload developer, designing an automated 9U CubeLab system to execute the experimental procedure, enabling researchers to examine how air bubbles, water-repellent sand particles attached to those bubbles, and individual sand particles change in size and arrangement as the mixture flows in microgravity. This CubeLab will be installed in Space Tango’s MAMBO facility aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Why microgravity?
Microgravity provides an environment to study how particles, liquids, and gases interact with significantly reduced gravitational influence. By examining how sand particles attach to air bubbles and how these structures change as mixtures flow, researchers can better isolate gravity’s role in the behavior of debris flows and develop mathematical models describing their movement and transport.
This investigation could improve predictions of dangerous post-wildfire debris flows, helping protect communities, infrastructure, and natural ecosystems on Earth. The findings could also advance understanding of how particles, liquids, and gases behave in low-gravity environments, with potential applications for material and fluid handling and for understanding interactions among dust, soil, and fluids on the Moon and Mars.