Water Jacketed Incubator NovaIncu WT270-I

• Stable water bath heating principle guarantees minimal temperature drift over days of continuous operation.
• Sanitary stainless steel construction throughout the interior facilitates cleaning and sterilization protocols.
• Attractive and tough powder-coated steel exterior.
• Enhanced user safety and observation through the combination of solid and tempered glass doors.
• Integrated water level sensor provides intelligent alarms to prevent dry-running or overflow.
• Fan-assisted air circulation uniformly distributes heat, eliminating cold/hot spots.
• Powered by a high-speed digital controller with a precise Pt100 sensor for setpoint accuracy.
• Fully programmable with a 99-hour timer for complex incubation cycles.
• Extensive alarm suite monitors all critical parameters, from sensor health to water status.
• Available with an auxiliary over-temperature protection circuit and an optional UV disinfection light.

While not used in space directly, ground-based incubators are vital for the control experiments in space biology and for simulating some space-related conditions. When cells or microorganisms are sent to the International Space Station (ISS) to study microgravity effects, identical "ground control" experiments are run simultaneously in laboratories on Earth.

These controls are kept in standard incubators set to match the temperature of the ISS modules as closely as possible. This isolates microgravity as the sole variable. On Earth, devices called clinostats or random positioning machines (RPMs) are used to simulate aspects of microgravity by constantly rotating samples, canceling the unidirectional pull of gravity. These devices are often housed inside standard CO2 incubators to maintain physiological temperature and gas conditions during the simulation.

Additionally, incubators are used to study the effects of other spaceflight-relevant factors, like low-dose radiation (using built-in radiation sources) or altered magnetic fields, on biological systems under otherwise controlled thermal conditions. Thus, the humble incubator provides the stable baseline from which we can begin to understand the profound effects of the space environment on biology.