Foraminifera In Space - The effect of gravity on biomineralization in marine unicellular foraminifera

Foraminifera are unicellular marine micro-fossils that build CaCO3 shells and serve for paleoclimatic studies. Their biomineralization mechanisms (including shell chemistry and isotopes) and their negative geotaxis were closely observed under microgravity conditions.
Live foraminifera was flown into space and was exposed to microgravity conditions. The shell structure and texture that grew in space was also studied after returning to Earth together with their crystallography, chemistry and stable isotopes.