Materials International Space Station Experiment - MISSE-3 and MISSE-4

MISSE-3 and MISSE-4

The fourth and fifth set of MISSE experiments (MISSE PEC3 and MISSE PEC4) were launched by Space Shuttle Discovery, during mission STS-121, on 3 August 2006 and contained 875 specimens of various materials. The MISSE-3 was installed on one of the high-pressure tanks around the crew lock and the MISSE-4 on the outboard end of the Quest Joint Airlock by the Expedition 13's crew. A year later, during the fourth EVA of mission STS-118 on 18 August 2007, the MISSE-3 and 4 experiments were retrieved.

MISSEs 3 and 4 also served an educational purpose, it flew approximately eight million basil seeds that were given to children for science experiments, in order to stimulate interest in space science.