The C+K devices Corneometer, Tewameter and Visioscan have been installed for the second time at the International Space Station (ISS) for the experiment Skin B.
The measurements started in June and are performed by the ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, who went up with the Soyuz rocket on 29 May 2013. Skin elasticity was examined with the C+K Cutometer before the flight and will be measured again when Parmitano returns to Earth. It is the follow-up study of the 2006 Skin Care mission where the C+K devices have already been used on the ISS. This study could show among other findings that during a six month exposure in space, skin ageing is accelerated compared to the ageing process on Earth (fortunately reversible: after one year skin was almost back to normal). Should this exciting finding be confirmed, in the future, interesting skin ageing studies in time lapse could be performed in the ISS laboratory. The project Skin B is sponsored by the space agency DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.) and the devices have been qualified for the use in space by Kayser-Threde GmbH. The experiments have been trained and developed by Dermatronnier Institute for Experimental Dermatology at University Witten.
