OK, here is the modified picture with detailed description below...
Link to JPEG file (256 kB)
Is that more or less what you were expecting ? Feel free to ask in case you need some fixes on the picture (text, colors, whatever). I'm sorry I'm not as skilled as Geckzilla at picture edition ! I can also provide you with the original picture file with separate layers (edited with pixlr.com) or a JPG picture with color overlays but no text at all. Here is the loooong story :
As Geckzilla noted already, this picture is taken through one of the 2 windows of the Pressurized Module of the "Kibo" Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) on the ISS. On lower right one sees the Airlock (hatch) of the module that leads to the "terrace" of the Exposed Facility (JEM-EF).
This external part has several ports (EFU, Exposed Facility Units) on which payload experiments can be connected and be exposed to space environment. The payload experiments are assembled on their port with the help of the Remote Manipulator System (JEM-RMS) robotic arm that is part of the JEM. The very end of this arm can be seen at picture top.
Beside mechanical interface, the EFU also provides interface to power, data communication and thermal control. These "services" are provided by various JEM-EF subsystems called ORUs (Orbital Replaceable Units) which are placed on top and bottom of the main structural frame. The ORUs come in two flavors: 8 R-ORUs, mounted on top (some visible on this picture), that are "Robotics compatible", which means they can be replaced - if needed - by the robotic arm, and 4 E-ORUs, that are on the opposite side and can only be serviced through EVA. Note that a spare R-ORU slot is visible right behind the Airlock.
At the far end of the platform, on both sides, are video and lightning systems (VE).
On this picture, 2 payloads are visible, each being 1.8 x 1.0 x 0.8 m.
On port EFU6 is HREP, which combines two experiments from the US Naval Research Laboratory. The nicely looking part with gold foil is RAIDS (Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System). This instrument performs photometry observations of the thermosphere and ionosphere over a wide wavelength range (from far infra-red to extreme UV) and focuses on airglow characterization in the 90 to 350 km altitude range. These measurements provide information on temperature and chemical composition in that part of the atmosphere. Since the target altitude for observations is almost comparable to the ISS height, the instrument must perform scans that almost reach "horizontal" direction, hence the opening on the side of the payload.
In the same paylod but not visible is the HICO experiment, standing for Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean. It performs visible and near infrared observation of coastal environment. The selected wavelengths can penetrate water and thus probe the whole observed water column. Thanks to accurate spectral resolution (5.7 nm) it can retrieve information about bathymetry, bottom type, chlorophyle content, etc. The obervation is performed downward through an opening on the bottom of the payload.
On port EFU8 is the Japanese MCE (Multi-mission Consolidated Equipment) payload from JAXA. It contains 5 different experiments :
- ISS-IMAP, (Ionosphere, Mesosphere, upper Atmosphere and Plasmashpere mapper), that monitors plasma activity in the extreme upper atmosphere with a visible light spectrometer (
http://www.iss-imap.org/)
- JEM-GLISM (Global Lightning and Sprite Measurements), that observers spatial distribution of lightning and associated phenomena
- HDTV that intends to evaluate how long a Commercial Off The Shelf High Definition Camera can survive in space environment
- REXJ (Robot Experiment on JEM) which demonstrates real-time ground remote operation of a robotic system
- and SIMPLE (Space Inflatable Membranes Pioneering Long-term Experiments), the only feature of this payload that is visible on this picture (on far left). This experiment demonstrates inflatable space structures by deploying them once in orbit. The far left structure is the Inflatable Extension Mast (IEM), it has been deployed 1500 mm out of the payload as a part of the experiment. Other inflatable structures have also been successfully deployed, but are not visible on this picture. Among them is the Inflatable Space Terrarium, that must not only deploy, but also demonstrate sufficient air tightness over long term (several months) with no active pressure control, to allow for germination of some seeds (spinach, tomato...) Only temperature is controlled through switching a halogen lamp on and off. Some water is fed to a foam material containing the seeds, and germination is observed with a camera.
The large solar panels on the left are of course part of the ISS, but not directly related to Kibo (well, you all know that...) I haven't colored them on the overlay as I thought they were some "trivial" part of the landscape
Not colored either are the black discs with central "antennas" that are actually grapple fixtures for the robotic arm (one on each payload, plus two on the Exposed Facility main structure, one being visible at center of the picture), as well as the white supports between EFU11 and EFU12 that hosted the video equipment (VE) at launch time until these were mounted at their current positions at a later stage (after assembly on ISS).
Some nice resources :
https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eopo ... s-jem-hrep
https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eopo ... /iss-jemef
http://cosmic.riken.jp/maxi/astrows/pro ... wasaki.pdf
plus the links already given by Geckzilla...
I hope I haven't included too many mistakes in my description...
Vincent Berseth