Created in 2019, the Gravitational Experimental Platform for Animal Models (GEPAM), part of ESA ground-based facilities portfolio since March 2020, allows exposing animals (amphibian or mice) to altered gravity inside a brand-new animal house inaugurated in 2018. This platform comprises three aquatic rotors, one rotor for rodent, and a random positioning machine (RPM) to expose embryos, tadpoles or cells to simulated microgravity.

Using rotors to expose animals to different levels of hypergravity is an efficient way to understand how altered gravity affects various physiological functions, interactions between physiological systems, or animal development. Furthermore, rotors can be used to prepare space experiments.