New research flies on the 21st SpaceX cargo mission

The 21st SpaceX Cargo Replenishment Mission departing from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida transports a series of critical research and technology demonstrations to the International Space Station.

The mission represents the first on an upgraded version of the company’s Dragon spacecraft designed to carry more scientific cargoes to and from the space station.

Highlights of the payloads in this mission include:

Microbial meteorite miners

A mixture of meteorite and microbe samples is headed for the space station. Some microbes form layers on the rock’s surface that can release metals and minerals, a process known as biomining. A previous ESA (European Space Agency) investigation, BioRock, looked at how microgravity affects the processes involved in biomination. ESA continues work with BioAsteroid, which examines biofilm formation and biomining of asteroids or meteorites under microgravity conditions. Researchers are seeking a better understanding of the basic physical processes that control these mixtures, such as gravity, convection, and mixing. Microbe-rock interactions have many potential uses in space exploration and settlement outside the Earth. Microbes could break down rocks into soils for plant growth, for example, or extract useful elements for life support systems and drug production.

Examining the changes in hearts using fabric chips

Microgravity causes changes in the workload and shape of the human heart, and it is not yet known whether these changes could become permanent if a person lived more than a year in space. If this happens, it is possible for the returning astronaut to take several months to readjust to Earth’s gravity. Cardinal Heart studies how changes in gravity affect cardiovascular cells at the cellular and tissue level. The investigation uses 3-D engineered heart tissue (EHT), a type of tissue chip. The findings could provide new understanding of heart problems on Earth, help identify new treatments, and support the development of screening measures to predict cardiovascular risk before space flight.

White blood cell count in space

HemoCue tests the ability of a commercially available device to provide fast and accurate counts of total and differentiated white blood cells under microgravity conditions. Doctors commonly use the total white blood cell count and the count of five different types of white blood cells to diagnose diseases and monitor a variety of health conditions on Earth. Verifying an autonomous blood testing capability on the space station is an important step in meeting the health care needs of crew members on future missions.

Building with brazing

SUBSA-BRAINS examines differences in capillary flow, interface reactions and bubble formation during solidification of brazing alloys under microgravity conditions. Brazing is a type of welding used to join similar materials, such as an aluminum alloy to aluminum, or dissimilar materials such as aluminum alloy to ceramic, at high temperatures. The technology could serve as a tool to build human habitats and vehicles in future space missions, as well as to repair damage caused by micrometeoroids or space debris.

A new and improved door to space

Launched in the trunk of the dragon capsule, the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock is a commercial platform capable of supporting a variety of science work on the space station. Its capabilities include the implementation of free-flight payloads such as CubeSats and externally mounted payloads, housing small external payloads, garbage dump and recovery of external replacement orbital units (ORUs). ORUs are modular station components that can be replaced as needed, such as pumps and other hardware. About five times larger than the airlock on the Japanese Experimental Module (JEM) already in use on the station, the Bishop Airlock allows for the robotic movement of ever larger packets outside the space station, including hardware to support walking. space. It also provides features such as power and Ethernet needed for internal and external payloads.

Your brain on microgravity

The effect of microgravity on human brain organoids observes the response of brain organoids to microgravity. Small living masses of interacting and growing cells, organoids can survive for months, providing a model for understanding how cells and tissues adapt to environmental changes. Organoids grown from neurons or nerve cells exhibit normal processes such as the response to stimuli and stress. Therefore, organoids can be used to observe how microgravity affects the survival, metabolism and characteristics of brain cells, including rudimentary cognitive function.