The latest SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft is on its way to the
International Space Station after launching at 1:29 p.m. EDT Thursday from
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, bearing more than 7,300 pounds of
science experiments, new solar arrays, and other cargo.
The spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy.
It is scheduled to autonomously dock at the space station around 5 a.m.
Saturday, June 5, and remain at the station for about a month. Coverage of
arrival will begin at 3:30 a.m. on NASA Television, the agency’s website,
and the NASA app.
This 22nd contracted resupply mission for SpaceX will deliver the new ISS
Roll-out Solar Arrays (iROSA) to the space station in the trunk of the
Dragon spacecraft. After the Dragon docks to the space station’s Harmony
module, the robotic Canadarm2 will extract the arrays and astronauts will
install them during spacewalks planned for June 16 and 20.
Among the science experiments Dragon is delivering to the space station are:
Symbiotic squid and microbes in microgravity
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| These immature bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes) are part of UMAMI, an investigation that examines whether space alters the symbiotic relationship between the squid and the bacterium Vibrio fischeri. Credit: Jamie S. Foster, University of Florida |
The Understanding of Microgravity on Animal-Microbe Interactions (UMAMI)
study examines the effects of spaceflight on the molecular and chemical
interactions between beneficial microbes and their animal hosts. Microbes
play a significant role in the normal development of animal tissues and in
maintaining human health. “Animals, including humans, rely on our microbes
to maintain a healthy digestive and immune system,” says UMAMI principal
investigator Jamie Foster. “We do not fully understand how spaceflight
alters these beneficial interactions. The UMAMI experiment uses a
glow-in-the-dark bobtail squid to address these important issues in animal
health.”
The bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, is an animal model that is used to
study symbiotic relationships between two species. This investigation helps
determine whether spaceflight alters the mutually beneficial relationship,
which could support development of protective measures and mitigation to
preserve astronaut health on long-duration space missions. The work also
could lead to a better understanding of the complex interactions between
animals and beneficial microbes, including new and novel pathways that
microbes use to communicate with animal tissues. Such knowledge could help
identify ways to protect and enhance these relationships for better human
health and well-being on Earth as well.
Water bears take on space
Tardigrades, known as water bears due to their appearance under a microscope
and common habitat in water, are tiny creatures that tolerate environments
more extreme than most life forms can. That makes them a model organism for
studying biological survival under extreme conditions on Earth and in space.
In addition, researchers have sequenced the genome of the tardigrade
Hypsibius exemplaris and developed methods for measuring how different
environmental conditions affect tardigrade gene expression. Cell Science-04
characterizes the molecular biology of short-term and multigenerational
survival of water bears, identifying the genes involved in adaptation and
survival in high stress environments.
The results could advance understanding of the stress factors affecting
humans in space and support development of countermeasures. “Spaceflight can
be a really challenging environment for organisms, including humans, who
have evolved to the conditions on Earth,” says principal investigator Thomas
Boothby. “One of the things we are really keen to do is understand how
tardigrades are surviving and reproducing in these environments and whether
we can learn anything about the tricks that they are using and adapt them to
safeguard astronauts.”
Producing tougher cotton
Cotton plants that overexpress a certain gene show increased resistance to
stressors, such as drought, and yield 20% more cotton fiber than plants
without that characteristic under certain stress conditions. This stress
resistance has been tentatively linked to having an enhanced root system
that can tap into a larger volume of soil for water and nutrients. Targeting
Improved Cotton Through On-orbit Cultivation (TICTOC) studies how root
system structure affects plant resilience, water-use efficiency, and carbon
sequestration during the critical phase of seedling establishment. Root
growth patterns depend upon gravity, and TICTOC could help define which
environmental factors and genes control root development in the absence of
gravity.
Cotton is used in a variety of consumer products from clothing to bed sheets
and coffee filters, but the effects of its production include significant
water use and intensive use of agricultural chemicals. “We are hoping to
reveal features of root system formation that can be targeted by breeders
and scientists to improve characteristics such as drought resistance or
nutrient uptake, both key factors in the environmental impacts of modern
agriculture,” says principal investigator Simon Gilroy. Improved
understanding of cotton root systems and associated gene expression could
enable development of more robust cotton plants and reduce water and
pesticide use.
On-the-spot ultrasound
Butterfly IQ Ultrasound demonstrates use of a portable ultrasound in
conjunction with a mobile computing device in microgravity. The
investigation collects crew feedback on ease of handling and quality of the
ultrasound images, including image acquisition, display, and storage.
“This type of commercial off-the-shelf technology could provide important
medical capabilities for future exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit,
where immediate ground support is not available,” says Kadambari Suri,
integration manager for the Butterfly iQ Technology Demonstration “The
investigation also examines how effective just-in-time instructions are for
autonomous use of the device by the crew.” The technology also has potential
applications for medical care in remote and isolated settings on Earth.
Developing better robot drivers
Pilote, an investigation from the ESA (European Space Agency) and the Centre
National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), tests the effectiveness of remote
operation of robotic arms and space vehicles using virtual reality and
interfaces based on haptics, or simulated touch and motion. Testing of the
ergonomics for controlling robotic arms and spacecraft must be performed in
microgravity, because designs from Earth-based testing would use ergonomic
principles that do not fit conditions experienced on a spacecraft in orbit.
Pilote compares existing and new technologies, including those recently
developed for teleoperation and others used to pilot the Canadarm2 and Soyuz
spacecraft. The investigation also compares astronaut performance on the
ground and during long-duration space missions. Results could help optimize
the ergonomics of workstations on the space station and future space
vehicles for missions to the Moon and Mars.
Protecting kidneys in space and on Earth
Some crew members exhibit an increased susceptibility to kidney stones
during flight, which could affect their health and the success of the
mission. The Kidney Cells-02 investigation uses a 3D kidney cell model (or
tissue chip) to study the effects of microgravity on the formation of
microcrystals that can lead to kidney stones. It is part of the Tissue Chips
in Space initiative, a partnership between the ISS U.S. National Laboratory
and the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing
Translational Sciences (NCATS) to analyze the effects of microgravity on
human health and translate that to improvements on Earth. This investigation
could reveal critical pathways of kidney disease development and
progression, potentially leading to therapies to treat and prevent kidney
stones for astronauts and for the 1 in 10 people on Earth who develop them.
“With this study, we hope to identify biomarkers or ‘signatures’ of cellular
changes that occur during the formation of kidney stones,” says principal
investigator Ed Kelly. “This may lead to novel therapeutic interventions.
The rationale for conducting this study on the space station is that the
microcrystals behave in a manner like what happens in our own kidneys,
meaning they stay suspended in the kidney chip tubes and do not sink to the
bottom, like they do in labs on Earth.”
Bonus power
New solar panels headed to station are made up of compact sections that roll
open like a long rug. The ISS Roll-out Solar Arrays (iROSA) are based on a
previous demonstration of roll-out panels performed on station. They are
expected to provide an increase in energy available for research and station
activities. NASA plans a total of six new arrays to augment the station’s
power supply with the first pair launching on this flight. The Expedition 65
crew is scheduled to begin preparations for spacewalks to supplement the
station’s existing rigid panels this summer. The same solar array technology
is planned to power NASA’s Gateway, part of the Artemis program.
These are just a few of the hundreds of investigations currently being
conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and
biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Advances in
these areas will help keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space
travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration
beyond low-Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars through NASA’s Artemis program.
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Space & Astrophysics