In the early morning of Saturday, August 28, SpaceX intends to launch
its 23rd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International
Space Station (ISS). The mission, launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
no earlier than 3:37 a.m. EDT, will send more than 4,800 pounds of critical
supplies and research to the orbiting laboratory. Among the cargo flying on
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft are more than a dozen payloads sponsored by the
ISS U.S. National Laboratory, including physical and life sciences
investigations, technology demonstrations, and student-led experiments.
Research sponsored by the ISS National Lab intends to bring value to our
nation and drive a robust market in low Earth orbit. Below highlights some
of the investigations supported by the ISS National Lab on this mission.
The Faraday Research Facility, developed and operated by ISS National Lab
Commercial Service Provider ProXopS, is a multipurpose facility that can be
utilized for research and technology development investigations from a wide
variety of researchers, educators, and students. Through this launch, the
facility will support an array of investigations to demonstrate its
capabilities. One of these investigations is a project from a team of
researchers at Houston Methodist Research Institute. This research team has
a long and exciting history of space-based research in areas ranging from
nanofluidics to drug delivery technology development, rodent research, and
advanced materials. These research projects have led the team to its latest
investigation that will aid in the development of a tunable drug delivery
implant. The implant can be remotely controlled to release specific amounts
of a drug, providing individualized treatment for patients on Earth.
The MISSE Flight Facility, owned and operated by Aegis Aerospace (a recently
established merger of Alpha Space Test & Research Alliance, LLC and MEI
Technologies, Inc.), will support multiple investigations from both NASA and
the ISS National Lab on this mission. Deployed externally on the ISS, the
MISSE Flight Facility allows researchers to test materials and components in
the extreme environment of space. One ISS National lab-sponsored
investigation on this mission will use the MISSE Flight Facility to validate
the calibration of an ultra-compact spectral imager for hyperspectral
imaging of Earth, with applications in atmospheric sciences, precision
agriculture, and medicine. Another ISS National Lab-sponsored project will
examine the durability of a new class of 3D-printed polydicyclopentadiene
(pDCPD)-based thermosetting polymers, which may provide a more durable
option than the current thermoplastics used in aerospace applications.
Several student-led experiments will also be launching as part of this
mission, including three investigations resulting from the Making Space for
Girls Challenge. The challenge was funded by SpaceKids Global in partnership
with the Girl Scouts of Citrus Council and with support from ProXopS. These
three student experiments will use the Faraday Research Facility to evaluate
the characteristics of living organisms in orbit. One experiment will
examine microgravity’s effects on brine shrimp (popularized as sea monkeys),
another will look at ant behavior in the absence of gravity, and the third
will study plant growth in space. Additionally, the Student Spaceflight
Experiments Program is supporting six student investigations, including four
on germination techniques, one looking at aluminum corrosion in space, and
the last evaluating how tardigrades (microscopic animals also known as water
bears) adapt to spaceflight.
These are just a few of the many investigations sponsored by the ISS
National Lab launching on SpaceX CRS-23. In the coming days, additional
press releases will provide a closer look at some of the investigations on
this mission and how the research teams are leveraging the ISS National Lab
for research that benefits life on Earth. To learn more about how the ISS
National Lab is supporting research on SpaceX CRS-23, please visit our
launch page.
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