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NASA, SpaceX Launch Climate Science Research, More Coming to Space Station


One SpaceX Dragon A supply spacecraft carrying more than 5,800 pounds of science experiments, crew supplies and other cargo is on its way. International Space Station after launching at 8:44 p.m. EDT Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The spacecraft was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy for the company’s 25th commercial resupply service mission to NASA. According to the plan, it will automatically dock at the space station around 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, July 16, and stay there for about a month. News of the arrival time will begin at 10 a.m. on NASA Television, the agency websiteand NASA App.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 14, 2022, with a Cargo Dragon spacecraft onboard for SpaceX’s 25th resupply mission to the International Space Station . Credit: NASA TV

Among the science experiments that Dragon is performing on the space station are:

Mapping the Earth’s Dust
Investigate the source of mineral dust on the earth’s surface (EMIT), developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, uses NASA’s imaging spectroscopy technology to measure the mineral composition of dust in Earth’s arid regions. Mineral dust blown into the air can travel significant distances and affect the Earth’s climate, weather, vegetation, etc.

For example, dust containing dark minerals that absorb sunlight can warm an area, while light colored mineral dust can cool it. Blowing dust also affects air quality, surface conditions such as the rate at which snow melts and the health of phytoplankton in the ocean. The investigation collects a year’s worth of images to map the mineral composition of dust-producing regions on Earth. Such mapping could improve our understanding of the effects of mineral dust on current and future human populations.

Immune system aging faster
Aging is associated with changes in the immune response known as immunogenesis. Microgravity causes changes in human immune cells similar to this condition, but faster than the actual aging process on Earth. The Free The investigation, funded by the International Space Station’s US National Laboratory, uses tissue chips to study how microgravity affects immune function during flight and whether immune cells recovery after the flight or not. Tissue crumbs are small devices containing human cells in a 3D structure, allowing scientists to examine how those cells respond to stress, drugs and genetic changes.

Land in space
On Earth, complex microbial communities perform key functions in the soil, including cycling carbon and other nutrients and supporting plant growth.. Dynamics of microbial communities in space funded by NASA’s Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, examines how microgravity affects metabolic interactions in soil microbial communities. This study focused on microbial communities that degrade chitin, a naturally occurring carbon polymer on Earth.

Studying the weather for high school students
BeaverCube is an educational mission that will teach high school students aerospace science by asking them to design a CubeSat. BeaverCube will host a visible camera and two infrared cameras to measure cloud properties, ocean surface temperature and ocean color to study Earth’s weather and climate systems . It will also demonstrate an application for using shape memory alloy technology through orbital calibration techniques.

There are genes, no cells
Cellless technology is a platform for protein production without the need for specialized equipment of living cells to be cultured. Genes in space-9, funded by the National Laboratory, demonstrate cell-free protein production in microgravity and evaluate two cell-free biosensors that can detect specific target molecules. This technology could provide a simple, portable and low-cost tool for medical diagnosis, on-demand drug and vaccine production, and environmental monitoring in future space missions.

Concrete is better
Biopolymer research for in situ possibilities examines how microgravity affects the process of creating a concrete alternative made of organic and in situ materials, such as lunar or Martian dust, called a biopolymer soil mix. . Using resources available at the site of construction can increase the amount of shielding.

These are just a few of the hundreds of investigations currently underway in the orbiting laboratory in the fields of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, Earth and space sciences. Advances in these areas will help keep astronauts healthy during extended space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration beyond Earth orbit. low range to Moon and Mars via NASA Artemis program.

Source: NASA






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