SpaceX - Dragon Crew-6 Mission patch.
Feb 22, 2023
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station as soon as February 27 from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, along with UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, head to the orbiting laboratory for a six-month mission to conduct scientific research.
Here are details on some of the investigations the crew is scheduled to work on during their mission:
Answering Burning Questions
Image above: This image shows a flame from acrylic burning in microgravity for the first test of SoFIE-GEL on Jan. 13, 2023, which looked at how fuel temperature affects material flammability. Image Credit: NASA.
The Crew-6 mission continues combustion research using the Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SoFIE) hardware insert for the station’s Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR). A previous investigation, SoFIE-GEL, looked at how fuel temperature affects material flammability. Now, SoFIE- MIST examines thermally-assisted burning in microgravity, changing parameters including air flow, oxygen concentration, pressure, and external radiation level. Results could help scientists assess the flammability of materials used in future space missions, a critical factor in spacecraft and facility design. The investigation also could contribute to crew safety by helping to determine the best equipment and procedures to detect and suppress a fire in space and to clean up afterwards. Results may help scientists refine combustion models that could be used in terrestrial settings as well.
Testing a New Tool for Immune Monitoring
Image above: ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor conduct a blood sample draw for Functional Immune, an investigation that analyzed the changes taking place in crew members’ immune systems during flight. Future analyses may use a new test developed for Immune Assay, which monitors how spaceflight affects immune function. Image Credit: NASA.
Immunity Assay, an investigation from ESA (European Space Agency), uses a functional immune test to monitor how spaceflight stressors affect cellular immune functions. Until now, this test could only be accomplished on Earth and was conducted pre- and postflight. A newly developed assay tube makes it possible to execute the test inflight, which could provide a clearer assessment of the immune changes that happen in flight and help inform development of countermeasures. The body’s ability to defend against infections shows clear changes in response to simulated microgravity or confinement on Earth that appear to be associated with stress. Along with blood samples and saliva collections, the new test could be used to monitor stress-related immune performance during space missions and in settings on Earth.
Tissue Chip Investigations, Round 2
Tissue Chips in Space, a collaboration between the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes for Health (NIH) and the ISS National Lab, is a series of investigations testing tissue chips aboard the space station. Tissue chips are small devices that mimic functions of human organs. Using them for studies in microgravity allows scientists to model changes that may take months or years to happen on Earth.
Investigations that were awarded funding under the Tissue Chips in Space initiative used their first flights to the orbiting laboratory to develop and test their systems. Some investigations have had second flights that dove deeper into the technology and tested therapies. While on station, Crew-6 crew members are set to work on the second flight for these last two investigations of the initiative.
Image above: Preflight image of a BioCell, developed by BioServe Space Technologies, that contains 162 beating cardiac spheroids to be incubated in space as part of Cardinal Heart 2.0, an investigation that tests drugs to protect heart cell function. Image Credits: Joseph Wu, Dilip Thomas, and Xu Cao, Stanford Cardiovascular Institute.
Cardinal Heart 2.0 tests whether clinically approved drugs can help prevent changes in heart cell function and gene expression that occur during spaceflight. Results could guide drug development strategies on Earth to treat patients with diseases such as heart failure more effectively.
Engineered Heart Tissues-2 tests therapies to prevent space-induced changes in heart tissue that could lead to cardiac disease. This research could support the development of countermeasures to protect future space explorers and help patients at risk of developing heart disease on Earth. Further development of organoid research also could make it possible to monitor systemic changes in people with heart disease.
Life Out There
Image above: In the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at Johnson Space Center, NASA astronaut Victor Glover tests collection methods for ISS External Microorganisms, which examines microbes released from the space station to help limit contamination on future exploration missions. Image Credit: NASA.
ISS External Microorganisms collects samples from outside the space station during spacewalks, focusing on sites near life support system vents, to examine whether the spacecraft releases microorganisms, how many, and how far they may travel. This research could help determine whether changes are needed to crewed spacecraft, including spacesuits, to limit the spread of contamination from Earth on future exploration missions. Making any such changes while plans for those missions are still in the conceptual design phase should minimize cost and effort. Extremophiles, or microorganisms that can survive harsh environments like space, have potential uses on Earth as well.
Related links:
Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SoFIE): https://gipoc.grc.nasa.gov/wp/fcf-cir/sofie/
Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=317
SoFIE-GEL: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8266
SoFIE- MIST: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8272
Immunity Assay: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8170
Tissue chips: https://www.nasa.gov/tissue-chips
Cardinal Heart 2.0: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8800
Engineered Heart Tissues-2: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8801
ISS External Microorganisms: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7715
ISS National Lab: https://www.issnationallab.org/
Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Ana Guzman/JSC/International Space Station Program Research Office/Melissa Gaskill.
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