CAPE CANAVERAL (Fla.) The next SpaceX resupply flight to the International Space Station is scheduled for Saturday, August 28. It will transport a variety of science payloads to astronauts who are living and working at the orbiting laboratory.
CRS-23 is the 23rd SpaceX mission under its commercial cargo supply services contract with NASA. Space.com will live stream the launch at 3:37 AM ED (0737 GMT). It is being held from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida. You can also view the action live via NASA TV and SpaceX.
The upgraded Dragon cargo capsule, which will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is loaded with 4,800 pounds (2.177 kilograms), of supplies and scientific investigations. This research gear will be used to support many experiments in life sciences, pharmaceuticals and other areas.
Joel Montalbano (NASA's ISS program manager), stated that SpaceX is a great partner for this mission during a prelaunch conference. These [resupply] missions are being used to maximize the science and utilization onboard the space station as well as to increase the exploration, technology development, and support for future missions.
Video: SpaceX CRS 23 mission to the space station - Science payloads explained
Related: SpaceX Dragon launches NASA cargo to the Space Station early Saturday. Here's how.
An old SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying CRS-23 Dragon cargo ships stands on Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. This is ahead of the planned launch of the Falcon 9 rocket on Aug. 28, 2021. SpaceX image credit
Saturday's flight marks the third time that SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft has carried cargo. This modified Crew Dragon spacecraft is not equipped with the necessary systems for human missions. It lacks seats, cockpit controls, and a life support system. SuperDraco thrusters provide an emergency escape system that can only be used in the event of a problem during launch.
Space and NASA have worked together to bring more science into the space station through commercial partnerships. This upgraded cargo capsule allows for more scientific cargo to fly skyward than the predecessor.
Dragon's interior now can support more powered payloads. This is a big benefit for life sciences, as it allows for more cold storage, and other types of investigations. The crew can also store some of their powered payloads while Dragon is in orbit.
Future space food: Engineering plants
After nine days of growth in VEGGIE chamber, seedlings of different genotypes were photographed. The conditions for their growth are identical to those observed on the space station's space station. (Image credit: Dr. Shih-Heng Su)
Crews will have to be able to grow food for long-duration missions when astronauts set out on future long-duration missions. Microgravity can be very stressful for plants.
APEX-08 is a new study that will examine the effects of plant stress on the microgravity environment. Researchers will be growing Arabidopsis Thalliana, a type thale cress that scientists use regularly for their research.
The study involves genetic alterations or mutants that trigger a response in the pool polyamines. This group of organic compounds regulates how plants respond to environmental stress.
"This experiment will test various genotypes of Arabidopsis plant for modified ability to respond to microgravity," Dr. Patrick Masson (principal investigator, University of Wisconsin-Madison) stated during the prelaunch briefing. "We modified a polyamine metabolism pathway that was previously implicated in stress response in plants, and we'll be looking for differences in growth and alterations to gene expression profiles among genotypes."
Research has shown that plants can be modified in space and on the ground with polyamines. This is especially true for a major group of putrescines. Masson and Dr. Shih Heng Su are sending six different genotypes of Arabidopsis plant to the study.
The seeds will be transported to the ISS on plant plates. After being photographed, they will be installed in the Veggie Growth Chamber. The astronauts will then remove the plants from the ISS after nine days and photograph their growth before storing them for return to Earth.
Masson states that by comparing samples taken from the space station to a similar experiment on the ground, the team will be able to gain a better understanding of how altering putrescine in the seedlings may affect the plant's response to microgravity.
These results could have important implications for agriculture on Earth as scientists may be able to engineer plants to withstand droughts better.
Astronaut vision
Retinal Diagnostics is an image of the hardware used to test a commercially-available ophthalmology lenses in order to capture images from the human retina in space. Image credit: DLR/EAC
A new method of measuring vision changes in astronauts will be explored by another payload. Scientists are working to understand why more than half of all astronauts experience vision problems while in space.
Claudia Stern, an astronaut and ophthalmologist at the German Aerospace Center is leading the development of a new instrument that can better measure changes in astronaut vision while in orbit.
These changes can be seen in the retina. This is the area at the back of your eye that connects your brain and the eye. These scanners, which are expensive and bulky, were sent to space station in order to monitor the changes. Retinal Diagnostics is a much smaller device.
The commercially available ophthalmology lenses are approved for routine clinical use in conjunction with mobile devices to capture images from the human retina in space. These images will be used for visual changes in astronauts.
To capture video images of the astronaut's retina while in spaceflight, the lens can be clipped onto a smartphone camera. The lenses will be tested by astronauts and sent back to ground with both video and photos. Data collected will be used to train diagnostic models that can detect retinal diseases common in astronauts. So astronauts can self-diagnose even if they are miles away from home.
This has implications not only for long-duration space travel, particularly on vehicles with less space but also here on Earth in remote areas that might not have access or the ability to use specialized equipment. It is cheaper because it uses commercially-available lenses.
Bone health
What does wine have do with bone health According to research from Naples, Italy, common waste products left over after making wine could be used to treat osteoporosis.
As part of an experiment on bone regeneration in microgravity, a group of biologists led by Dr. Fabio Paluso are sending stem cells to space. This study will examine whether a combination of collagen and grape metabolites can repair bones.
Reducing Arthritis Dependent Iflammation First Phase (or READIFP) will examine how space radiation and microgravity affect the formation of bone tissue. You will also learn about the protective effects of biocollagen and bioactive compounds such as antioxidants, as well as spaceflight's potential impact on them.
Related: The buff space mice could prevent astronauts losing bone and muscle mass
ReADI FP team members are shown with their launch experiment, from left to right: Michele Cioffi (program manager); Fabio Peluso (honorary member of MARSCenter Scientific Committee); Marco Fabio Miceli (system and test engineer); and Pasquale Piellegrino (test engineer at Aerospace Laboratory for Innovative components ALI) S.C. a r.l. in Italy. Image credit: ALI scarl/Marcenter
The team will send stem cells from Petri dishes to the ISS. They will then be treated with biological stimulants to make osteoblasts (bone cell) cells. To study the effects of metabolites and collagen on cell growth in microgravity, a mixture of antioxidants, polyphenols and anthocyanins from grape skins will be added.
These compounds are believed to aid bone growth. They could also be used to create new therapies and drugs for diseases such as osteoporosis.
Cubesat collection
Cubesats are small satellites that are about the same size as a loaf bread and are being sent to the space station. Nanoracks will be deploying the cubesats to start their missions in October. NASA has partnered with Nanoracks.
One of these satellites is PRCuNaR2, and it is Puerto Rico's first. This project has been in development for over 13 years and will finally reach space on Saturday.
The experiment was designed by Dr. Amilcar Ricardo Rincon-Charris, and his students from the International American University of Puerto Rico. It examines how particles combine in space. This research will help us better understand how structures such as Saturn's rings and other planetary bodies form.
The small satellite can be divided into nine chambers with different materials. The particles will be allowed float around and mix with one another once they are deployed from the ISS. Researchers at the university can examine in detail the collisions between particles using photos and videos taken by the satellite's cameras.
Robots in space
Nanoracks has partnered with GITAI robotics in Japan to send a robotic arm to space station. The company will test the maneuverability and dexterity of the robotic arm in the Bishop Airlock, currently attached to the space station.
This new arm will be used to demonstrate technology and perform tasks that astronauts would normally do. It is roughly the same size as a human arm, and can flip switches and turn knobs.
This image shows the entire configuration of the GITAI S1 robot arm within the Bishop mockup. (Image credit: GITAI/NRAL)
This is not all. Robots can also be used to handle small parts and then put them together to create larger assemblies, similar to a solar panel. The robot will complete this task autonomously with ground controllers monitoring it in case of unexpected anomalies. Operators on the ground will monitor and tele-operate arm movements for more routine tasks.
Toyotaka Kozuki (chief technology officer at GITAI, Incorporated), stated that in ten years, robots will be working on the moon. "Helping to explore, mine, and even build the first human habitats. This is the first step in that direction.
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