The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled for liftoff on November 6 (File)
US space agency NASA is planning to launch the next resupply service mission to the International Space Station (ISS) next month. The Cygnus spacecraft, which will scientifically investigate topics such as plant mutations and mudflow structures, is scheduled for liftoff before November 6 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, US.
On Saturday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration released details of some of the scientific investigations that will travel to the space station on this mission. according to a Press release, these investigations will include bioprinting tissues, assessing how plants adapt to space, mixing mudflows and ovarian cell development in microgravity. It will also include demonstrations of camera technology and small satellites from Japan, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
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Explaining bioprinting tissue, the US space agency said it will launch its Biofabrication Facility (BFF), which successfully printed a partial human knee meniscus and a large amount of human heart cells during its space journey in 2019. The technology is being re-sent into space with new capabilities to advance human tissue printing research. The payload is returning to space to test whether microgravity enables the printing of tissue samples of higher quality than those printed on the ground.
“The research being conducted with the BFF has exciting implications for the future of human health,” said Redwire Executive Vice President of In-Space Manufacturing and Operations John Wellinger.
“In addition to providing clear benefits to our lives on Earth, advancing this technology now aboard the International Space Station is a great way to prepare us for work on future commercial space stations, which have been carried out out of critical research technology such as the BFF. Can go,” he added.
NASA will also study growing plants in space. According to the press release, Plant Habitat-03 will assess whether adaptations in one generation of space-grown plants can transfer to the next generation. NASA explained that the long-term goal of this investigation is to understand how epigenetics can contribute to the adaptive strategies used by plants in space, and ultimately, better ones for use on future missions to provide food and other services. To grow suitable plants.
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In addition, the space agency will also investigate mudflow mixtures. Scientists will shed light on climate change and global warming through Post-Wildfire Mudflow Micro-Structures, aimed at studying the thin layer of soil that forms after a wildfire burns a plant and repels rainwater. Is.
“Gravity plays an important role in this process, which drives air from mixing and particulates to underwater. Removing gravity, can provide insight into the dynamics of the internal structure of these sand-water-air mixtures and There’s a baseline for their behavior,” said Ingrid Tomac, an assistant professor in the University of California San Diego’s Department of Structural Engineering.
In addition, scientists in space will also investigate the effect of microgravity on bovine cell cultures – research that NASA believes could improve fertility treatments on Earth and help prepare for future human settlement in space. could.