SpaceX’s CRS22 to Carry Technological Deployments to the International Space Station

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Multiple payloads are ready for launch to the International Space Station (ISS) onboard SpaceX’s 22nd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the orbiting laboratory. The launch, contracted through NASA, is slated for no earlier than June 3^rd, at 1:29 p.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. This mission includes more than a dozen investigations sponsored by the ISS U.S. National Laboratory.

Boons of the Endeavor

Several investigations are in the areas of fundamental science and technology development, including multiple projects funded by other government agencies. Research within these strategic focus areas furthers fundamental knowledge that may enhance future inquiries and advance technological knowhow to bring value to the nation and drive a robust market in low Earth orbit.

Technology Development Investigations OnboardSpaceX CRS-22.

The National Center for Forwarding Transnational Sciences—one of the 27 institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health—continues to work with the ISS National Lab to fund projects as part of the Tissue Chips in Space initiative. The research team is using tissue chips systems that model the human kidney to better understand kidney stone formation, the body’s use of vitamin D, and a condition in which a person’s urine contains unusually high amounts of protein. Results from this investigation could lead to new treatment options for patients on Earth.

Another investigation on this mission was funded through a National Science Foundation solicitation focusing on transport phenomena and fluid dynamics. In this project, researchers from the University of Delaware will examine self-assembly of colloidal particles within fluid systems, a phenomenon critical to the development of advanced electronics and nanotechnologies. 

Also on this mission is an investigation from the University of Notre Dame that aims to study the fundamental physics of transport phenomena at small scales. The experiment will examine how metal nanostructures interact with light to create a high degree of local heating and evaporation of surrounding liquid.A better understanding of the evaporation process could lead to several important applications, such as the development of new highly selective cancer therapies and new methods of water desalination and purification.