ISS National Lab and NASA to Highlight R&D on Next Cargo Mission to Space Station

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), August 12, 2025 – The International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) National Laboratory and NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration will host a webinar to discuss research launching on SpaceX’s 33^rd commercial resupply services mission(Abbreviation: CRS mission) A CRS mission is a cargo resupply mission contracted by NASA to deliver supplies and research to the International Space Station on commercial spacecraft as part of the CRS contract with three commercial companies. As part of CRS missions, experiments currently return to Earth on SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that splash down in the ocean. for NASA. The webinar will showcase some of the exciting science sponsored by the ISS National Lab and NASA—from studies that could lead to new treatments for heart disease, neurodegenerative conditions, and bone loss to research testing valuable new capabilities for in-orbit data processing. These projects benefit humanity and drive a sustainable market economy in low Earth orbit(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles. (LEO).

The webinar is scheduled for Monday, August 18, 2025, at 1 p.m. EDT. Media who would like to participate must register for Zoom access no later than one hour in advance. The general public may watch the webinar through the ISS National Lab livestream channel. Those who have questions for panelists can submit them before or during the webinar utilizing #askNASA.

During the webinar, Michael Roberts, chief scientific officer for the ISS National Lab, and Heidi Parris, associate program scientist for NASA’s International Space Station Program, will provide general insights and updates. Speakers will then join them to highlight specific research projects on this mission:

• Liver Tissue in Space: Anthony Atala, director for the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine, will discuss a project to study engineered liver tissue containing blood vessels in microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment.. Results from the project, which was part of NASA’s Vascular Tissue Challenge, could lead to new regenerative therapies for patients on Earth and, eventually, to the production of human tissues in space for organ transplants.
• Orbital Data Center: Tony James, chief architect for science and space at Red Hat, will discuss a project in collaboration with Axiom Space that seeks to increase in-orbit data storage and edge-processing capabilities with the Red Hat Device Edge platform. These capabilities would enable near real-time analytics to support scalable expansion and iteration of experiments while they operate in space—which will be paramount to scaling R&D and manufacturing on future space platforms.
• Microgravity-Induced Bone Loss: Abba Zubair, medical director and scientist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, will discuss an investigation to assess the effects of microgravity on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. These bone-forming cells are known to play a role in creating and repairing skeletal tissues. This investigation could provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind bone loss that occurs during long-duration spaceflight and from normal aging on Earth.
• Stem Cell Manufacturing in Microgravity: Arun Sharma, director of the Center for Space Medicine at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, will discuss the team’s latest stem cell research. The project aims to determine whether human induced pluripotent stem cells grow faster in microgravity, resulting in larger number of cells for therapies to treat conditions like heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and more.

Following the webinar, a recording will be available on the ISS National Lab YouTube channel. Additional information about investigations launching on this mission will be made available in the coming days on our launch page.

The mission is slated to launch no earlier than 3:55 a.m. EDT on Thursday, August 21, 2025, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Join us to learn more about the exciting investigations heading to the space station to advance science and benefit humanity. For more information about ISS National Lab-sponsored science and its impact on Earth, visit our website.

Download a high-resolution image for this release: NASA’s SpaceX CRS-31 in 2024

Media Contact:
Patrick O’Neill
904-806-0035
PONeill@ISSNationalLab.org

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About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory: The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Laboratory® allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve quality of life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology, and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space® (CASIS®) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative AgreementA cooperative agreement is Federal assistance that establishes a relationship between the U.S. Government and a recipient in which the principal purpose of the relationship is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation.  Since 2011, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space™ (CASIS™) has managed the National Laboratory® through a Cooperative Agreement with NASA. with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit our website.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, CASIS(Abbreviation: CASIS™) The nonprofit organization that manages the ISS National Lab, which receives at least 50 percent of the U.S. research allocation on the International Space Station to facilitate research that benefits humanity (NASA manages the other 50% and focuses on research for space exploration purposes). accepts corporate and individual donations to help advance science in space for the benefit of humanity. For more information, visit our donations page.