Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services Mission 18 Research Overview

No earlier than 5:50 a.m. EDT, Sunday, November 6, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Northrop Grumman’s 18^th (NG-18) resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) will take flight. On this mission, multiple payloads representing research and technology demonstrations sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory will fly onboard the Cygnus spacecraft. Below highlights research and technology demonstrations on NG-18 supported by the ISS National Lab

Cellular Mechanotransduction by Osteoblasts 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.
University of Michigan
Principal Investigator: Dr. Allen Liu

Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak and brittle as individuals age and commonly leads to fractures with low forces or a fall. This project will study how the absence of gravity contributes to the loss of bone mass. Microgravity has been shown to induce accelerated bone loss, but how this happens is not totally clear. In this investigation, the research team will study a group of proteins and their effect on bone-forming cells, or osteoblasts, in microgravity. Results could improve understanding of how changes in bone loading cause bone loss, which will in turn support improved prevention and treatment development for osteoporosis.

Implementation Partner(Abbreviation: IP) Commercial companies that work with the ISS National Lab to provide services related to payload development, including the translation of ground-based science to a space-based platform.: Space Tango

Engineering Stem Cell-Derived Cardiac Microtissues
Emory University
Principal Investigator: Dr. Chunhui Xu

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. This project, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, aims to grow and mature cardiac muscle cells from human stem cells in microgravity to help advance the development of regenerative therapies for patients on Earth with heart disease. The research team hypothesizes that exposing the cells to microgravity and growing them into microtissues in the space environment will reduce tension between cells and improve the tissue architecture. Findings from this investigation will provide insights into the cellular regulation of accelerated stem cell maturation to aid regenerative medicine, the study of heart disease, and drug development.

Implementation Partner: BioServe Space Technologies

Gravitational Effects on the Faraday Instability
University of Florida Board of Trustees
Principal Investigator: Dr. Ranga Narayanan

This fundamental science investigation, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, seeks to experimentally verify a model for Faraday instability in the absence of gravity and compare it with ground experiments and theory. Faraday waves, nonlinear standing waves that appear on liquids enclosed by a vibrating receptacle, become unstable when the vibration frequency exceeds a critical value. This Faraday instability is dominated by the force of gravity on Earth. Insight gained from this project could help inform liquid-solid processing applications, such as 3D printing, drug delivery, and device fabrication patterning. It will be the first attempt to utilize the unique environment of microgravity to obtain information on the Faraday instability problem with broad engineering impact on benefits to life on Earth.

Implementation Partner: Aerospace Applications of North America

Manipulation of Multi-Phase Flow Using Light-Responsive Surfactants
University of California, Santa Barbara
Principal Investigator: Dr. Yangying Zhu

This investigation funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation will leverage microgravity to evaluate the use of light to control and enhance bubble and droplet formation to improve heat transfer. Boiling heat transfer plays a key role in a wide range of applications, including power plants that produce the majority of electricity in the U.S., heating and cooling of buildings, desalination, and distillation. The boiling heat transfer performance is directly related to the removal rate of bubbles generated during boiling. However, bubbles are hard to control in Earth’s gravity because they are driven by their buoyancy. The microgravity environment eliminates the interference of buoyancy, which allows researchers to purely observe and understand this light-driven fluid motion. Knowledge gained through this investigation could have multiple biomedical and optical applications. Findings could also be applied to cost-effective energy and water harvesting, environmental pollutant control, and for the cooling of electronics and buildings, among other industrial applications.

Implementation Partner: Space Tango

MSG Sphere Space Exploration
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.
Principal Investigator: Andrew Shulkind

Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. will launch a technology demonstration to test a high-resolution camera system in the harsh conditions of space. Data gathered from this demonstration will help shape plans for a new, custom, higher-resolution camera being designed for MSG Sphere, the Company’s state-of-the-art venue being built in Las Vegas that could capture images of the ISS and Earth during future missions that further understanding of the wonders of space.

Implementation Partner: Nanoracks, LLC.

A New Paradigm for Explaining Catastrophic Post-Wildfire Mudflows
University of California, San Diego
Principal Investigator: Dr. Ingrid Tomac

This U.S. National Science Foundation-funded investigation addresses a potentially catastrophic problem on our planet—the destruction caused by massive mudslides following wildfires. In the aftermath of a wildfire, soil no longer readily takes up water, leading to mudslides. The study from the University of California, San Diego will look at how soil mixes with air and water in the microgravity environment of the space station. The research team will use the data to create a baseline of material behaviors that can help better predict mudflows and possibly prevent them by stabilizing soil. Predicting mudflow behavior will significantly decrease chances of post-wildfire hazards associated with hillslope runoff, erosion, disruption of complex natural watershed systems, and formation of preferential flow paths.

Implementation Partner: Space Tango

Redwire BioFabrication Facility(Abbreviation: BFF) The BFF is a 3D bioprinter on the ISS capable of printing human tissue from bioinks mixed with living cells. This ISS National Lab commercial facility is owned and operated by Redwire Space.
Redwire Space
Principal Investigator: Rich Boling

In 2019, Redwire Space launched America’s first bioprinter to the ISS, the BioFabrication Facility (BFF). After successful validation, Redwire will now test an updated version of the BFF to evaluate the mechanical properties of tissues bioprinted in microgravity and on Earth. This investigation seeks to validate the capabilities of this updated version by printing human meniscus, or knee cartilage, tissues using bio-inks on a future mission. The Redwire team hypothesizes that microgravity will allow delicate tissues to develop more fully without collapsing under their own weight like they do on Earth. One of the ultimate long-term goals of the BFF is to develop the capability to 3D print complex tissues and organs that may be used to treat patients on the ground and on future deep space exploration missions.

Implementation Partner: Redwire Space

Structure and Stability of Foams and Emulsions
City College of New York
Principal Investigator: Dr. Jing Fan

This investigation studies the structure and stability of foams and emulsions in microgravity, toward improved and more ecofriendly foam and emulsion products for a variety of consumer and industrial applications. The project will examine whether it is possible to use eco-friendly nanoparticles instead of surfactants to stabilize foams and emulsions. Microgravity is beneficial because the bubbles and drops that form dry foams can assemble without being confined in a container, enabling the foams and emulsions to be preserved and observed over several hours. Results could lead to improvements in everyday products such as salad dressings, body wash, cosmetic creams, fire extinguishers, and more.

Implementation Partner: Leidos Innovations Corporation

Thermally Activated Directional Mobility of Vapor Bubbles
Auburn University
Principal Investigator: Dr. Sushil Bhavnani

As electronics become smaller and more densely packed, removing heat becomes more difficult. This project will use small textured surfaces to passively move vapor bubbles (gas) in microgravity to test the hypothesis that some surfaces passively enable and enhance the mobility of vapor and thereby increase the removal of heat from surfaces. This work will advance fundamental knowledge of boiling to develop simple, passive, and self-regulating micro-structured devices that absorb excessive or unwanted heat in consumer electronics and electronics in military and commercial aircraft. This project received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Implementation Partner: Redwire Space