Media Invited to Webinar Spotlighting International Space Station National Laboratory-Sponsored Investigations on SpaceX CRS-29

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), October 26, 2023 – The International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) National Laboratory and NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration invite members of the media to take part in a live webinar detailing investigations on SpaceX’s 29th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the space station.

In this webinar, ISS National Lab Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Michael Roberts and NASA Deputy Chief Scientist for the ISS Program Dr. Meghan Everett will provide opening remarks on the upcoming mission. After those remarks, panelists will discuss some of the payloads launching on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and how results from this research could benefit humanity. Following each overview, media will be encouraged to ask questions of the panelists. Speakers during this webinar include:

• Emilie Dressaire, Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara, will discuss the NSF-funded “Wicking in Gel-Coated Tubes”investigation to examine the role mucus plays in delivering medication within the lungs.
• Sonja Schrepfer, Professor in the Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, will discuss the NSF-funded “Tissue Engineered Immune Chips 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.” investigationto study the relationship between immune system aging and the ability of liver cells to regenerate.
• Ken Savin, Chief Scientist, Redwire Space, will discuss the Pharmaceutical In-Space Laboratory, a platform to crystallize small organic molecules in microgravity. Savin will also highlight advances in bioprinting, including Redwire’s plan to print human cardiac cells in space using the company’s 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..
• David Corporal, Research Engineer, Boeing, will discuss the “Boeing Antimicrobial Coating” investigation to test an antimicrobial material in various locations throughout the space station.
• Kathryn Gardner-Vandy, Assistant Professor of Aviation and Space, Oklahoma State University, will discuss the “Choctaw Heirloom Seeds” educational outreach project.

The webinar will take place Tuesday, October 31, 2023, at 1 p.m. EDT. It will be livestreamed on our website for the public and on Zoom for media. Media who would like to participate are invited to register for Zoom access no later than one hour in advance.

The public can participate by using #ISSNationalLab on social media to ask questions of the researchers. A recording of the webinar will be available online shortly after.

SpaceX CRS-29 is slated to launch to the orbiting laboratory no earlier than Sunday, November 5, 2023, at 10:01 p.m. EST from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. In the coming days, additional information about ISS National Lab-sponsored projects on this mission will be made available to the media and public.

Download a high-resolution for this release: SpaceX CRS-28 on the launchpad

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

# # #

About the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. 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 Lab allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve 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(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.. 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™(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).) manages the ISS National Laboratory®, 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 issnationallab.org.

# # #