Media Invited to Webinar Highlighting Science Flying on Next Mission to the Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL (FL), March 4, 2024 – Life science investigations, the validation of new facilities and capabilities, student-led experiments, and a variety of projects leveraging the outside of the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) are set to launch on the next resupply mission to the orbiting outpost. Members of the media are invited to hear from some of the researchers with payloads flying on SpaceX’s 30^th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the space station, contracted by NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration, during a live webinar on Friday, March 8, at 1 p.m. EST.

Davide Marotta, ISS National Laboratory® science program director for in-space biomedicine, will join Heidi Parris, associate program scientist for NASA’s International Space Station Program, to discuss the upcoming mission and provide an overview of the space station program. Afterwards, panelists will discuss their respective payloads and detail how results could benefit life on Earth and further humanity’s footprint in space. Following each of the remarks, media are encouraged to ask questions about the investigations.

The following speakers are scheduled to take part in this panel:

• Marc Elmouttie, research group leader at CSIRO (an Australian government agency responsible for scientific research), will discuss the Multi-Resolution Scanner (MRS) project that will use the Astrobee autonomous free-flying robotic system on station. MRS can be used to rapidly create 3D maps of space environments like the space station.
• Paula Grisanti, CEO of the National Stem Cell Foundation, will discuss a continuing investigation using 3D brain models derived from induced pluripotent stem cells of patients with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases as well as primary progressive multiple sclerosis. This study aims to understand the mechanisms behind neuroinflammation, a common feature of neurodegenerative diseases.
• Kris Kuehnel, managing director for Space Exploration Operations at Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, will discuss the ArgUS external mechanical platform capable of hosting payloads 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.. Liam Kennedy, SpaceTV Director of Sen Corp., will give an overview of SpaceTV-1, an optical video system that will leverage the ArgUS platform to livestream high-definition views of Earth and areas around the space station, including visiting vehicles.
• Michelle Lucas, founder and CEO of Higher Orbits, a nonprofit that aims to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) industries, will discuss three student-led spaceflight experiments through the Go For Launch! program.
• Jordan McKaig, a graduate student from Georgia Institute of Technology, will discuss CS-05A: Genomic Enumeration of Antibiotic Resistance in Space (GEARS), a NASA-sponsored investigation that will survey the space station for antibiotic resistant-organisms. Genetic analysis could show how these bacteria adapt to space environments.
• Hema Ramkumar, founder and CEO of biopharmaceutical company Oculogenex, will discuss an investigation that will leverage 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. to test a novel gene therapy to prevent and even reverse vision loss from age-related macular degeneration.

The webinar will be livestreamed on the ISS National Lab website for the public and on Zoom for media. Members of the media that would like to participate are required 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. Following the webinar, a recording will be available on the ISS National Lab launch page. Additional information about ISS National Lab-sponsored projects on this mission will be made available to the media and public in the coming days.

NASA’s SpaceX CRS-30 mission is scheduled to launch to the space station no earlier than mid-March from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Download a high-resolution photo for the release: The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in March 2023

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™(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 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 accepts corporate and individual donations to help advance science in space for the benefit of humanity. For more information, visit our donations page.