SpaceX CRS-27 Mission Overview International Space Station National Laboratory-Sponsored Investigations

SpaceX will launch its 27th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center no earlier than 8:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. This mission will carry more than 15 ISS National Lab-sponsored payloads, including tissue chipA tissue chip, or organ-on-a-chip or microphysiological system, is a small engineered device containing human cells and growth media to model the structure and function of human tissues and/or organs. Using tissue chips in microgravity, researchers can study the mechanisms behind disease and test new treatments for patients on Earth. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has a multiyear partnership with the ISS National Laboratory® to fund tissue chip research on the space station. research, advanced materials projects, technology demonstrations, and physical sciences studies.

3-D printed RF Systems and Materials for High Frequency Communications 
L3Harris Technologies 
Principal Investigator (PI): Dr. Arthur Paolella 

This project seeks to test 3D-printed radio frequency (RF) circuits, RF communications systems, and other materials for small satellites in the harsh environment of space. The project, which builds on previous investigations, will use the MISSE Flight FacilityThe Materials International Space Station Experiment Flight Facility is a hardware platform on the exterior of the ISS that provides exposure to the harsh space conditions for the accelerated testing of materials and technologies with important applications both in space and on Earth. This ISS National Lab commercial facility is owned and operated by Aegis Aerospace., a commercial materials research facility mounted on the outside of the ISS. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation, vacuum-induced outgassing, and micrometeoroid/space debris will allow durability testing of the materials. Exposure to large variations in temperature will allow testing for changes in the materials due to temperature. And exposure to highly reactive atomic oxygen will allow testing of the materials’ reactivity. Testing on the ISS will allow L3Harris Technologies to qualify 3D-printed materials and raise the technology readiness level(Abbreviation: TRL) A measurement system used to assess the maturity level of a particular technology. There are nine technology readiness levels, and technology progresses from TRL 1 to TRL 9. of its product to bring it to market more quickly. 

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.: Aegis Aerospace

AmpliRx: A Manufacturing Pharmaceutical Lightweight Instrument 
MakerHealth  
PI: Anna Young 

This project seeks to use the 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. environment of the ISS to explore ways to optimize the MakerHealth AmpliRx modular biochemical manufacturing platform. Current drug manufacturing relies on large-scale, centralized processes that have high infrastructure cost and lack flexibility for precision medicine. The AmpliRx platform enables the distributed, affordable, and scalable production of medications using a membrane-to-membrane continuous flow reactor system that can operate without pumps or advanced instrumentation and runs using minimal power. The AmpliRx platform transforms the drug manufacturing process from large scale, batch-type equipment to a modular, Lego-like dynamic desktop system utilizing the advantages of flow chemistry. Conducting experiments in space allows MakerHealth to understand the fundamental physics of membrane-to-membrane flow and reaction times in the AmpliRx system in the absence of gravity. These results will then be leveraged to optimize membrane material properties and geometries to increase process performance by decreasing reaction times and increasing resource utilization efficiency.  This investigation was awarded through the Technology in Space PrizeA prize that provides grant funding for business startups participating in the MassChallenge startup accelerator program to conduct innovative research and technology development utilizing the ISS National Lab. The prize is funded by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, which manages the ISS National Lab, and Boeing., funded by Boeing and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (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).), manager of the ISS National Lab.  

Implementation Partner: Redwire Space 

BFF-Meniscus  
Redwire Space and The Geneva Foundation 
PIs: Rich Boling and Dr. Joel Gaston  

This project evaluates the feasibility of using the 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. (BFF) to print a meniscus. The tissue will be printed using a combination of collagen and human allogenic mesenchymal stem cells and allowed to develop into mature tissue. The research team will evaluate the tissue’s mechanical properties and compare it with identically bioprinted tissues on Earth. 

Implementation Partner: Redwire Space  

Cellular Mechanotransduction by Osteoblasts in Microgravity 
University of Michigan
PI: Dr. Allen Liu 

This project seeks to study how the absence of gravity contributes to the loss of bone mass. Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak and brittle as individuals age and commonly leads to fractures with low forces or a fall. 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. This project is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Implementation Partner: Space Tango

Effect of Microgravity on Drug Responses Using Engineered Heart Tissues
Stanford University 
PI: Dr. Joseph Wu

This project seeks to examine microgravity’s effects on heart function using three-dimensional engineered heart tissues and cardiac organoids derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in a tissue chip system. Muscles, including the heart, can weaken in microgravity from disuse because they are not acting against gravity. The team will evaluate whether engineered heart tissue experiences atrophy in microgravity (a disease in which heart muscles are weakened and may lead to heart failure), as well as whether FDA approved medications could stop the symptoms of disease. Results could be used for screening new potential drugs to treat heart conditions on Earth. This project builds on a previous ISS National Lab-sponsored investigation that evaluated microgravity’s effects on heart cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells and is funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), one of the 27 centers and institutes within the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Implementation Partner: BioServe Space Technologies

Human iPSC-based 3D Microphysiological System for Modeling Cardiac Dysfunction  
Johns Hopkins University 
PI: Dr. Deok-Ho Kim  

This project seeks to develop a tissue chip system to grow human cardiac muscle tissue derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells. The system will be used to study the effects of microgravity on cardiac tissue structure and physiological function. The tissue chip system could eventually be used to study heart disease progression and to screen new potential therapies to treat heart conditions. This project builds on previous ISS National Lab-sponsored research that examined microgravity’s effects on heart cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells and is funded by NCATS, one of the 27 centers and institutes within NIH. 

Implementation Partner: BioServe Space Technologies 

Multipurpose Active Target Particle Telescope on the ISS (MAPT-I) 
Airbus DS Space Systems 
PI: Hans-Juergen Zachrau 

This project will utilize the unique radiation profile of the ISS to test a novel radiation detection technology that offers the capability to monitor radiation levels from all directions and in real time. Improved radiation detection technology is of potential relevance to the medical industry, where proton beam therapy is used to treat cancer, and has direct application to radiation monitoring for spacecraft. The proton therapy world market is projected to reach between $3.5 billion and $6.6 billion by 2030, with 1,200 to 1,800 particle therapy treatment rooms open to patients worldwide. Currently, radiation detection devices are large and cannot be placed in the patient area, which introduces uncertainties that can reduce therapy effectiveness. MAPT-I’s main advantage is that it is small and portable and can thus be placed right where the patient would normally be. 

Implementation Partner: Airbus DS Space Systems 

Nanoracks – LEONIDAS 
Nanoracks, Inc. and Sandia National Laboratories 
PIs: Christopher Cummins and James Meub 

In this technology demonstration, the 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. NREP ISS Demonstration Advanced Sensor (LEONIDAS) will use the Nanoracks External Platform(Abbreviation: NREP) A platform that on the exterior of the ISS that provides power and a data connection and enables payloads to operate in the harsh space environment. This ISS National Lab commercial facility is owned and operated by Nanoracks. to test the effects of radiation on advanced computing systems in space. The investigation will collect data about various Earth conditions (glint, clouds, etc., at a local time of day) to support development of a machine learning algorithm for the U.S. Department of Energy. The team hopes this project will be a precursor to a high-performance computing space system that enables organizations to rapidly process data on the edge, a requirement to get more relevant data faster from their satellites.    

Implementation Partner: Nanoracks 

Photonic integrated circuits (PIC) technology flight experiment 
L3Harris  
PI: Dr. Arthur Paolella 

This technology demonstration project will use the Aegis Aerospace MISSE Flight Facility to test the performance of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technologies (also known as integrated optical circuits) after exposure to the space environment in low Earth orbit. PICs have multiple applications for space systems, including satellite communications, remote sensing, and radar. 

Implementation Partner: Aegis Aerospace 

Screening and Batch Manufacture of Complex Biotherapeutics in Microgravity 
Bristol Myers Squibb 
PI: Dr. Robert Garmise 

This project will study the crystallization of biotherapeutic compounds in microgravity—where some crystals grow larger and more well-ordered than in gravity—to identify the physical conditions that result in large, high-quality crystals. Uniform crystallization of biotherapeutic drugs could lead to reduced storage and production costs as well as new formulations that improve quality of life for patients.  

Implementation Partner: University of Alabama Birmingham 

Structure and Stability of Foams and Emulsions 
City College of NY 
PI: Dr. Jing Fan   

This project aims to validate a physical phenomenon predicted by models but never observed: optimal packing structure of dry foams. The project will also study 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. This project is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Implementation Partner: Leidos Innovations Corporation