August 9, 2017 by Kristine Rainey NASA Astronaut Jack Fischer works within the Japanese Experiment Module on CASIS PCG 6. CASIS PCG 7 will utilize the orbiting laboratory's microgravity environment to grow larger versions of Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), implicated in Parkinson's disease. Credit: NASA <\/p>\n
The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is targeted for launch August 14 from Kennedy Space Center for its twelfth commercial resupply (CRS-12) mission to the International Space Station. <\/p>\n
The flight will deliver investigations and instruments that study cosmic rays, protein crystal growth, stem cell-mediated recellularization and a nanosateliite technology demonstration. The vehicle will also deliver crew supplies and equipment to crew members living aboard the station. <\/p>\n
Here are some highlights of research that will be delivered: <\/p>\n
Investigation studies cosmic rays <\/p>\n
Cosmic rays reach Earth from far outside the solar system with energies well beyond what man-made accelerators can achieve. The Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (CREAM) instrument, attached to the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility, measures the charges of cosmic rays ranging from hydrogen to iron nuclei. The data collected from the CREAM instrument will be used to address fundamental science questions such as: <\/p>\n
Tested in several long duration balloon flights, the CREAM instrument holds the longest known exposure record for a single balloon-borne experiment at approximately 160 days of exposure. CREAM's three-year mission will help the scientific community build a stronger understanding of the fundamental structure of the universe. <\/p>\n
Microgravity-grown protein crystals aid in understanding of Parkinson's disease <\/p>\n
The microgravity environment of the space station allows protein crystals to grow larger and in more perfect shapes than earth-grown crystals, allowing them to be better analyzed on Earth. Developed by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Anatrace and Com-Pac International, the Crystallization of Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) under Microgravity Conditions (CASIS PCG 7) investigation will use the orbiting laboratory's microgravity environment to grow larger versions of this important protein, implicated in Parkinson's disease. <\/p>\n
Defining the exact shape and morphology of LRRK2 would help scientists to better understand the pathology of Parkinson's and aid in the development of therapies against this target. <\/p>\n
Telescope-hosting nanosatellite tests new concept <\/p>\n
The Kestrel Eye (NanoRacks-KE IIM) investigation is a microsatellite carrying an optical imaging system payload. This investigation validates the concept of using microsatellites in low-Earth orbit to support critical operations, such as providing lower-cost Earth imagery in time-sensitive situations such as tracking severe weather and detecting natural disasters. <\/p>\n
Sponsored by the space station U.S. National Laboratory, the overall mission goal for the investigation is to demonstrate that small satellites are viable platforms for providing critical path support to operations and hosting advanced payloads. <\/p>\n
Growth of lung tissue in space could provide information about disease pathology <\/p>\n
The Effect of Microgravity on Stem Cell Mediated Recellularization (Lung Tissue) uses the microgravity environment of space to test strategies for growing new lung tissue. Using bioengineering techniques, the Lung Tissue investigation cultures different types of lung cells in controlled conditions aboard the space station. The cells are grown in a specialized framework that supplies them with critical growth factors so that scientists can observe how gravity affects growth and specialization as cells become new lung tissue. <\/p>\n
Tissue mimic models such as this also have the potential to be used for assessing drug or chemical toxicity by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and could allow for rapid testing of new chemicals and compounds, considerably lowering the overall costs for research and development of new drugs. The ultimate goal of this investigation is to produce bioengineered human lung tissue that can be used as a predictive model of human responses allowing for the study of lung development, lung physiology or disease pathology. <\/p>\n
These investigations and others launching aboard CRS-12 will join many other investigations currently happening aboard the space station. Follow @ISS_Research for more information about the science happening on station. <\/p>\n
Explore further: Crystals grown aboard space station provide radiation detecting technology <\/p>\n
Research into crystal growth in microgravity was one of the earliest investigations conducted aboard the International Space Station and is continued to this day. The unique microgravity environment of space provides an ideal ... <\/p>\n
A wide variety of research relies on growing cells in culture on Earth, but handling these cells is challenging. With better techniques, scientists hope to reduce loss of cells from culture media, create cultures in specific ... <\/p>\n
Models of human disease are beneficial for medical research, but have limitations in predicting the way a drug will behave within the human body using data from non-human models because of inherent differences between species. ... <\/p>\n
Growing significant numbers of human stem cells in a short time could lead to new treatments for stroke and other diseases. Scientists are sending stem cells to the International Space Station to test whether these cells ... <\/p>\n
Crew members aboard the International Space Station will begin conducting research this week to improve the way we grow crystals on Earth. The information gained from the experiments could speed up the process for drug development, ... <\/p>\n
SpaceX is scheduled to launch its Dragon spacecraft for its eleventh commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station June 1 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center's historic pad 39A. Dragon will lift into orbit atop ... <\/p>\n
New evidence from ancient lunar rocks suggests that an active dynamo once churned within the molten metallic core of the moon, generating a magnetic field that lasted at least 1 billion years longer than previously thought. ... <\/p>\n
A new study by an international team of astronomers reveals that four Earth-sized planets orbit the nearest sun-like star, tau Ceti, which is about 12 light years away and visible to the naked eye. These planets have masses ... <\/p>\n
As the hullabaloo surrounding the Aug. 21 total eclipse of the sun swells by the day, a University of Colorado Boulder faculty member says a petroglyph in New Mexico's Chaco Canyon may represent a total eclipse that occurred ... <\/p>\n
After conducting a cosmic inventory of sorts to calculate and categorize stellar-remnant black holes, astronomers from the University of California, Irvine have concluded that there are probably tens of millions of the enigmatic, ... <\/p>\n
Studies of molecular clouds have revealed that star formation usually occurs in a two-step process. First, supersonic flows compress the clouds into dense filaments light-years long, after which gravity collapses the densest ... <\/p>\n
A group of astronomers led by Javier Lorenzo of the University of Alicante, Spain, has discovered that the binary star system HD 64315 is more complex than previously thought. The new study reveals that HD 64315 contains ... <\/p>\n
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Continue reading here: August 9, 2017 by Kristine Rainey NASA Astronaut Jack Fischer works within the Japanese Experiment Module on CASIS PCG 6. Continue reading
\nResearch to advance disease therapies, understand cosmic rays among cargo headed to space station - Phys.Org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"