Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Space
  3. News

The science experiments that the Crew-6 astronauts will be performing on the ISS

Georgina Torbet
By

On Monday, NASA and SpaceX will launch four new crew members to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Crew-6 mission.

During their six-month stay on the ISS, NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, plus UAE astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, will work on tasks like upgrading the ISS systems and performing maintenance. But they will also perform scientific research in the microgravity environment of the station, working on a wide variety of experiments.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover tests collection methods for ISS External Microorganisms
In the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at Johnson Space Center, NASA astronaut Victor Glover tests collection methods for ISS External Microorganisms, which examines microbes released from the space station to help limit contamination on future exploration missions. NASA

One of the most dramatic-sounding experiments the crew will work on is the ISS External Microorganisms project, which aims to collect samples of bacteria and fungi from surfaces on the outside of the station. The big worry isn’t that some space bacteria will mutate and harm humans, but rather that astronauts could inadvertently contaminate other environments like Mars if we ever travel there.

The experiment checks for the presence of microbes around areas like the station’s life support system vents to see if microbes can survive on these surfaces and how far they can spread, with the samples being returned to Earth for DNA sequencing. This should help us understand the potential dangers of human contamination of environments, especially when looking for signs of life beyond Earth.

Another experiment will look further into the uses of tissue chips, which contain human cells and mimic human organs such as the heart. These can be used to test out new treatments like drugs and to see how organs respond to the space environment without having to perform experiments on real people. Two heart-related experiments will test out drugs for protecting the heart during spaceflight, which could also be useful for developing new treatments for cardiac disease on Earth. A further health-related experiment called Immunity Assay will test out the effects of spaceflight on cellular immune functions, using a new type of test tube developed for microgravity.

And for another dramatic test, the crew will continue working with the station’s Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SoFIE) hardware which is used to test how things burn in space, depending on factors like airflow and pressure. This is useful for developing safer space technologies and could also help develop firefighting equipment on Earth as well.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Elon Musk says SpaceX eying March for first orbital test of Starship rocket
Trevor Mogg
By Trevor Mogg
February 7, 2023
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft being placed atop the Super Heavy rocket.

SpaceX chief Elon Musk says the company's next-generation Super Heavy rocket and Starship spacecraft is on course for a March launch.

"If remaining tests go well, we will attempt a Starship launch next month," Musk said in a tweet a few days ago, following up a short while later with: "Success is far from certain, but excitement is guaranteed.”

Read more
Ingenuity helicopter helps researchers learn about dust on Mars
Georgina Torbet
By Georgina Torbet
February 5, 2023
The Ingenuity helicopter is pictured on the surface of Mars.

One of the big challenges of Mars exploration is something very small: dust. Fine dust covers much of the martian surface, and high winds and low gravity mean the dust is easily whipped up off the surface, covering solar panels and gumming up components. The Ingenuity helicopter has had its own problems with dust on its solar panels, limiting the amount of power it could draw from the sun.

Now, researchers have used data from Ingenuity to understand more about how dust moves in the martian air, learning about the dynamics of dust, which could help future missions deal with this ongoing problem.

Read more
There’s a problem with the Juno spacecraft’s camera
Georgina Torbet
By Georgina Torbet
February 4, 2023
This illustration depicts NASA’s Juno spacecraft soaring over Jupiter’s south pole.

If you've enjoyed looking at beautiful images of Jupiter in recent years, then the odds are good that you've seen images taken by the JunoCam instrument on board the Juno spacecraft, currently in orbit around Jupiter. Unfortunately, this beloved science instrument has recently developed some problems, causing the loss of images collected during a recent flyby of the planet.

This illustration depicts NASA’s Juno spacecraft soaring over Jupiter’s south pole. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Read more