The next space station mission features nanomaterials to treat osteoarthritis, new Materials for lifelike robotics, a holographic microscope, and more. SpaceX’s 32nd resupply mission for NASA includes ISS National Lab-sponsored biomedical research, physical sciences projects, technology demonstrations, and NSF-funded science.
This mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than April 21, 2025, at 4:15am EDT, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Central Florida. Below are highlights of ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations on this mission.
Researchers from the University of Connecticut and Eascra Biotech are producing innovative nanomaterials in space to improve treatments for osteoarthritis and cancer in patients on Earth. The team’s groundbreaking research is featured in the most recent issue of Upward, official magazine of the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory. The latest in the team’s series of ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations is launching to the orbiting outpost on SpaceX’s 32nd resupply mission for NASA.
Janus base nanomaterials (JBNs), developed by University of Connecticut associate professor Yupeng Chen and his team, are composed of synthetic molecules that self-assemble into structures resembling human DNA. JBNs could provide life-changing treatment for the nearly 33 million Americans with osteoarthritis, a condition in which joint cartilage breaks down over time, causing painful inflammation. The injectable nanomaterials help regenerate lost cartilage, allowing patients to avoid painful and costly joint replacement surgery. JBNs could also be used in precision cancer treatment to carry drugs into hard-to-penetrate solid tumors that are difficult to treat.
To advance JBNs to commercial products, Chen and his colleague, Mari Anne Snow, formed the spinoff company Eascra Biotech. However, during JBN production on Earth, gravity-driven forces like convection cause the molecules to aggregate in some places as they bond together. This reduces the uniformity of the nanomaterials, resulting in defects that affect their quality.
In partnership with Axiom Space, the team leveraged the ISS National Lab to test the production of JBNs in space, where gravity-driven forces are greatly reduced. Results showed that in-space production significantly improves the structure of the JBNs and increases their uniformity, which leads to better patient outcomes.
In the Upward article, Chen says, “We have refined our production procedure and verified that our nanomaterials can be better produced in microgravity, and we achieve not only better uniformity but also better bioactivity.”
The team is now optimizing its in-space production procedures and is developing an automated system to scale up space-based JBN manufacturing on future platforms in low Earth orbit. In Upward, Snow says, “Our goal every single flight is to get closer to being production-ready and to optimize the formulation for commercialization.”
The project launching on the next mission to the space station includes 140 samples that will remain in orbit for approximately four weeks before returning to Earth for analysis.
- Three investigations funded by NSF seek to advance fundamental science with valuable applications. These projects continue a strong, multi-year collaboration between NSF and the ISS National Lab:
- An investigation from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, supported by Tec-Masters, will use microgravity to study fluid flow in protein solutions. The goal is to better understand why protein clumping occurs during the manufacturing of protein-based drugs, which affects their quality. In space, liquid forms into a floating self-contained sphere, allowing the study of complex protein motion without the walls of a container altering protein behavior. This project, which is a continuation of prior research, could help find a way to avoid or reverse protein clumping, which would address a significant challenge in the pharmaceutical industry.
- A project from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, supported by Leidos, will study the formation and microstructure of ceramic-nanomaterial composites in microgravity to produce novel materials that are lightweight, electrically conductive, and stable in high-temperature environments. The materials can be made into almost any shape or size, making them valuable for many industrial applications such as energy storage, electric systems, and nanodevices.
- Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara will conduct an investigation, supported by Redwire Space Technologies, to better understand active liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS)—a phenomenon that occurs when two liquids that do not mix (such as oil and water) separate. Active LLPS could be used to create soft active materials with lifelike properties that can move and change shape on their own or sense and repair themselves. These materials could be used to make more lifelike robotics.
- Portland State University, in collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc., will test an advanced microscope system that uses holographic technology to deliver detailed 3D views of cellular life. The Extant Life Volumetric Imaging System (ELVIS) will allow scientists to study the adaptability and resilience of life under extreme conditions, which could enhance the search for life beyond Earth.
- An experiment from Sophie’s BioNutrients, supported by BioServe Space Technologies, aims to develop plant-based, protein-rich alternatives to meat and seafood using microalgae. The investigation will examine how microgravity affects protein yields in microalgae that require nutrition from organic compounds to grow. Results could provide insights into the fundamental mechanisms of microalgae cell growth, metabolism, and protein production. In addition to serving as a food source on long-duration spaceflight missions, the microalgae could also be used in life support systems and to provide oils for fuel production.
For more information on ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations on this mission, visit the launch page.
A project to manufacture nanomaterials that could provide new treatments for osteoarthritis and cancer joins a trio of investigations funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and more on SpaceX’s 32nd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission for NASA to the International Space Station (ISS). These investigations, sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory, aim to benefit humanity and foster a robust economy in low Earth orbit (LEO).
The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth.
