Today SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched the Dragon spacecraft, carrying the fifth instalment of the Commercial Resupply Services cargo aboard the Dragon spacecraft.
The Dragon spacecraft is filled with more than 5000 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support 256 science and research investigations to occur in the coming year. The following five experiments are the most interesting of these.
The Dragon spacecraft is filled with more than 5000 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support 256 science and research investigations to occur in the coming year. The following five experiments are the most interesting of these.
CATS
The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System investigation uses a light detection and ranging system to measure the location, composition and distribution of pollution, dust, aerosols, smoke and other particulates in Earth’s atmosphere. By gaining further data regarding cloud and aerosol coverage, scientists will be able to create a better model of the Earth’s climate feedback processes.
flatworm regeneration
Flatworms have the ability to regenerate their own cells by replacing them as they age or become damaged. This investigation plans to study how the flatworm behaves in microgravity with regards to the regeneration of cells. Results will be able to aid knowledge on healing wounds in space, which would be important on a long duration human missions.
Micro-5
The investigation will consist of observations of how the roundworm organism interacts with the microbe Salmonella typimurium (that causes food poisoning in humans). Similarly to the flatworm experiment, Micro-5 aims to better understand the risks of in-flight infections in astronauts during long-term space flight.
Fruit Fly Lab
The common fruit fly is a great model for the human immune system. Spaceflight affects the immune system, which could make humans more susceptible to disease. The NASA Ames Research Center ISS Drosophila Experiment (Fruit Fly Lab-01) studies the combined effect of altered host immunity with changes to microbes in space.
NanoRacks-SABOL
NanoRacks-Self-Assembly in Biology and the Origin of Life (NanoRacks-SABOL) seeks to successfully grow amyloid fibres in microgravity for the first time, aiming to compare them with fibres grown on the ground.