NASA Launches New Health and Botanical Research Missions to the ISS via SpaceX

• NASA is deploying four new research investigations to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX’s 35th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-35) mission.
• The research focuses on human physiological health, crop resilience, and microbiology to support long-duration space missions and yield benefits for applications on Earth.

Key Research Investigations

• Human Brain Models: Researchers will send lab-grown 3D brain models to space for five weeks to analyze cellular-level stress responses, helping mitigate health risks for future lunar and deep-space missions.
• Space Agriculture: This study examines if crop-pathogenic fungi grow more aggressively in microgravity, aiming to develop disease-resistant crops for both space sustainability and improved agricultural yields on Earth.
• Rapid Health Monitoring: Astronauts are testing a compact microplate reader to analyze biomarkers—such as antibodies and antigens—directly on the station, enabling faster medical diagnosis without waiting for sample return.
• Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria: In its fourth phase, this experiment monitors how superbugs evolve on the space station, providing data to protect crews from infections and offering insights into antibiotic resistance trends on Earth.