Space Station Science: Biological Research

Each month, we highlight a different research topic on the International Space Station. In August, our focus is biological research. Learning how spaceflight affects living organisms will help us understand potential health risks related to humans on long duration missions, including our journey to Mars.

Cells, microbes, animals and plants are affected by microgravity, and studying the processes involved in adaptation to spaceflight increases our fundamental understanding of biological processes on Earth. Results on Earth from biological research in space include the development of new medications, improved agriculture, advancements in tissue engineering and regeneration, and more.

Take a look at a few of the biological research experiments performed on space station:

Biomolecule Sequencer

Living organisms contain DNA, and sequencing DNA is a powerful way to understand how they respond to changing environments. The Biomolecule Sequencer experiment hopes to demonstrate (for the first time) that DNA sequencing is feasible in an orbiting spacecraft. Why? A space-based DNA sequencer could identify microbes, diagnose diseases and understand crew member health, and potentially help detect DNA- based life elsewhere in the solar system.

Ant-stronauts

Yes, ant-stronauts…as in ants in space. These types of studies provide insights into how ants answer collective search problems. Watching how the colony adapts as a unit in the quest for resources in extreme environments, like space, provides data that can be used to build algorithms with varied applications. Understanding how ants search in different conditions could have applications for robotics.

TAGES

The TAGES experiment (Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System) looks to see how microgravity impacts the growth of plant roots. Fluorescent markers placed on the plant’s genes allow scientists to study root development of Arabidopsis (a cress plant) grown on the space station. Evidence shows that directional light in microgravity skews root growth to the right, rather than straight down from the light source. Root growth patters on station mimic that of plants grown at at 45% degree angle on Earth. Space flight appears to slow the rate of the plant’s early growth as well.

Heart Cells

Spaceflight can cause a suite of negative health effects, which become more problematic as crew members stay in orbit for long periods of time. Effects of Microgravity on Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomycytes (Heart Cells) studies the human heart, specifically how heart muscle tissue contracts, grows and changes in microgravity. Understanding how heart muscle cells change in space improves efforts for studying disease, screening drugs and conducting cell replacement therapy for future space missions.

Medaka Fish

Chew on these results…Jaw bones of Japanese Medaka fish in microgravity show decreased mineral density and increased volume of osteoclasts, cells that break down bone tissue. Results from this study improve our understanding of the mechanisms behind bone density and organ tissue changes in space.

These experiments, and many others, emphasize the importance of biological research on the space station. Understanding the potential health effects for crew members in microgravity will help us develop preventatives and countermeasures.

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Fun Facts About Mars

Mars is a cold desert world, and is the fourth planet from the sun. It is half the diameter of Earth and has the same amount of dry land. Like Earth, Mars has seasons, polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons and weather, but its atmosphere is too thin for liquid water to exist for long on the surface. There are signs of ancient floods on the Red Planet, but evidence for water now exists mainly in icy soil and thin clouds.

Earth has one, Mars has two…moons of course! Phobos (fear) and Deimos (panic) are the Red Planet’s two small moons. They are named after the horses that pulled the chariot of the Greek war god Ares, the counterpart to the Roman war god Mars.

The diameter of Mars is 4220 miles (6792 km). That means that the Red Planet is twice as big as the moon, but the Earth is twice as big as Mars.

Since Mars has less gravity than Earth, you would weigh 62% less than you do here on our home planet. Weigh yourself here on the Planets App. What’s the heaviest thing you’ve ever lifted? On Mars, you could have lifted more than twice that! Every 10 pounds on Earth only equals 4 pounds on the Red Planet. Find out why HERE.

Mass is the measurement of the amount of matter something contains. Mars is about 1/10th of the mass of Earth.

Mars and Earth are at their closest point to each other about every two years, with a distance of about 33 million miles between them at that time. The farthest that the Earth and Mars can be apart is: 249 million miles. This is due to the fact that both Mars and Earth have elliptical orbits and Mars’ orbit is tilted in comparison with the Earth’s. They also orbit the sun at different rates.

The temperature on Mars can be as high as 70 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) or as low as about –225 degrees Fahrenheit (-153 degrees Celsius). How hot or cold the surface varies between day and night and among seasons. Mars is colder than Earth because it is farther from the sun.

You know that onions have layers, but did you know that Mars has layers too? Like Earth, Mars has a crust, a mantle and a core. The same stuff even makes up the planet layers: iron and silicate.

Ever wonder why it’s so hard launching things to space? It’s because the Earth has a log of gravity! Gravity makes things have weight, and the greater the gravity, the more it weights. On Mars, things weigh less because the gravity isn’t as strong.

Take a deep breath. What do you think you just breathed in? Mostly Nitrogen, about a fifth of that breath was Oxygen and the rest was a mix of other gases. To get the same amount of oxygen from one Earth breath, you’d have to take around 14,500 breaths on Mars! With the atmosphere being 100 times less dense, and being mostly carbon dioxide, there’s not a whole lot of oxygen to breathe in.

Mars has about 15% of Earth’s volume. To fill Earth’s volume, it would take over 6 Mars’ volumes.

For more fun Mars facts, visit HERE.

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8 years ago

Solar System: Life Among the Stars

Let us lead you on a journey of our solar system. Here are some things to know this week:

1. Amateur" Means “One Who Loves”

We release thousands of breathtaking solar system images every year and not all of them are the exclusive result of work by scientists. Amateur image processors around the world take raw data from deep space missions and turn it into striking visuals.

Amateur images from Cassini

Get current unprocessed images

2. Prepare to Weigh Anchor

OSIRIS-REx, our first spacecraft destined to rendezvous with, study and return a sample of an asteroid, will launch. The mission to asteroid Bennu will yield the largest sample returned from space since the Apollo era. Tune in four our media briefing about OSIRIS-REx for 2 p.m. EDT on Aug. 17.

Learn more and tune in.

3. Out for a Walk

Join us for live coverage on Aug. 19 as our astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins install a new gateway for American commercial crew spacecraft at the International Space Station.

Live coverage of the spacewalk.

4. The Weather Out There

Aug. 17 marks 50 years since the launch of Pioneer 7, a robotic spacecraft that lived up to its name by exploring the solar magnetic field, the solar wind and cosmic rays in deep space. Along with Pioneers 6, 8, and 9, the spacecraft formed a ring of solar weather stations spaced along Earth’s orbit. Measurements by the craft were used to predict solar storms for organizations ranging from commercial airlines to power companies.

Learn more.

5. Destination: The Red Planet

The European Space Agency’s ExoMars/Trace Gas Orbiter mission to Mars performed a critical engine burn to keep it on course. The maneuver was a success, and ExoMars remains on target for an October arrival.

Learn more.

Discover the full list of 10 things to know about our solar system this week HERE.

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9 years ago

UTRGV | Educators learn exciting ways to engage students in STEM at HESTEC

Read about the 2015 HESTEC conference and the educators workshops we conducted on-site for the High School STEM Educators in attendance. @NASAEPDC @NASAEDU

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9 years ago

SVS: Dust in the Wind

Ever been wowed by a NASA science visualization? Learn about their creation from NASA technical artist Kel Elkins. @NASAEPDC

How Well Do you Know Neptune?

Dark, cold and whipped by supersonic winds, Neptune is the last of the hydrogen and helium gas giants in our solar system. More than 30 times as far from the sun as Earth, the planet takes almost 165 Earth years to orbit our sun! In fact, in 2011, Neptune completed its first orbit since its discovery in 1846.

Here are a few things you might not know about the windiest planet:

If the sun were as tell as a typical front door, the Earth would be the size of a nickel and Neptune would be about as big as a baseball.

Neptune orbits our sun, a star. Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun at a distance of about 4.5 billion km (2.8 billion miles) or 30.07 AU.

One day on Neptune takes about 16 hours (the time it takes for Neptune to rotate or spin once)

Neptune makes a complete orbit around the sun (a year in Neptunian time) in about 165 Earth years (60,190 Earth days)

Neptune has six rings

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Neptune

Neptune has 13 moons. They are named after various sea gods and nymphs in Greek mythology

Did you know that Neptune has storms?

Similar to Jupiter, Neptune has storms that create gigantic spots in its atmosphere…well, it did. When Voyager 2 flew past Neptune in 1989, it tracked and imaged the “Great Dark Spot” — a storm larger than the entire Earth! When the Hubble Space Telescope imaged Neptune the spot had disappeared, only to be replaced with two smaller storms, which in turn also disappeared.

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8 years ago

Solar System: Things to Know This Week

From observing our moon to Saturn’s mini solar system …here are a few things you should know about our solar system this week:

1. What a Long, Strange—and Revealing—Trip It’s Been

As the Cassini mission builds toward its climactic “Grand Finale,” we’re taking a look back at the epic story of its journey among Saturn’s mini-solar system of rings and moons.

+ Traverse the timeline

2. Our Very Own Moon

Unlike Saturn, Earth has only one moon. Let’s celebrate it! International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) is a worldwide, public celebration of lunar science and exploration held annually. On Oct. 8, everyone on Earth is invited to observe and learn about the moon together, and to celebrate the cultural and personal connections we all have with it.

+ Join in

3. What’s Up, October?

Even more about Earth’s moon is the subject of this month’s video guide for sky watchers and includes a look at the moon’s phases and when to observe them. Also featured are a guide to upcoming meteor showers and tips on how to catch a glimpse of Saturn.

+ Take a look

4. Nine Lives

Dawn’s discoveries continue, even as the asteroid belt mission marks nine years in space. “For such an overachiever,” writes Dawn’s top scientist, “it’s fitting that now, on its ninth anniversary, the spacecraft is engaged in activities entirely unimagined on its eighth.”

+ Learn more

5. The Incredible Shrinking Mercury

It’s small, it’s hot, and it’s shrinking. Research funded by us suggests that Mercury is contracting even today. This means we now know that Mercury joins Earth as a tectonically active planet.

+ Get the small details