Space Research Revealing New Insights into Heart, Muscles and Stem Cells

NASA astronauts (from left) Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover are pictured before opening the hatch to the newly docked SpaceX Cargo Dragon vehicle.
NASA astronauts (from left) Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover are pictured before opening the hatch to the newly docked SpaceX Cargo Dragon vehicle.

The Expedition 64 crew kicked off an array of new space biology experiments delivered this week aboard the SpaceX Cargo Dragon. The International Space Station residents will be gaining unique insights about the human heart, muscles and stem cells that only microgravity can provide.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins started looking at cardiovascular cells inside the Life Science Glovebox today for the Cardinal Heart study. She serviced samples to help scientists understand the aging and weakening of heart muscles to provide new treatments for humans on Earth and astronauts in space.

Mice are being set up inside specialized habitats today so researchers can continue studying how weightlessness affects the musculoskeletal system. NASA Flight Engineers Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins removed several dozen rodents from the Cargo Dragon vehicle and placed them inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module. Observations may enable advanced drug delivery systems to treat muscle diseases on Earth and prevent muscle atrophy in space.

JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi continued his stem cell research today to enable organ growth and understand genetic changes in space. The three-time space visitor viewed cell samples today with a microscope in the Kibo laboratory module to benefit organ transplant and regenerative technology.

Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov spent Wednesday working on Russian life support systems and science experiments. The duo worked on water transfers and air vent cleaning before setting up hardware to observe Earth’s atmosphere at different wavelengths.



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