Investigations

Studying biological and physical phenomena in extreme environments enables researchers to pursue innovations and discoveries in ways not possible on Earth.

NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division therefore utilizes many platforms of research which include the International Space Station and eventually the lunar orbit and Moon.

Learn about more science launching to the Space Station.

Just Announced:

AVATAR - A Virtual Astronaut Tissue Analog Response

Upcoming Launches

• NG-23
• Artemis II

Past Launches

• SpaceX-33: 8/24/2025
• SpaceX-32: 4/21/2025
• SpaceX-31: 11/4/2024
• NG-21: 8/4/2024
• SpaceX-30: 3/21/2024
• NG-20: 1/30/2024
• SpaceX CRS-29: 11/9/2023
• NG-19: 8/1/2023
• SpaceX CRS-28: 6/5/2023
• SpaceX CRS-27: 3/14/2023
• SpaceX CRS-26: 11/26/2022
• Artemis I: 11/16/2022
• NG-18: 11/7/2022
• SpaceX CRS-25: 7/14/2022
• NG-17: 2/19/2022
• SpaceX CRS-24: 12/21/2021
• SpaceX CRS-23: 8/29/2021
• NG-16: 8/10/2022
• SpaceX CRS-22: 6/3/2021
• NG-15: 2/20/2021
• SpaceX CRS-21: 12/6/2020

The following is a list of current BPS investigations

Artemis I | International Space Station | Light Microscopy Module | Low Earth Orbit | Ground Research

Artemis I

• Biological Experiment-01 (BioExpt-01) mission – Studying how life responds to conditions beyond low-Earth orbit.
  • Deep Space Radiation Genomics (DSRG) – Pioneering scientific discovery by correlating which genes provide yeast cells, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with a higher probability of survival and the types and doses of radiation experienced beyond Earth’s protective magnetosphere.
  • Fuel to Mars – Identifying genes and gene pathways in algae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, that convey the best survival advantage during exposure to the combined impacts of space radiation and microgravity to become the parent strains in future studies to optimize generation of hydrogen and other fuels in space.
  • Investigating the Roles of Melanin and DNA Repair on Adaptation and Survivability of Fungi in Deep Space – Determining the physiology and molecular pathways responsive to spaceflight using fungi, such as Aspergillus niger, a group of microorganisms commonly found in spacecrafts.
  • Life Beyond Earth: Effect of Space Flight on Seeds with Improved Nutritional Value– Understanding the impact of space flight beyond the Van Allen radiation belt on amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana seeds.

International Space Station

• ACES (Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space) - is in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) mission that aims to help answer fundamental physics questions. By comparing a highly precise atomic clock aboard the International Space Station with numerous ground atomic clocks around the world (including ones coordinated by NASA).
• Advanced Combustion Microgravity Experiment (ACME) mission - Was a set of five independent studies of gaseous flames conducted in the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR)
  • Burning Rate Emulator (BRE) – Studies fire prevention, especially in spacecraft, by simulating the flammability of solid and liquid materials by burning gaseous fuels under key conditions corresponding to the solid and liquid materials.
  • Coflow Laminar Diffusion Flame (CLD Flame) - Investigates combustion at the extremes of the fuel dilution spectrum – namely pure-fuel flames that produce soot, and highly diluted flames that are close to extinction.
  • Electric-Field Effects on Laminar Diffusion Flames (E-FIELD Flames) - Investigates how the ions can be used to control non-premixed flames in order to gain an improved understanding of flame production.
  • Flame Design - Improving our understanding of soot inception and control in order to enable the optimization of oxygen enriched combustion and the “design” of non-premixed flames that are both robust and soot free.
  • Structure and Response of Spherical Flames (s-Flame) - Advancing our ability to predict the structure and dynamics, including extinction, of both soot-free and sooty flames.
• Advanced Plant Experiment-07 (APEX-07) — Examining how changes in gravity and other environmental factors associated with spaceflight affect plants at the level of gene expression
• Advanced Plant EXperiment-08 (APEX-08) — Examining the role of polyamines in stress response mitigation to microgravity in Arabidopsis thaliana.
• Advanced Plant EXperiment-08 (APEX-09) — C4 Photosynthesis in Space (C4 Space) (Advanced Plant Experiment-09 or APEX-09) examines the carbon dioxide capture mechanisms of two types of grasses, Brachypodium distachyon and Setaria viridis.
• Advanced Plant EXperiment-10 (APEX-10) — This investigation tests whether the beneficial microbe Trichoderma harzianum confers increased stress resilience and improved growth to seedlings of tomato plants (Lycopersicum esculentum) when the two are grown together in microgravity.
• APEX-12 (Advanced Plant EXperiment-12) — This investigation will test the hypothesis that induction of telomerase, a protein complex, activity in space protects plant DNA molecules from damage elicited by cellular stress evoked by the combined spaceflight stressors experienced by seedlings grown aboard the space station.
• Advanced Plant Habitat — The largest, fully automated plant growth research facility that is used to conduct plant bioscience research on the International Space Station (ISS).
  • An Integrated Omics Guided Approach to Lignification and Gravitational Responses: The Final Frontier (Plant Habitat-01) - Comprehensively compared differences in genetics, metabolism, photosynthesis and gravity sensing between plants grown in space and on Earth.
  • Assessment of Nutritional Value and growth Parameters of Space-grown Plants (Plant Habitat-02) - Measured the metabolic and physiological responses of radishes grown in the Advanced Plant Habitat facility and identifies the effects of the space environment and culture conditions on metabolite accumulation, flavor, enzyme activity, mineral uptake and generation time.
  • Epigenetic Adaptation to the Spaceflight Environment – Accumulated Genomic Change Induced by Generations in Space (Plant Habitat-03) - Assesses whether epigenetic adaptations in one generation of plants grown in space can transfer to the next generation.
  • Effect of Spaceflight and Simulated Microgravity on Plant Defense Responses (Plant Habitat-06)- Investigates the physiological and genetic responses to defense activation and immune system function in tomatoes during spaceflight.
• Alteration of Bacillus Subtilis DNA Architecture in Space: global effects on DNA supercoiling, methylation, and the transcriptome (BRIC-26) - Understanding how the spaceflight environment can generate cellular outcomes that can in turn affect the greater health of the exploration ecosystem.
• ARTEMOSS (Antarctic Isolate 1 (ANT1) Radiation Tolerance Experiment with Moss in Orbit on the Space Station) - The moss samples have already been exposed to solar radiation at the NASA Space Radiation Lab and a similar investigation will take place on the International Space Station testing how the moss recovers in different gravity environments.
• Bacterial Adhesion and Corrosion (BAC) — explores the formation under microgravity conditions of multi-species biofilms, which may behave differently from single-species biofilms.
• Biological Research In Canisters-24 (BRIC-24) — Testing the role of membrane contacts in plant gravity perception
• Biological Research in Canisters-25 (BRIC-25)- Studies the effect of low Earth orbit on the physiology, cell-to-cell communication, and virulence of the bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus.
• BioScience-4 – Studying the multiplication of nervous system stem cells in microgravity. (Returned on SpaceX-21)
• BRazing of Aluminum alloys IN Space (SUBSA-BRAINS) – Examines differences in capillary flow, interface reactions, and bubble formation during solidification of brazing alloys in microgravity.
• Cell Science-04 (CS-04) — Using Water Bears to Identify Biological Countermeasures to Stress during Multigenerational Spaceflight
• Characterization of Biofilm Formation, Growth, and Gene Expression on Different Materials and Environmental Conditions in Microgravity (Space Biofilms) —Characterizes the mass, thickness, structure, and associated gene expression of biofilms (molds) that form in space by analyzing a fungal species grown on different materials.
• Dendrite Fragmentation and Morphology During Melting and Solidification (DFM) – Examining potential ability to produce metals with higher strength, both in space and on Earth.
• Device for the Study of Critical Liquids and Crystallization (DECLIC) — A multi-user facility designed to support experiments in the fields of fluid physics and materials science. It was developed by the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (French Space Agency, CNES) and flown in collaboration with NASA.
• DEvice for the study of Critical LIquids and Crystallization - Directional Solidification Insert-Reflight (DSI-R) — Observing clear alloys that freeze like metals in microgravity.
• Dynamics of Microbiomes in Space (DynaMoS) – Examines how microgravity affects metabolic interactions in communities of soil microbes.
• eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS) Tech Demo – Uses hydroponic and aeroponic techniques to grow plants without soil or other growth media.
• Fabrication of Amorphous Metals in Space (FAMIS) - Studying the microstructure of composites of bulk metallic glass (BMG) and tungsten spheres processed in microgravity.
• Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment (FBCE) – An integrated two-phase flow boiling and condensation facility for the International Space Station
• Foam Optics and Mechanics (FOAM) — Studies the relative stability of foams and bubbly liquids in order to gain insight into how they evolve with time.
• FSL Soft Matter Dynamics – Particle STAbilised Emulsions and Foams (PASTA) — Aims to study the dynamics of droplets and their size evolution in emulsions. It is sponsored by the European Space Agency (ESA) with a BPS Co-Investigator.
• GEARS (Genomic Enumeration of Antibiotic Resistance in Space) — This investigation will focus on two types of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Enterococcus faecalis (EF) and Enterococcus faecium, that have been found on the International Space Station and can be hazardous to crew health.
• Gravitation Effects on Distortion in Sintering (GEDS) — Exploring liquid-phase sintering as a means to perform in-space fabrication and repair. (Returned on SpaceX-21)
• Growth of Ternary Compound Semiconductors (MSL SCA-GTCS) — Comparing the structural quality of crystals grown on Earth and in microgravity.
• Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Microgravity Induced Bone Loss (MABL-A)- Assesses the effects of microgravity on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), specifically their capacity to secrete bone forming and bone dissolving cytokines (small secreted proteins that affect other cells).
• MeF1 (Megakaryocytes Orbiting in Outer Space and Near Earth) - This investigation will study how microgravity affects platelets and bone-marrow megakaryocytes during their development and operation.
• Micro-14A – Studying the effects of spaceflight on Candida albicans (C. albicans), a pathogenic yeast that can infect the human body. (Returned on SpaceX-21)
• Micro-16 – Determining loss of muscle mass and strength in space on humans by investigating the effects of space on tiny worms (Launched on NG-15)
• Microbial Tracking-3 (MT-3) — Cataloging and characterizing potential disease-causing microorganisms aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
• Microgravity Associated Bone Loss-B (MABL-B) - This investigation tests potential treatments to prevent bone loss in astronauts by examining how microgravity affects bone-forming and bone-degrading cells. Focusing on blocking IL-6 protein signaling pathways that may contribute to bone deterioration in space.
• Microgravity Investigation of Thermophysical Properties of Supercooled Molten Metal Oxides (ELF 5/Superglass) - Measures the density, thermal expansion coefficient, viscosity and surface tension of supercooled liquids over a wide range of temperatures and compositions.
• MISSE-SEED – Investigating the effects of long-duration space radiation exposure on seed quality and storage (Launched on NG-15)
• Multi-use Variable-g Platform Cell-02 (MVP Cell-02)– This investigation’s goal is to understand the effects of the space environment on evolutionary processes in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis.
• PH-07 (Plant Habitat-07) — This investigation will research ‘Outredgeous’ romaine lettuce grown in microgravity and study its response to various amounts of water.
• Pick-and-eat Salad-crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the ISS Food System (Veg-05) - Expands crop variety to dwarf tomatoes and focuses on the impact of light quality and fertilizer on fruit production, microbial food safety, nutritional value, taste acceptability by the crew and the overall behavioral health benefits of having plants and fresh food in space. (Sponsored by NASA’s Human Research Program in partnership with BPS providing hardware and science support)
• Plant RNA Regulation Redux in Multi Variable Platform (MVP) - (MVP-Plant-01) — Profiles and monitors shoot and root development in plants in microgravity.
• Plant Water Management-5 and 6 (PWM-5 and 6) — Profiles and monitors shoot and root development in plants in microgravity.
• Quantifying Selection for Pathogenicity and Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria and Fungi on the ISS – a Microbial Tracking Study - (MT-3C) — Continues the third point in a time series focused on ongoing monitoring of pathogenicity (ability to cause disease).
• Real-Time Protein Crystal Growth-2 (RTPCG-2) – Investigating protein crystal growth in microgravity to identify possible targets for drugs to treat disease (Launched on NG-15)
• Residence Time Driven Flame Spread (SoFIE-RTDFS) – Studies steady and unsteady flame propagation over solid fuels in a microgravity environment.
• Ring Sheared Drop (RSD) – Examining the formation and flow of amyloid in microgravity to better understand neurodegenerative diseases
• Rodent Research-10 (RR-10) – Investigating how microgravity affects the cellular and molecular mechanisms of normal bone tissue regeneration in space. (Returned on SpaceX-21)
• Rodent Research-20 (RR-20) – This investigation aims to improve understanding the impact of spaceflight on women’s reproductive health.
• SEAQUE (Space Entanglement and Annealing QUantum Experiment)— aims to successfully allow quantum-level communication in space with the use of entanglement.
• Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SoFIE) Facility — Studies ignition and flammability of solid spacecraft materials in practical geometries and realistic atmospheric conditions.
• Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction – Growth and Extinction Limit (SoFIE-GEL) — Studies burning in microgravity, measuring the amount of heating in a fuel sample to determine how fuel temperature affects material flammability.
• SoFIE-MIST (Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction – Material Ignition and Suppression Test) — will focus on determining ways to gain control of and suppress fires on the International Space Station.
• Understanding of Microgravity on Animal-Microbe Interactions (UMAMI) — Examining the effects of spaceflight on the molecular and chemical interactions between beneficial microbes and their animal hosts.

• Light Microscopy Module (LMM) — A modified commercial, highly flexible, state-of-the-art light imaging microscope facility that provided researchers with powerful diagnostic hardware and software onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment-Temperature control-1 (ACE-T-1) — Studies tiny, suspended particles which have been designed to connect themselves in a specific way to form organized structures within water.
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment – Temperature-2 (ACE-T-2) — Looks at the assembly of complex structures from micron-scale colloidal particles interacting via tunable attractive interactions.
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment – Temperature-4 (ACE-T-4) — Examines the transition of an ordered crystal to a disordered glass to determine how increasing disorder affects structural and dynamic properties.
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment – Temperature-5 (ACE-T-5) — Examines the physical and chemical characteristics of a new class of soft materials, bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels, or bijels.
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment – Temperature-7 (ACE-T-7) — Involves the design and assembly of complex three-dimensional structures from small particles suspended within a fluid medium.
  • Advanced Imaging, Folding, and Assembly of Colloidal Molecules (ACE-T-9) – Investigating the imaging, folding, and assembly of complex colloidal molecules within a fluid medium.
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment-Temperature-10 (ACE-T-10) — Investigates the growth kinetics, microscopic dynamics, and restructuring processes in ordered and disordered structures such as colloidal crystals, glasses and gels.
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment-Temperature Control and Gradient Sample-11 (ACE-T-11) — Involves the design and assembly of complex three-dimensional (3D) structures from colloids, or small particles suspended within a fluid medium, and control of particle density and phase behavior.
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment-Nanoparticle Haloing (ACE-T-12) — Involves design and assembly of complex three-dimensional (3D) structures from colloids, or particles of different sizes suspended in a fluid.
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment-Heated-1 (ACE-H-1) — Examines densely packed microscopic spheres, or colloidal mixtures, to study their transition from ordered crystals into disordered glass.
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment-Heated-2 (ACE-H-2) — Studies a technique called nanoparticle haloing, which stabilizes colloidal mixtures and may be important for designing advanced materials for use in medicine, imaging and other fields.
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment-Microscopy-1 (ACE-M-1) — Studies the behavior of microscopic particles in gels and creams.
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment-Microscopy-2 (ACE-M-2) — Observes the microscopic behavior of liquids and gases separating from each other.
  • Advanced Colloids Experiment-Microscopy-3 (ACE-M-3) — Involves the design and assembly of complex three-dimensional structures from small particles suspended within a fluid medium.
  • Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment – Light Microscopy Module: Biological Samples (PACE-LMM-Bio) — Expands the utility of the Light Microscopy Microscope hardware and provides a resource for biological studies on the International Space Station (ISS).
  • Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment: 100X Oil Test Target (PACE) — A technology demonstration for the Advanced Colloids Experiment (ACE) planned for future International Space Station (ISS) Expeditions.
  • The Effect of Macromolecular Transport of Microgravity Protein Crystallization (LMM Biophysics 4) — Examines the movement of single protein molecules in microgravity in order to understand why proteins crystallized in microgravity are often higher in quality than those grown on Earth.
  • Solution Convection and the Nucleation Precursors in Protein Crystallization (LMM Biophysics-5) — Tests whether solution convection – movement of molecules through the fluid – enhances or suppresses formation of the dense liquid clusters from which crystals form.
  • Growth Rate Dispersion as a Predictive Indicator for Biological Crystal Samples Where Quality Can be Improved with Microgravity Growth (LMM Biophysics 6) — Studies ground-based predictions of which crystals benefit from crystallization in microgravity, where Earth’s gravity does not interfere with their formation.
  • Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment - 2: 3D Particle Test (PACE-2) — Characterizes the resolution of the high magnification colloid experiments with the Light Microscopy Module (LMM) to determine the minimum size of the particles that can be resolved by the advanced Colloids Experiment (ACE).
  • Constrained Vapor Bubble (CVB) — Aims to achieve a better understanding of the physic of evaporation and condensation and how they affect cooling processes in microgravity using a remotely controlled microscope and a small cooling device.
  • Constrained Vapor Bubble-2 (CVB-2) — Uses a miniature heat pipe and a mixture of two fuels to investigate the physics and engineering of heat transfer systems.
  • LMM Biophysics-2 (LMMBIO-2) — Characterizes the behavior of dense liquid clusters at different rates of convection, utilizing differential dynamic microscopy.
  • Spaceflight-Induced Hypoxic-ROS Signaling (APEX-05) — Growing different wild and mutant varieties of Arabidopsis thaliana in order to understand how their genetic and molecular stress response systems work in space.
  • Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System - Intracellular Signaling Architecture (APEX-03-2 TAGES-Isa) — Studies thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedlings grown in microgravity, examining the molecular changes that affect their growth.

Zero Boil-Off Tank Noncondensables (ZBOT-NC) - investigates how noncondensable gases interfere with fuel storage systems in microgravity. 

Low Earth Orbit

• Effect of Long Duration Space Exposure on Seeds – Investigating the effects of long duration exposure to microgravity and space radiation on seed viability. This is a collaboration between the United States Space Force and BPS.

Ground Research

• Alternative Splicing and Transcriptome Modulation Under Space Flight Response in Plants- The purpose of this work is to extend the current functionality of the NASA GeneLab data by adding alternative splicing, novel transcribed regions and genes, and any functional significance, thus providing researchers insights into the modulated transcriptome's structural and functional consequences in response to space flight. The project workflows will help improve the reference genome annotation of Arabidopsis and set up a platform for analyzing current and future data from non-plant eukaryotes like humans, mice, yeast, and other models.
• Assessing Long-Term Effects of Radiation Exposure in Engineered Heart & Vascular Tissues – Understanding how and why radiation exposure causes disease by using heart and blood vessel-like tissues created with stem cell biology and tissue engineering technology.
• Bioengineer Long-lasting 3D Neurovascular Microphysiological System to Model Chronic Inflammation Mediated Neurodegeneration – Developing a long-lasting neurovascular model that can be used to evaluate the impact of chronic stressors to the brain.
• Circadian Rhythm Disruption and Gravitational Disturbance in a Lunar Mission Analog: Consequences for Muscle Function During and After the Mission- Since Artemis astronauts will experience alterations in muscle condition and circadian rhythm simultaneously, it is critical to develop ground-based studies that will closely mimic this situation. While these stressors will occur temporarily, their effects may linger, and negatively influence muscle recovery after return from the mission. This study examines the combined effects of light cycle disturbances altered gravity in a mammalian model to gain insights into long-lasting effects that will significantly impair muscle recovery during the reloading period.
• Determining the Impact of Space Radiation and Simulated Microgravity on Plant Root Microbial Community Composition and Function- This project examines the degree to which simulated space radiation (high-energy charged particle beams produced at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory) and simulated microgravity disrupts plant root microbial community composition resulting in impaired microbial function.
• Develop a Novel Single-Cell Biodosimetry for Brain Genomic Instability and Neurodegeneration to Predict Clinical Health Outcomes in Human Spaceflight Crews- The goal of this study is to determine how the space-associated stressors and sex affect mammalian brain genomic stability and its impact on age-related brain structure and function, by recreating  the intravehicular radiation environment expected on spaceflight vehicles/habitats, and by using a novel genetic sensor in mice that allows for the detection of DNA damage in individual neurons.
• EFRI ELiS: Bioweathering Dynamics and Ecophysiology of Microbially Catalyzed Soil Genesis of Martian Regolith – Studies how weathering of Martian soil simulants by microorganisms can engineer soil heath and how plants grow in response to soil improvement by microorganisms.
• Extended Culture of Kidney MPS and Organoids to Model Acute and Chronic Exposure to Drugs and Environmental Toxins – Using kidney chips and organoids to better understand injury and recovery from chronic exposure to drugs, toxins and pathogens.
• Hypobaric Plant Biology in Space Exploration - Molecular Responses of Arabidopsis to Combined Effects of Low Atmospheric Pressures and Microgravity of Spaceflight Vehicles- The objective of this project is to develop a refined understanding of the metabolic processes involved in plant responses and physiological adaptations to low pressure environments within space exploration vehicles and habitats. The essential drivers of this project are that hypobaric environments will likely be a feature of future exploration vehicles and habitats, together with the knowledge that plants mount complex and costly metabolic responses to hypobaria. This investigations works towards determining whether the combination of hypobaria and microgravity will have a synergistic effect on the physiological adaptation to this complex environment, and that the patterns of gene expression will reveal strategies to both understand and help ameliorate the combined effect.
• Identification of Biomarkers and Pathological Mechanisms via Longitudinal Analysis of Neurological and Cerebrovascular Responses to Neurotoxic Stress Using a Multi-cellular Integrated Model of the Human Brain – Determining how genetically divers human brain tissue responds to neurotoxic stresses that may be encountered in space.
• Integrated Physiological Responses of CNS and Muscle in Drosophila and C. elegans Along a Gravity Continuum- Spaceflight induces alterations in somatic/cardiac muscle, as well as in the brain. Many of these changes mirror those induced by long-term bed-rest on Earth and with age. This study used the fruit fly Drosophila and the worm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) model systems to identify conserved mechanisms underlying the oxidative stress response to altered gravity. This study includes the use of functional, structural, and molecular biological techniques to identify common genetic and molecular components that mediate the effect of microgravity, lunar gravity, and Mars gravity on organ function.
• Long-lived Single- and Multi-organ Tissue Equivalent (OTE) Platforms to Model the Response of Human Tissues to Various Stressors – Using human organ tissue equivalents (OTEs) to gain insight into how different human tissues respond to spaceflight stressors.
• Long-term Patient iPC Vessel Chip Model to Assess Stressors of Atherosclerosis and mRNA Therapeutics – Studying vascular signaling mechanisms to identify therapeutics for aging and radiation-related vascular diseases.
• Modeling Anthracycline-triggered Vascular Dysfunction – Using an organ-on-chip platform to investigate how doxorubicin triggers vascular cell dysfunction which will support development of new therapeutic interventions to curtail off-target effects.
• Multi-Organ Repair Post Hypoxia (MORPH) – Studying the effects of acute hypoxia on organ systems that are most critically affected: brain, heart, bone marrow and vasculature.
• Plant Trek: Investigating Strategies for Regolith Pre-Conditioning to Support the Establishment of Plant-Microbe Systems in Martian Habitats- The goal of this pilot study is to develop and assess an integrated system approach for pre-conditioning and structuring Martian regolith into agriculturally stable and usable soil to support plant growth, sustain microbe-plant interactions, minimize plant stress, and optimize food production and life support. As a part of this study, a microbial consortium derived from a natural perchlorate-reducing system as a pre-inoculant will be tested for its ability to mitigate perchlorate toxins in Martian regolith simulant.
• Spatiotemporal Mapping of the Impact of Spaceflight on the Heart and Brain- For this project the new technologies of spatial transcriptomics, single-nucleus RNA-sequencing, multi-omic spatial mapping (human and microbial) will be applied to discover new insights relevant to the impact of spaceflight on human health. These data and methods will shed light on the complex biosystem dynamics that spaceflight causes in humans, and will enable investigators to clearly dissect the gene expression changes occurring at the single-cell level, analyze how these changes affect the cell-cell genetic and physical interactions, and begin the first-ever in vivo human-microbial interaction maps from spaceflight.
• The Use of Microgravity Simulators for a Mechanistic Understanding of Cytoskeletal-Mediated Regulation of Root Growth- Project examines the role actin cytoskeleton plays in dictating root growth directionality in microgravity and simulated microgravity by regulating the process of autotropic organ straightening.
• Understanding the Brain-Liver-Gut Axis during Spaceflight and Aging – Providing long-term, multicellular complex human tissue models for studying responses to acute and chronic spaceflight stressors that mimic deep space exploration.
• Upstream Regulation of Nox2 and Skeletal Muscle Atrophy During Microgravity and Countermeasure Development- Mechanotransduction is the ability to sense and regulate adaptive responses to increased or decreased loading. The investigators working on this project have found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) directly contribute to both muscle fiber atrophy and fiber-type shift from slow to fast, and through their research, have identified mitochondria, the Nox2 isoform of NADPH oxidase, and upstream angiotensin II receptor 1 (AT1R) as sources of ROS during mechanical unloading.  The current focus of this work is to gain a better mechanistic understanding how Nox2 is regulated in mammalian systems in the presence of microgravity analogs.