Jump to content

30 Years Ago: STS-60, the First Shuttle-Mir Mission


Recommended Posts

  • Publishers
Posted

On Feb. 3, 1994, space shuttle Discovery took off on its 18th flight, STS-60. Its six-person crew of Commander Charles F. Bolden, Pilot Kenneth S. Reightler, and Mission Specialists N. Jan Davis, Ronald M. Sega, Franklin R. Chang-Díaz, who served as payload commander, and Sergei K. Krikalev of the Russian Space Agency, now Roscosmos, flew the first mission of the Shuttle-Mir Program. Other objectives of the mission included the first flight of the Wake Shield Facility, a free-flying satellite using the ultra-vacuum of space to generate semi-conductor films for advanced electronics and the second flight of a Spacehab commercially developed pressurized module to enable multidisciplinary research and technology demonstrations. The eight-day mission marked an important step forward in international cooperation and the commercial development of space.

The STS-60 crew patch The STS-60 crew of (clockwise from bottom left) Pilot Kenneth S. Reightler, Mission Specialists Franklin R. Chang-Díaz, Ronald M. Sega, Sergei K. Krikalev representing the Russian Space Agency, now Roscosmos, and N. Jan Davis, and Commander Charles F. Bolden The patch for the Phase 1 Shuttle-Mir program
Left: The STS-60 crew patch. Middle: The STS-60 crew of (clockwise from bottom left) Pilot Kenneth S. Reightler, Mission Specialists Franklin R. Chang-Díaz, Ronald M. Sega, Sergei K. Krikalev representing the Russian Space Agency, now Roscosmos, and N. Jan Davis, and Commander Charles F. Bolden. Right: The patch for the Phase 1 Shuttle-Mir program.

In Oct. 1992, NASA announced Bolden, Reightler, Davis, Sega, and Chang-Díaz as the STS-60 crew. For Bolden and Chang-Díaz, STS-60 represented their fourth trips into space; for Bolden the second as commander. Reightler and Davis each had completed one previous spaceflight, with Sega as the sole rookie on the crew. The announcement noted that one of two RSA cosmonauts already in training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston would join the crew at a later date. In early April 1993, NASA designated Krikalev, a veteran of two long-duration missions aboard the Mir space station, as the prime international crew member, with Vladimir G. Titov named as his backup. The now six-person crew trained extensively for the next nine months for the history-making flight.

Space shuttle Discovery departs the Vehicle Assembly Building on its way to Launch Pad 39A The STS-60 crew departs crew quarters for Launch Pad 39A Liftoff of space shuttle Discovery to begin the STS-60 mission
Left: Space shuttle Discovery departs the Vehicle Assembly Building on its way to Launch Pad 39A. Middle: The STS-60 crew departs crew quarters for Launch Pad 39A. Right: Liftoff of space shuttle Discovery to begin the STS-60 mission.

Discovery landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after its previous mission, STS-51, on Sept. 22, 1993, where workers towed it to the Orbiter Processing Facility to refurbish it for STS-60. They towed it to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Jan. 4, 1994, for mating with its external tank and twin solid rocket boosters, and rolled the completed stack to Launch Pad 39A six days later. The astronauts participated in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, a rehearsal for the actual countdown, on Jan. 14. Senior managers held the Flight Readiness Review on Jan. 22 to confirm the Feb. 3 launch date. Engineers began the countdown for launch on Jan. 31. Liftoff occurred on schedule at 7:10 a.m. EST on Feb. 3, and Discovery and its six-person crew flew up the U.S. East Coast to achieve a 57-degree inclination orbit.

Discovery’s payload bay, showing the Spacehab module including the externally mounted Sample Return Experiment, and the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System Astronauts N. Jan Davis, left, and Franklin R. Chang-Díaz open the hatch to the Spacehab module Ronald M. Sega monitors Sergei K. Krikalev as he performs a neurosensory investigation
Left: Discovery’s payload bay, showing the Spacehab module including the externally mounted Sample Return Experiment, and the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System. Middle: Astronauts N. Jan Davis, left, and Franklin R. Chang-Díaz open the hatch to the Spacehab module. Right: Ronald M. Sega monitors Sergei K. Krikalev as he performs a neurosensory investigation.

Once in orbit, the astronauts opened Discovery’s payload bay doors to begin their activities. Chang-Díaz and Davis opened the hatches to the Spacehab, accessed from the middeck through the airlock and a connecting tunnel, and activated the module’s systems. They began activating some of the 12 experiments in the Spacehab, primarily focused on biotechnology and materials processing. In the middeck, Reightler, Davis, Sega, and Krikalev performed the first session of the joint neurovestibular experiment, which they repeated five more times during the mission. The astronauts also began activating some of the experiments in the shuttle’s middeck.

Charles F. Bolden prepares to take a blood sample from Franklin R. Chang-Díaz for the metabolic experiment Kenneth S. Reightler processes blood samples in the centrifuge Reightler places the processed blood samples in the GN2 freezer
Left: Charles F. Bolden prepares to take a blood sample from Franklin R. Chang-Díaz for the metabolic experiment. Middle: Kenneth S. Reightler processes blood samples in the centrifuge. Right: Reightler places the processed blood samples in the GN2 freezer.

The astronauts began the joint metabolic experiment to investigate biochemical responses to weightlessness on flight day 2. With Bolden and Chang-Díaz serving as phlebotomists, they and Reightler participated as subjects for this study that involved drawing blood samples, spinning them in a centrifuge, and placing them in gaseous nitrogen freezers for return to Earth for analysis.

The Wake Shield Facility (WSF) deployed at the end of the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System, with the aurora in the background The WSF at the end of the RMS The robotic arm about to stow the Wake Shield Facility
Left: The Wake Shield Facility (WSF) deployed at the end of the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System, with the aurora in the background. Middle: The WSF at the end of the RMS. Right: The robotic arm about to stow the Wake Shield Facility.

Operations with the wake shield began in flight day three. Davis grappled the WSF (Wake Shield Facility) with the shuttle’s Canadian-built remote manipulator system, or robotic arm, lifting it out of the payload bay, placing it in the “ram clearing” attitude to have atomic oxygen present in low Earth orbit cleanse it of contaminants that could hamper the purity of any produced samples. Plans called for Davis to then release the facility for its two days of free flight. During this process, the astronauts and Mission Control could not properly assess the satellite’s configuration, and troubleshooting efforts led to loss of communications with it. Mission Control instructed the astronauts to berth the facility overnight as ground teams assessed the problem. Engineers traced the problem to a radio frequency interference issue missed due to inadequate preflight testing. The next morning, Davis once again picked up the facility with the robotic arm. The communications issue recurred, but a reboot of the facility’s computer appeared to fix that problem. However, problems cropped up with the satellite’s navigation system, precluding its deployment. All operations and manufacturing occurred with the WSF remaining attached to the robotic arm. Despite this, the facility demonstrated its capabilities by producing five semiconductor films of good quality before Davis berthed it back in the payload bay on flight day seven.

N. Jan Davis takes a peripheral venous pressure measurement on Charles F. Bolden Davis operates a fluid processing apparatus, one of the experiments in the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus Bolden operates the Organic Separation experiment
Left: N. Jan Davis takes a peripheral venous pressure measurement on Charles F. Bolden. Middle: Davis operates a fluid processing apparatus, one of the experiments in the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus. Right: Bolden operates the Organic Separation experiment.

Meanwhile, the astronauts continued with experiments in the middeck and the Spacehab. Another joint investigation called for the measurement of peripheral venous blood pressure. The Spacehab module contained 12 experiments in the fields of biotechnology, materials processing, and microacceleration environment measurement. A thirteenth experiment mounted on the module’s exterior collected cosmic dust particles on aerogel capture cells.

Ronald M. Sega operates the liquid phase sintering experiment Franklin R. Chang-Díaz operates the Space Experiment Furnace The Stirling Orbiter Refrigerator/Freezer technology demonstration The STS-60 crew enjoys ice cream stored in the freezer
Left: Ronald M. Sega operates the liquid phase sintering experiment. Middle left: Franklin R. Chang-Díaz operates the Space Experiment Furnace. Middle right: The Stirling Orbiter Refrigerator/Freezer technology demonstration. Right: The STS-60 crew enjoys ice cream stored in the freezer.

A technology demonstration on STS-60 involved the test flight of a Stirling Orbiter Refrigerator/Freezer. Planned for use on future missions to store biological samples, on STS-60 the astronauts tested the unit’s ability to chill water containers and provided the crew with a rare treat in space: real ice cream.

In the Mission Control Center, President William J. “Bill” Clinton chats with the STS-60 crew during his visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center The Mir crew and the STS-60 crew talk with each other through the communications link established during the ABC program Good Morning America
Left: In the Mission Control Center, President William J. “Bill” Clinton chats with the STS-60 crew during his visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Right: The Mir crew and the STS-60 crew talk with each other through the communications link established during the ABC program Good Morning America.

On the astronauts’ fifth day in orbit, President William J. “Bill” Clinton visited Johnson and stopped in the Mission Control Center to talk with them. NASA Administrator Daniel S. Golden and Johnson Director Carolyn L. Huntoon accompanied the President on his tour. President Clinton praised the crew, saying, “I think this is the first step in what will become the norm in global cooperation. And when we get this space station finished…it’s going to be a force for peace and progress that will be truly historic, and you will have played a major role in that.” The following day, the ABC program Good Morning America set up a communications link between Bolden, Davis, and Krikalev aboard Discovery and the three cosmonauts aboard the Mir space station. The two crews chatted with each other and answered reporters’ questions.

STS-60 Earth observation photographs of North American city Los Angeles STS-60 Earth observation photographs of North American city Chicago STS-60 Earth observation photographs of North American city Montréal STS-60 Earth observation photographs of North American city New York City
A selection of STS-60 Earth observation photographs of North American cities. Left: Los Angeles. Middle left: Chicago. Middle right: Montréal. Right: New York City.

Every space mission includes astronaut Earth photography, and the 57-degree inclination of STS-60 enabled this crew to image areas on the planet not usually visible to astronauts. Many of the images included spectacular views of snow-covered landscapes in the northern hemisphere winter.

Deployment of one of the six spheres of the Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres experiment The six spheres fly away from the shuttle Deployment of the University of Bremen satellite
Left: Deployment of one of the six spheres of the Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres experiment. Middle: The six spheres fly away from the shuttle. Right: Deployment of the University of Bremen satellite.

Once the astronauts had stowed the WSF on flight day seven, they could proceed to the deployment of two payloads. The first called Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres consisted of deploying six metal spheres of three different sizes from Discovery’s payload bay. Ground-based radars and optical telescopes observed and tracked the metal spheres to calibrate their instruments. The University of Bremen in Germany provided the second deployable payload. It measured various parameters of its in-orbit environment as well as its internal pressure and temperature as it burned up when it reentered Earth’s atmosphere.

The STS-60 crew members pose near the end of their successful mission Franklin R. Chang-Díaz, left, and N. Jan Davis close the hatch to the Spacehab module at the end of the mission
Left: The STS-60 crew members pose near the end of their successful mission. Right: Franklin R. Chang-Díaz, left, and N. Jan Davis close the hatch to the Spacehab module at the end of the mission.

With most of the experiments completed by flight day eight, the astronauts busied themselves with tidying up the middeck and the Spacehab. Bolden and Reightler tested Discovery’s reaction control system thrusters and flight control surfaces in preparation for the deorbit, entry, and landing the following day.

Charles F. Bolden prepares to bring Discovery home Bolden makes a perfect touchdown at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to conclude STS-60
Left: Charles F. Bolden prepares to bring Discovery home. Right: Bolden makes a perfect touchdown at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to conclude STS-60.

On the morning of Feb. 11, the mission’s final day in space, Chang-Díaz and Davis deactivated the Spacehab and closed the hatches to the module. The astronauts donned their launch and entry suits, but NASA delayed their deorbit burn by one orbit due to inclement weather at John F. Kennedy Space Center. Ninety minutes later, they fired the two Orbital Maneuvering System engines to bring them out of orbit and Bolden guided Discovery to a smooth landing at Kennedy, ending the STS-60 mission after 8 days, 7 hours, and 9 minutes, having circled the Earth 130 times.

Enjoy the crew narrate a video about the STS-60 mission. Read Bolden’s and Sega‘s recollections of the STS-60 mission in their oral histories with Johnson’s History Office.

View the full article

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Similar Topics

    • By NASA
      The four crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station train inside a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in Hawthorne, California. From left to right: Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, and JAXA astronaut Kimiya YuiSpaceX Four crew members are preparing to launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities aboard the orbiting laboratory.
      During the mission, Crew-11 also will contribute to NASA’s Artemis campaign by simulating Moon landing scenarios that astronauts may encounter near the lunar South Pole, showing how the space station helps prepare crews for deep space human exploration. The simulations will be performed before, during, and after their mission using handheld controllers and multiple screens to identify how changes in gravity affect spatial awareness and astronauts’ ability to pilot spacecraft, like a lunar lander.
      NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will lift off no earlier than 12:09 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 31, from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a long-duration mission. The cadre will fly aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, which previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2, Crew-2, Crew-6, and Crew-8 missions, as well as private astronaut mission Axiom Mission 1.
      The flight is the 11th crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Overall, the Crew-11 mission is the 16th crewed Dragon flight to the space station, including Demo-2 in 2020 and 11 operational crew rotations for NASA, as well as four private astronaut missions.
      As support teams progress through Dragon preflight milestones for Crew-11, they also are preparing a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster for its third flight. Once all rocket and spacecraft system checkouts are complete and all components are certified for flight, teams will mate Dragon to Falcon 9 in SpaceX’s hangar at the launch site. The integrated spacecraft and rocket will then be rolled to the pad and raised vertically for the crew’s dry dress rehearsal and an integrated static fire test before launch.
      Meet Crew-11
      The official crew portrait of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 members. Front row, from left, are Pilot Mike Fincke and Commander Zena Cardman, both NASA astronauts. In the back from left, are Mission Specialists Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos and Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)NASA/Robert Markowitz Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017, Cardman will conduct her first spaceflight. The Williamsburg, Virginia, native holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in marine sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At the time of selection, she was pursuing a doctorate in geosciences. Cardman’s geobiology and geochemical cycling research focused on subsurface environments, from caves to deep sea sediments. Since completing initial training, Cardman has supported real-time station operations and lunar surface exploration planning. Follow @zenanaut on X and @zenanaut on Instagram.
      This mission will be Fincke’s fourth trip to the space station, having logged 382 days in space and nine spacewalks during Expedition 9 in 2004, Expedition 18 in 2008, and STS-134 in 2011, the final flight of space shuttle Endeavour. Throughout the past decade, Fincke has applied his expertise to NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, advancing the development and testing of Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft toward operational certification. The Emsworth, Pennsylvania, native is a graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School and holds bachelors’ degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, in both aeronautics and astronautics, as well as Earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences. He also has a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University in California. Fincke is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel with more than 2,000 flight hours in over 30 different aircraft. Follow @AstroIronMike on X and Instagram.
      With 142 days in space, this mission will be Yui’s second trip to the space station. After his selection as a JAXA astronaut in 2009, Yui flew as a flight engineer for Expedition 44/45 and became the first Japanese astronaut to capture JAXA’s H-II Transfer Vehicle using the station’s robotic arm. In addition to constructing a new experimental environment aboard Kibo, he conducted a total of 21 experiments for JAXA. In November 2016, Yui was assigned as chief of the JAXA Astronaut Group. He graduated from the School of Science and Engineering at the National Defense Academy of Japan in 1992. He later joined the Air Self-Defense Force at the Japan Defense Agency (currently the Ministry of Defense). In 2008, Yui joined the Air Staff Office at the Ministry of Defense as a lieutenant colonel. Follow @astro_kimiya on X.
      The mission will be Platonov’s first spaceflight. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018, Platonov earned a degree in engineering from Krasnodar Air Force Academy in aircraft operations and air traffic management. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in state and municipal management in 2016 from the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia. Assigned as a test cosmonaut in 2021, he has experience in piloting aircraft, zero gravity training, scuba diving, and wilderness survival.
      Mission Overview
      From left to right: Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui pictured after participating in a training simulation inside a mockup at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in HoustonNASA/Robert Markowitz Following liftoff, Falcon 9 will accelerate Dragon to approximately 17,500 mph. Once in orbit, the crew, NASA, and SpaceX mission control will monitor a series of maneuvers that will guide Dragon to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. The spacecraft is designed to dock autonomously, but the crew can pilot it manually, if necessary.
      After docking, Crew-11 will be welcomed aboard the station by the seven-member Expedition 73 crew, before conducting a short handover period on research and maintenance activities with the departing Crew-10 crew members. Then, NASA astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov will undock from the space station and return to Earth. Ahead of Crew-10’s return, mission teams will review weather conditions at the splashdown sites off the coast of California before departure from the station.
      Cardman, Fincke, and Yui will conduct scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth. Participating crew members will simulate lunar landings, test strategies to safeguard vision, and advance other human spaceflight studies led by NASA’s Human Research Program. The crew also will study plant cell division and microgravity’s effects on bacteria-killing viruses, as well as perform experiments to produce a higher volume of human stem cells and generate on-demand nutrients.
      While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Crew-11 will welcome a Soyuz spacecraft in November with three new crew members, including NASA astronaut Chris Williams.  They also will bid farewell to the Soyuz carrying NASA astronaut Jonny Kim. The crew also is expected to see the arrival of the Dragon, Roscosmos Progress spacecraft, and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft to resupply the station.
      NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission will be aboard the International Space Station on Nov. 2, when the orbiting laboratory surpasses 25 years of a continuous human presence. Since the first crew expedition arrived, the space station has enabled more than 4,000 groundbreaking experiments in the unique microgravity environment, while becoming a springboard for building a low Earth orbit economy and preparing for NASA’s future exploration of the Moon and Mars.
      Learn more about the space station, its research, and crew, at:
      https://www.nasa.gov/station

      View the full article
    • By NASA
      A collaboration between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation, NISAR will use synthetic aperture radar to monitor nearly all the planet’s land- and ice-covered surfaces twice every 12 days.Credit: NASA NASA will host a news conference at 12 p.m. EDT Monday, July 21, to discuss the upcoming NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission.
      The Earth-observing satellite, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between NASA and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), carries an advanced radar system that will help protect communities by providing a dynamic, three-dimensional view of Earth in unprecedented detail and detecting the movement of land and ice surfaces down to the centimeter.
      The NISAR mission will lift off from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, on India’s southeastern coast. Launch is targeted for no earlier than late July.
      NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California will stream the briefing live on its X, Facebook, and YouTube channels. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
      Participants in the news conference include:
      Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Karen St. Germain, director, Earth Science Division, NASA Headquarters Wendy Edelstein, deputy project manager, NISAR, NASA JPL Paul Rosen, project scientist, NISAR, NASA JPL To ask questions by phone, members of the media must RSVP no later than two hours before the start of the event to: rexana.v.vizza@jpl.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. Questions can be asked on social media during the briefing using #AskNISAR.
      With its two radar instruments — an S-band system provided by ISRO and an L-band system provided by NASA — NISAR will use a technique known as synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to scan nearly all the planet’s land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days. Each system’s signal is sensitive to different sizes of features on Earth’s surface, and each specializes in measuring different attributes, such as moisture content, surface roughness, and motion.
      These capabilities will help scientists better understand processes involved in natural hazards and catastrophic events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, land subsidence, and landslides.
      Additionally, NISAR’s cloud penetrating ability will aid urgent responses to communities during weather disasters such as hurricanes, storm surge, and flooding. The detailed maps the mission creates also will provide information on both gradual and sudden changes occurring on Earth’s land and ice surfaces.
      Managed by Caltech for NASA, JPL leads the U.S. component of the NISAR project and provided the L-band SAR. NASA JPL also provided the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Near Space Network, which will receive NISAR’s L-band data.
      Multiple ISRO centers have contributed to NISAR. The Space Applications Centre is providing the mission’s S-band SAR. The U R Rao Satellite Centre provided the spacecraft bus. The rocket is from Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, launch services are through Satish Dhawan Space Centre, and satellite mission operations are by the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network. The National Remote Sensing Centre is responsible for S-band data reception, operational products generation, and dissemination.
      To learn more about NISAR, visit:
      https://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov
      -end-
      Karen Fox / Elizabeth Vlock
      Headquarters, Washington
      202-358-1600
      karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov
      Andrew Wang / Scott Hulme
      Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
      626-379-6874 / 818-653-9131
      andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / scott.d.hulme@jpl.nasa.gov
      Share
      Details
      Last Updated Jul 16, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
      NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) Earth Science Division Goddard Space Flight Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory Near Space Network Science Mission Directorate View the full article
    • By European Space Agency
      Video: 00:00:40 View of Earth as seen by ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski inside the seven-windowed cupola, the International Space Station's "window to the world".
      The European Space Agency-built Cupola is the favourite place of many astronauts on the International Space Station. It serves not only as a unique photo spot, but also for observing robotic activities of the Canadian Space Agency's robotic arm Canadarm2, arriving spacecraft and spacewalks.
      Sławosz was launched to the International Space Station on the Dragon spacecraft as part of Axiom Mission 4 on 25 June 2025. The 20-day mission on board is known as Ignis.
      During the Ignis mission, Sławosz conducted 13 experiments proposed by Polish companies and institutions and developed in collaboration with ESA, along with three additional ESA-led experiments. These covered a broad range of areas including human research, materials science, biology, biotechnology and technology demonstrations.  
      The Ax-4 mission marks the second commercial human spaceflight for an ESA project astronaut. Ignis was sponsored by the Polish government and supported by ESA, the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and Technology (MRiT) and the Polish Space Agency (POLSA).   
      View the full article
    • By NASA
      A host of scientific investigations await the crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission during their long-duration expedition aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, are set to study plant cell division and microgravity’s effects on bacteria-killing viruses, as well as perform experiments to produce a higher volume of human stem cells and generate on-demand nutrients.
      Here are details on some of the research scheduled during the Crew-11 mission:
      Making more stem cells
      Cultures of stem cells grown in 2D on Earth, left, and as 3D spheres in simulated microgravity on Earth.BioServe A stem cell investigation called StemCellEx-IP1 evaluates using microgravity to produce large numbers of induced pluripotent stem cells. Made by reprogramming skin or blood cells, these stem cells can transform into any type of cell in the body and are used in regenerative medicine therapies for many diseases. However, producing enough cells on the ground is a challenge.
      Researchers plan to use the microgravity environment aboard the space station to demonstrate whether generating 1,000 times more cells is possible and whether these cells are of higher quality and better for clinical use than those made on Earth. If proven, this could significantly improve future patient outcomes.
      “This type of stem cell research is a chance to find treatments and maybe even cures for diseases that currently have none,” said Tobias Niederwieser of BioServe Space Technologies, which developed the investigation. “This represents an incredible potential to make life here on Earth better for all of us. We can take skin or blood cells from a patient, convert them into stem cells, and produce custom cell-therapy with little risk for rejection, as they are the person’s own cells.”
      Alternative to antibiotics
      Genes in Space-12 student investigators Isabella Chuang, left, and Julia Gross, middle, with mentor Kayleigh Ingersoll Omdahl.Genes in Space Genes in Space is a series of competitions in which students in grades 7 through 12 design DNA experiments that are flown to the space station. Genes in Space-12 examines the effects of microgravity on interactions between certain bacteria and bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect and kill bacteria. Bacteriophages already are used to treat bacterial infections on Earth.
      “Boeing and miniPCR bio co-founded this competition to bring real-world scientific experiences to the classroom and promote molecular biology investigations on the space station,” said Scott Copeland of Boeing, and co-founder of Genes in Space. “This
      investigation could establish a foundation for using these viruses to treat bacterial infections in space, potentially decreasing the dependence on antibiotics.”
      “Previous studies indicate that bacteria may display increased growth rates and virulence in space, while the antibiotics used to combat them may be less effective,” said Dr. Ally Huang, staff scientist at miniPCR bio. “Phages produced in space could have profound implications for human health, microbial control, and the sustainability of long-duration remote missions. Phage therapy tools also could revolutionize how we manage bacterial infections and microbial ecosystems on Earth.”
      Edible organisms
      A purple, pre-incubation BioNutrients-3 bag, left, and a pink bag, right, which has completed incubation, on a purple and pink board used for comparison.NASA Some vitamins and nutrients in foods and supplements lose their potency during prolonged storage, and insufficient intake of even a single nutrient can lead to serious diseases, such as a vitamin C deficiency, causing scurvy. The BioNutrients-3 experiment builds on previous investigations looking at ways to produce on-demand nutrients in space using genetically engineered organisms that remain viable for years. These include yogurt and a yeast-based beverage made from yeast strains previously tested aboard station, as well as a new, engineered co-culture that produces multiple nutrients in one sample bag.
      “BioNutrients-3 includes multiple food safety features, including pasteurization to kill microorganisms in the sample and a demonstration of the feasibility of using a sensor called E-Nose that simulates an ultra-sensitive nose to detect pathogens,” said Kevin Sims, project manager at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
      Another food safety feature is a food-grade pH indicator to track bacterial growth.
      “These pH indicators help the crew visualize the progress of the yogurt and kefir samples,” Sims said. “As the organisms grow, they generate lactic acid, which lowers the pH and turns the indicator pink.”
      The research also features an investigation of yogurt passage, which seeds new cultures using a bit of yogurt from a finished bag, much like maintaining a sourdough bread starter. This method could sustain a culture over multiple generations, eliminating concerns about yogurt’s shelf life during a mission to the Moon or Mars while reducing launch mass.
      Understanding cell division
      Cells of green algae dividing.University of Toyama The JAXA Plant Cell Division investigation examines how microgravity affects cell division in green algae and a strain of cultured tobacco cells. Cell division is a fundamental element of plant growth, but few studies have examined it in microgravity.
      “The tobacco cells divide frequently, making the process easy to observe,” said Junya Kirima of JAXA. “We are excited to reveal the effects of the space environment on plant cell division and look forward to performing time-lapse live imaging of it aboard the space station.”
      Understanding this process could support the development of better methods for growing plants for food in space, including on the Moon and Mars. This investigation also could provide insight to help make plant production systems on Earth more efficient.
      For nearly 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and conducting critical research for the benefit of humanity and our home planet. Space station research supports the future of human spaceflight as NASA looks toward deep space missions to the Moon under the Artemis campaign and in preparation for future human missions to Mars, as well as expanding commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit and beyond.
      Learn more about the International Space Station at:
      https://www.nasa.gov/station
      Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
      Latest News from Space Station Research
      Space Station Research and Technology
      Humans In Space
      Station Benefits for Humanity
      View the full article
    • By European Space Agency
      After 20 days in space, ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and his Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crewmates returned safely to Earth today, 15 July 2025.
      View the full article
  • Check out these Videos

×
×
  • Create New...