Saturday NASA has a new one resupply mission to the ISS launched† The pack contains a large number of materials intended for scientific experiments, including the so-called Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction experiments (SoFIE† That project consists of five experiments that should ensure that fire safety can be improved during future moon and Mars missions.
According to Paul Ferkul, a NASA project scientist involved in the experiments, will use the findings in developing future prototypes. Ferkul says it will look at the combustibility of materials used in spacesuits and habitats. The best way to extinguish fire in the room will also be examined.
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Living cancer cells
The new mission has more remarkable experiments. This is how the MicroQuin 3d Tumorexperiment investigated how breast and prostate cancer can be better controlled. MicroQuin brings living cancer cells to the ISS for the experiment.
Those aren’t the only human cells being taken to space. Also included in the package are skin cells sent to the ISS by Colgate. The company wants to investigate the impact of the space environment on the skin.
Growing plants in space
Another experiment that stands out is the eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS† With XROOTS, scientists want to investigate whether astronauts can use hydro- and aerophonic systems to grow plants in space. The systems would use water and air respectively to maintain plants, rather than soil.
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Future of the ISS
The ISS was launched piece by piece from 1998. Since the year 2000, the station has remained permanently manned. This makes the ISS the longest continuously manned space station ever. But now NASA is beginning to think about how much longer the international community can keep up with the mission.
After all, the station is starting to get old, which means that more difficult will be to maintain it. NASA has calculated that the station can remain in orbit until 2030 for the time being. It is then planned to be brought down in a controlled manner, after which it will collapse into the Pacific Ocean a region called the “spaceship burial ground.”
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