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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Looks Back at Science Mission

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Looks Back at Science Mission

From left, NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 members Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos, NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi share a light moment during a group portrait inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Looks Back at Science Mission

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission with agency astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov is preparing to return to Earth in early August after a long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station. During their stay, McClain, Ayers, and Onishi completed dozens of experiments and technology demonstrations, helping push the boundaries of scientific discovery aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Here’s a look at some scientific milestones accomplished during the Crew-10 mission:

Orbital effects on plants

Two gold box-shaped canisters, about the size of a large tissue box, have sections slid open, revealing five clear tubes containing small green plants. There are condensation droplets inside the tubes. The canisters are floating in front of the space station’s cupola windows with Earth’s blue, cloud-covered surface filling the background.
NASA

The canisters floating in the cupola of the International Space Station contain wild-type and genetically-modified thale cress plants for the Rhodium Plant LIFE experiment. The investigation studies how radiation and gravity environments at different orbital altitudes affect plant growth by comparing Crew-10 data with plants flown aboard the Polaris Dawn mission, which flew deeper into space. Studies have shown microgravity affects growth rates, and a better understanding of the mechanisms behind this could improve plant growth techniques in space and on Earth.

Solar spacewalk

McClain, wearing a white spacesuit with a U.S. flag on the left arm and an Expedition 73 patch on the chest, reaches over her right shoulder. A reflective helmet visor obscures her face. Behind her, a solar array extends from the space station, with Earth’s blue, cloud-covered surface filling the background.
NASA

NASA astronaut Anne McClain conducts a spacewalk to upgrade the International Space Station’s power generation systems, which include main solar arrays like the one visible behind her. McClain is installing hardware to support an IROSA (International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array), a type of array that is more compact and produces more power than the station’s original ones. The IROSAs were first demonstrated aboard the orbiting laboratory in June 2017, and eight have been installed to augment the power available for scientific research and other activities.

Microalgae on the menu

Ayers, wearing a black T-shirt, is smiling at the camera. With her left hand, she is holding the bioproduct laboratory door open. A white box mounted to the wall of the space station has a row of smaller white square containers and a few orange cords along the bottom.
NASA

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers uses the International Space Station’s Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory to process samples for SOPHONSTER, a study of microgravity’s effects on the protein yield of microalgae. These organisms are highly nutritious, producing amino acids, fatty acids, B vitamins, iron, and fiber. The microalgae could provide sustainable meat and dairy alternatives during long-duration space missions. It also could be used to make biofuels and bioactive compounds in medicines in space and on Earth.

Looking down on lightning

Two intense thundercloud tops are illuminated with circles of bright white lightning flashes against a black night sky.
NASA

The International Space Station orbits more than 250 miles above Earth, giving astronauts a unique view of their home planet, where they can photograph familiar places and interesting phenomena. While passing over a stormy night, NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured this image of simultaneous lightning at the top of two thunderstorms. Scientists use instruments installed on the space station to study lightning and other weather conditions in Earth’s upper atmosphere. This research helps protect communication systems and aircraft while improving atmospheric models and weather predictions.

Testing the tips of DNA

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In this time-lapse video, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers harvest samples for the APEX-12 investigation, which examines how space radiation affects telomere activity in thale cress plants. Telomeres, which are repetitive DNA sequences that protect the ends of chromosomes, become shorter each time a cell divides and indicate cell aging. The APEX-12 investigation could clarify the role of telomeres in aging and diseases and help scientists equip plants and other organisms for the stress of long-duration spaceflight.

Microscopic motion

McClain, wearing a black polo and dark green khaki pants, has her arms inside the glove sleeves of the space station’s life sciences glovebox. She is holding a large syringe in her right hand and looking intently at it.
NASA

A fluorescent microscope, known as ELVIS, captures the motion of microscopic algae and bacteria in 3D, a new capability aboard the International Space Station. The technology could be helpful in various applications in space and on Earth, such as monitoring water quality and detecting potentially infectious organisms. NASA astronaut Anne McClain prepares bacterial samples for viewing with the microscope.

How cells sense gravity

Onishi, wearing a gray T-shirt, khaki pants, and blue latex gloves, is facing a piece of equipment that is pulled out from the space station’s wall. On it sits a black circular metal sample canister. He is reaching out to touch a screen with his right hand, and a mirror below the screen reflects his face.
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Individual cells in our bodies can respond to the effects of gravity, but how they do this is largely unknown. The Cell Gravisensing investigation is an effort to observe the mechanism that enables cells to sense gravity and could lead to therapies to treat muscle and bone conditions, like muscle atrophy during long-duration spaceflight and osteoporosis on Earth. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi processes research samples in the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module.

Water works

At the top of the image, Ayers is smiling at the camera and wearing a green T-shirt. She is holding onto a square white equipment box with her left hand. The box, which has multiple connections, ports, switches, and vents, is slightly pulled out from the space station’s wall. In the center of the image, McClain is floating upside down, smiling at the camera. She is wearing a black T-shirt and green pants and is holding onto the same equipment box with both hands.
NASA

NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain work on installing hardware for the International Space Station’s Exploration Potable Water Dispenser. Scientists are evaluating the device’s water sanitization and microbial growth reduction technology. The dispenser provides room temperature and hot water for crew consumption and food preparation. This technology could be adopted for future exploration missions.

Free-flying camera

Onishi is wearing a long-sleeved, two-toned blue shirt and khaki pants and holding a tablet with both hands. A black-and-white robot, about the size of a soccer ball, with two round, blue lights that resemble eyes, floats in front of him. Onishi is looking at the robot and smiling.
NASA

Astronaut Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) monitors the JEM Internal Ball Camera 2 as it floats through the International Space Station. The free-flying, rechargeable camera provides a visual field outside the other cameras installed aboard the space station. JAXA is testing the robot’s ability to capture video and imagery of scientific experiments and other activities, which could free up crew time for research and other duties.

Two rings to pin them all

Ayers is wearing a black T-shirt and green pants, with her hair floating around her head. She has both hands on a connection port on the front of a white panel with a row of black buttons. A thick silver cord floats next to her left arm. A bank of lights is above the equipment, and a tablet is mounted in front of the lights.
NASA

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers sets up the space station’s Ring Sheared Drop device, which uses surface tension to pin a drop of liquid between two rings. The device makes it possible to study liquid proteins without a solid container, eliminating interactions between the solutions and container walls that can affect results. The Ring Sheared Drop-IBP-2 experiment studies the behavior of protein fluids in microgravity and tests predictive computer models. Better models could help advance manufacturing processes in space and on Earth for next-generation medicines to treat cancers and other diseases.

Crystallization research

McClain, wearing a black t-shirt and green pants, examines an open gray box on a blue workbench. She reaches into the box with both hands, adjusting the hardware inside. The box lid lies on the bench. Inside the box is a cylindrical black device with a gold screw plate and multiple attached wires.
NASA

NASA astronaut Anne McClain swaps out hardware in the International Space Station’s Advanced Space Experiment Processor-4, which enables physical science and crystallization research. A current investigation uses the processor to demonstrate technology that may be able to produce medications during deep space missions and improve pharmaceutical manufacturing on Earth.

Monitoring astronaut health

Onishi, wearing a blue shirt and khaki pants with a tablet attached to his right leg, inserts a needle into his right arm. A tube connects the needle to a syringe held by McClain, who wears green pants, a black jacket with an American flag and Crew 10 patch, and she also has a tablet on her leg. With her right hand, she places a vial into a rack holding six other vials and a marker.
NASA

NASA astronaut Anne McClain helps JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi collect a sample of his blood. Analysis of blood samples is one tool NASA uses to continuously monitor crew health, including cardiovascular and immune system functions, bone and muscle mass changes, nutritional and metabolic status, and mental well-being. Crew members aboard the International Space Station also participate in various ongoing studies to better understand how different body systems adapt to weightlessness.

Catching a corona

The lower right corner of this image is a black arc, which is a portion of the Sun with its light blocked. A thin blue line marks the edge of the arc, and above it is a swath of light green interspersed with red and yellow blotches. The green and yellow extend up and down into a band of blue above, marked at the top by a thin purple line.
NASA/KASI/INAF/CODEX

This animated, color-coded heat map shows temperature changes in the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, over several days, with red indicating hotter regions and purple showing cooler ones. Scientists can observe these changes thanks to the International Space Station’s CODEX, which collected data during the Crew-10 mission. The instrument uses a coronagraph to block out sunlight and reveal details in the Sun’s corona. Data from this investigation could help scientists understand the energy source of the solar wind, a flow of charged particles from the Sun that constantly bombards Earth.

Expanding in-space crystallization

Onishi wears a long-sleeved blue-and-white striped shirt and khaki pants. He is looking at a piece of equipment in his hands and smiling. The equipment is a black cylinder slightly larger than a soup can, with 12 metal screw caps around its top edge.
NASA

Astronaut Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) services the International Space Station’s Advanced Space Experiment Processor-4 in preparation for ADSEP-Industrial Crystallization Cassette. This investigation tests new hardware that scales up research and could enable in-space production of pharmaceuticals and other materials for commercial space applications.

Sowing seeds in space

Ayers is wearing a long-sleeved light green shirt and blue latex gloves. Her hair is in a ponytail. She floats in front of a blue workbench, smiling at the camera over her left shoulder. She is holding a packaged mixture tube in both hands.
NASA

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers prepares mixture tubes containing samples for Nanoracks Module-9 Swiss Chard. This student-designed experiment examines whether the size, shape, color, and nutritional content of Swiss chard seeds germinated in space differ from those grown on Earth. The International Space Station hosts ongoing plant research as a source of food and other benefits, including contributing to astronaut well-being, for future long-duration missions.

Protecting astronaut vision

Onishi, wearing a long-sleeved dark blue and white shirt, is facing the eye exam equipment, which is a white box about the size of a shoebox with a black eyepiece extending from the front. He is looking into the device with his forehead against a white bar and his chin on a black chin rest. Ayers is behind him, smiling but slightly out of focus.
NASA

Spaceflight can cause changes to eye structure and vision, so crew members monitor eye health throughout their missions. Astronaut Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), assisted by NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, conducts an eye exam aboard the International Space Station using optical coherence tomography. This technology uses reflected light to produce 3D images of the retina, nerve fibers, and other eye structures and layers.

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