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By NASA
X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare Westerlund 1, the biggest and closest “super” star cluster to Earth, dazzles in this image released on July 23, 2025. This view combines x-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (in pink, blue, purple, and orange), infrared data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (in yellow, gold, and blue), and optical data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (in cyan, grey, and light yellow).
Data from Chandra and other telescopes is helping astronomers delve deeper into this galactic factory where stars are vigorously being produced. Observations from Chandra have uncovered thousands of individual stars pumping out X-ray emission into the cluster.
This image is part of a compilation of images featuring data from Chandra along with a host of other telescopes.
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare
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By NASA
5 min read
Avatars for Astronaut Health to Fly on NASA’s Artemis II
An organ chip for conducting bone marrow experiments in space. Emulate NASA announced a trailblazing experiment that aims to take personalized medicine to new heights. The experiment is part of a strategic plan to gather valuable scientific data during the Artemis II mission, enabling NASA to “know before we go” back to the lunar surface and on to Mars.
The AVATAR (A Virtual Astronaut Tissue Analog Response) investigation will use organ-on-a-chip devices, or organ chips, to study the effects of deep space radiation and microgravity on human health. The chips will contain cells from Artemis II astronauts and fly side-by-side with crew on their approximately 10-day journey around the Moon. This research, combined with other studies on the health and performance of Artemis II astronauts, will give NASA insight into how to best protect astronauts as exploration expands to the surface of the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
AVATAR is NASA’s visionary tissue chip experiment that will revolutionize the very way we will do science, medicine, and human multi-planetary exploration.”
Nicky Fox
Associate Administrator, NASA Science Mission Directorate
“AVATAR is NASA’s visionary tissue chip experiment that will revolutionize the very way we will do science, medicine, and human multi-planetary exploration,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Each tissue chip is a tiny sample uniquely created so that we can examine how the effects of deep space act on each human explorer before we go to ensure we pack the appropriate medical supplies tailored to each individual’s needs as we travel back to the Moon, and onward to Mars.”
The investigation is a collaboration between NASA, government agencies, and industry partners, leveraging commercial expertise to gain a deeper understanding of human biology and disease. This research could accelerate innovations in personalized healthcare, both for astronauts in space and patients on Earth.
Organ-on-a-chip: mimic for human health
Organ chips, also referred to as tissue chips or microphysiological systems, are roughly the size of a USB thumb drive and used to help understand — and then predict — how an individual might respond to a variety of stressors, such as radiation or medical treatments, including pharmaceuticals. Essentially, these small devices serve as “avatars” for human organs.
Organ chips contain living human cells that are grown to model the structures and functions of specific regions in human organs, such as the brain, lungs, heart, pancreas, and liver — they can beat like a heart, breathe like a lung, or metabolize like a liver. Tissue chips can be linked together to mimic how organs interact with each other, which is important for understanding how the whole human body responds to stressors or treatments.
Researchers and oncologists use human tissue chips today to understand how a specific patient’s cancer might react to different drugs or radiation treatments. To date, a standard milestone for organs-on-chips has been to keep human cells healthy for 30 days. However, NASA and other research institutions are pushing these boundaries by increasing the longevity of organ chips to a minimum of six months so that scientists can observe diseases and drug therapies over a longer period.
Bone marrow as bellwether
The Artemis II mission will use organ chips created using blood-forming stem and progenitor cells, which originate in the bone marrow, from Artemis II crew members.
Bone marrow is among the organs most sensitive to radiation exposure and, therefore, of central importance to human spaceflight. It also plays a vital role in the immune system, as it is the origin of all adult red and white blood cells, which is why researchers aim to understand how deep space radiation affects this organ.
Studies have shown that microgravity affects the development of bone marrow cells. Although the International Space Station operates in low Earth orbit, which is shielded from most cosmic and solar radiation by the Earth’s magnetosphere, astronauts often experience a loss of bone density. Given that Artemis II crew will be flying beyond this protective layer, AVATAR researchers also seek to understand how the combined stressors of deep space radiation and microgravity affect the developing cells.
To make the bone marrow organ chips, Artemis II astronauts will first donate platelets to a local healthcare system. The cells remaining from their samples will contain a small percentage of bone marrow-derived stem and progenitor cells. NASA-funded scientists at Emulate, Inc., which developed the organ chip technology used in AVATAR, will purify these cells with magnetic beads that bind specifically to them. The purified cells will then be placed in the bone marrow chips next to blood vessel cells and other supporting cells to model the structure and function of the bone marrow.
Investigating how radiation affects the bone marrow can provide insights into how radiation therapy and other DNA-damaging agents, such as chemotherapeutic drugs, impair blood cell formation. Its significance for both spaceflight and medicine on Earth makes the bone marrow an ideal organ to study in the Artemis II AVATAR project.
Passenger for research
“For NASA, organ chips could provide vital data for protecting astronaut health on deep space missions,” said Lisa Carnell, director of NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences division at NASA Headquarters. “As we go farther and stay longer in space, crew will have only limited access to on-site clinical healthcare. Therefore, it’ll be critical to understand if there are unique and specific healthcare needs of each astronaut, so that we can send the right supplies with them on future missions.”
During the Artemis II mission, the organ chips will be secured in a custom payload developed by Space Tango and mounted inside the capsule during the mission. The battery-powered payload will maintain automated environmental control and media delivery to the organ chips throughout the flight.
For NASA, organ chips could provide vital data for protecting astronaut health on deep space missions.”
Lisa Carnell
Director of NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division
Upon return, researchers at Emulate will examine how spaceflight affected the bone marrow chips by performing single-cell RNA sequencing, a powerful technique that measures how thousands of genes change within individual cells. The scientists will compare data from the flight samples to measurements of crew cells used in a ground-based immunology study happening simultaneously. This will provide the most detailed look at the impact of spaceflight and deep space radiation on developing blood cells to date.
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Biological & Physical Sciences Division (BPS)
NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomenon under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Researchers Kelly Gilkey, Cy Peverill, Daniel Phan, Chase Haddix, and Ariel Tokarz test portable, handheld X-ray systems for use during future long-duration space missions at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland on Friday, March 21, 2025. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna As NASA plans future human exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, new and unique challenges emerge — like communication delays and limited return-to-Earth options — so enhanced medical care capabilities are critical. Crews will need non-invasive imaging technology to diagnose medical conditions, like broken bones or dental injuries.
Scientists at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are testing portable, handheld X-ray systems for use during future extended space missions. Having portable X-ray capabilities aboard spacecraft would allow astronauts to immediately assess and treat potential injuries or identify equipment issues without having to disassemble the gear.
“Technological innovations like that of the mini-X-ray will help keep our astronauts healthy as we endeavor farther into space than ever before,” said acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy. “Future missions to the Moon and Mars will be safer due to the research of our scientists at NASA Glenn.”
NASA reviewed more than 200 commercial systems — analyzing size, weight, image quality, ease-of-use, cost, and safety — and selected three systems for further testing: MinXray, Remedi, and Fujifilm.
“We’re working to provide evidence on why a mini-X-ray system should be included in future space exploration,” said Dr. Chase Haddix, a senior biomedical engineering research contractor working for Universities Space Research Association at NASA Glenn. “These X-rays could be used to detect both clinical and non-clinical diagnostics, meaning they can check an astronaut’s body or identify the location of a tear in an astronaut suit.”
Researchers capture X-ray images of a shape memory alloy rover tire at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland on Friday, March 21, 2025. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna NASA Glenn is collaborating with other centers, including NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and radiography experts at University Hospitals and Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.
“We’re fortunate to have enthusiastic medical and radiography experts right here in our community,” said Dr. Cy Peverill, project task lead at NASA Glenn. “Their knowledge and experience are invaluable as we work to test medical technologies that could significantly improve management of astronaut health on future missions to the Moon or Mars.”
Cuyahoga Community College contributed anatomical phantoms, which are lifelike models of the human body, in its radiography laboratory on the Western Campus and dental hygiene clinical facility at the Metropolitan Campus. Faculty and students consulted with NASA researchers on essential imaging principles, including patient positioning, image acquisition, and image quality.
University Hospitals is partnering with NASA Glenn on a medical study with real patients to compare the performance of the X-ray systems against hospital-grade equipment, focusing on usability, image clarity, and diagnostic accuracy.
“Astronauts live and work in small quarters, much smaller spaces than in a hospital,” Haddix said. “The system must be easy to use since astronauts may not be experienced in radiography. The data from these tests will guide the selection of the most suitable system for future missions.”
Researchers capture X-ray images of an astronaut spacesuit at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland on Friday, March 21, 2025. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna Using portable X-rays to improve health care in inaccessible areas is not new, with systems deployed to diagnose medical issues in places such as base camps in Nepal and remote villages in South Africa. NASA researchers theorize that if these systems are successful in high elevations and extreme temperatures on Earth, perhaps they are durable enough for space missions.
Glenn researchers will continue to collect data from all collaborators, including from an X-ray system sourced by SpaceX that launched in April during the Fram2 mission. The crew captured the first human X-ray images in space during their four-day mission to low Earth orbit. NASA plans to select a device near the end of 2025 and will test the chosen system aboard the International Space Station in 2026 or early 2027.
The Mars Campaign Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington and the agency’s Human Research Program at NASA Johnson fund this work as both organizations focus on pursuing technologies and methods to support safe, productive human space travel.
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By NASA
Explore This Section Perseverance Home Mission Overview Rover Components Mars Rock Samples Where is Perseverance? Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Mission Updates Science Overview Objectives Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Perseverance Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 3 min read
To See the World in a Grain of Sand: Investigating Megaripples at ‘Kerrlaguna’
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image of inactive megaripples at “Kerrlaguna,” Perseverance’s latest target of exploration, on Aug. 13, 2025. The rover acquired the image using its Right Mastcam-Z camera, one of a pair of cameras located high on the rover’s mast, on Sol 1593 — or, Martian day 1,593 of the Mars 2020 mission — at the local mean solar time of 12:05:13. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU Written by Athanasios Klidaras, Ph.D. candidate at Purdue University
On Mars, the past is written in stone — but the present is written in sand. Last week, Perseverance explored inactive megaripples to learn more about the wind-driven processes that are reshaping the Martian landscape every day.
After wrapping up its investigation at the contact between clay and olivine-bearing rocks at “Westport,” Perseverance is journeying south once more. Previously, attempts were made to drive uphill to visit a new rock exposure called “Midtoya.” However, a combination of the steep slope and rubbly, rock-strewn soil made drive progress difficult, and after several attempts, the decision was made to return to smoother terrain. Thankfully, the effort wasn’t fruitless, as the rover was able to gather data on new spherule-rich rocks thought to have rolled downhill from “Midtoya,” including the witch hat or helmet-shaped rock “Horneflya,” which has attracted much online interest.
More recently, Perseverance explored a site called “Kerrlaguna” where the steep slopes give way to a field of megaripples: large windblown sand formations up to 1 meter (about 3 feet) tall. The science team chose to perform a mini-campaign to make a detailed study of these features. Why such interest? While often the rover’s attention is focused on studying processes in Mars’ distant past that are recorded in ancient rocks, we still have much to learn about the modern Martian environment.
Almost a decade ago, Perseverance’s forerunner Curiosity studied an active sand dune at “Namib Dune” on the floor of Gale crater, where it took a memorable selfie. However the smaller megaripples — and especially dusty, apparently no longer active ones like at “Kerrlaguna” — are also common across the surface of Mars. These older immobile features could teach us new insights about the role that wind and water play on the modern Martian surface.
After arriving near several of these inactive megaripples, Perseverance performed a series of measurements using its SuperCam, Mastcam-Z, and MEDA science instruments in order to characterize the surrounding environment, the size and chemistry of the sand grains, and any salty crusts that may have developed over time.
Besides furthering our understanding of the Martian environment, documenting these potential resources could help us prepare for the day when astronauts explore the Red Planet and need resources held within Martian soils to help them survive. It is hoped that this investigation at “Kerrlaguna” can provide a practice run for a more comprehensive campaign located at a more extensive field of larger bedforms at “Lac de Charmes,” further along the rover traverse.
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By NASA
While it may sound like the opening to a punchline, this scientific question was at the heart of a research experiment that orbited the Moon aboard Artemis I.NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei caring for chili peppers aboard the International Space Station. NASA New research uncovers the connection between space agriculture and astronaut health. A study published in npj Microgravity shows how analyzing diverse datasets together can reveal insights that might otherwise be missed — in this case, linking space-grown food quality to astronaut nutrition and gut health.
The paper reviewed previous studies of plants grown aboard the International Space Station. The authors found that some edible plants grown in low Earth orbit have lower concentrations of essential nutrients, like calcium and magnesium, than those grown on Earth.
The reduced levels of these nutrients could make crops not as effective in mitigating the bone loss and reduced immune function that astronauts encounter in space.
Working Groups Uncover Hidden Health Connections
Three Analysis Working Groups from NASA’s Open Science Data Repository collaborated to make this paper possible. These discipline-specific groups typically work independently, but this project sparked conversations among researchers with different specialties.
Researchers combined plant data, crop nutrition profiles, gut studies, and astronaut blood biomarkers — a data integration effort of the Biological and Physical Sciences Division open science model. The work also draws on data from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).
For NASA, these findings offer new insights into how to feed and support astronauts in space, particularly on long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.
Seeks Ways to Improve Space Diets
The study also examined increased intestinal permeability — often called “leaky gut” — a condition that can result from poor nutrition and may be exacerbated by the space environment. Intestinal permeability may interfere with how astronauts absorb nutrients and regulate immune responses.
If properly engineered, space-grown crops could offer a solution to these health challenges. The team outlined several potential strategies, including bioengineering plants with higher nutrient content, incorporating more antioxidant-rich species, and designing personalized nutrition plans using astronauts’ genetic information.
The study suggests targeting specific biological pathways, such as using compounds like quercetin, an antioxidant found in certain crops, to address bone health challenges at the molecular level. The approach emphasizes designing nutrition plans based on individual astronaut physiology, including how well their digestive systems can absorb nutrients.
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About BPS
NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomenon under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.
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