NASA Administrator, Leaders to Discuss Space-Based Cancer Research

As part of the Biden Cancer Moonshot, NASA will virtually host an event at 2 p.m. EDT Thursday, July 11, to highlight how the agency is working to end cancer for the benefit of humanity by conducting research aboard the International Space Station.

The event will stream on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Additional participants include:

• Dr. Michael Roberts, chief scientific officer, International Space Station National Laboratory
• Dr. Catriona Jamieson, director, Sanford Stem Cell Institute at the University of California San Diego

As a member of the Cancer Cabinet, NASA is working with agencies and researchers across the federal government to reduce the nation’s cancer death rate by at least 50% in the next 25 years, one of the ambitious but achievable goals of the Cancer Moonshot.

Learn more about the Biden Cancer Moonshot at:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/cancermoonshot/

-end-

Faith McKie
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
faith.d.mckie@nasa.gov

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Tiernan P. Doyle

First Mars Crew Completes Yearlong Simulated Red Planet NASA Mission

The inaugural CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) crew is “back on Earth” after walking out of their simulated Martian habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on July 6. The first of three simulated missions, CHAPEA Mission 1 was designed to help scientists, engineers, and mission planners better understand how living on another world could affect human health and performance.

Kelly Haston, commander, Ross Brockwell, flight engineer, Nathan Jones, medical officer, and Anca Selariu, science officer, lived and worked in an isolated 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat to support human health and performance research to prepare for future missions to Mars.

“Congratulations to the crew of CHAPEA Mission 1 on their completion of a year in a Mars-simulated environment,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Through the Artemis missions, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars. The CHAPEA missions are critical to developing the knowledge and tools needed for humans to one day live and work on the Red Planet.”

The crew stepped out of the habitat and back into the arms of family and friends after a 378-day simulated Mars surface mission that began June 25, 2023.

This high-fidelity simulation involved the crew carrying out different types of mission objectives, including simulated “marswalks,” robotic operations, habitat maintenance, exercise, and crop growth. The crew also faced intentional environmental stressors in their habitat such as resource limitations, isolation, and confinement. For the next two weeks, the volunteers will complete post-mission data collection activities before returning home.

“We planned the last 378 days with many of the challenges crews could face on Mars and this crew dedicated their lives over that time to achieve these unprecedented operational objectives,” said CHAPEA Principal Investigator Grace Douglas. “I am looking forward to diving into the data we have gathered, preparing for CHAPEA Mission 2 and eventually, a human presence on Mars.”

As NASA works to establish a long-term presence for scientific discovery and exploration on the Moon through the Artemis campaign, analog missions like CHAPEA provide scientific data to validate systems and develop technological solutions for future missions to Mars.

Two additional one-year CHAPEA missions are planned, with the next targeted to begin in 2025. The subsequent missions will be nearly identical, allowing researchers to collect data from more participants to expand the dataset and provide a broader perspective on the impacts of Mars-realistic resource limitations, isolation and confinement on human health and performance.

NASA has several other avenues for gathering isolation research, including the Human Exploration Research Analog, Antarctica, and other analogs, as well as human spaceflight missions to the International Space Station to ensure key research goals can be completed to inform future human missions to the Moon and Mars.

The CHAPEA simulated missions are unique because they test the impacts of extended isolation and confinement with the addition of Mars-realistic time delays of communicating to Earth – up to 44-minutes roundtrip – along with resource limitations relevant to Mars, including a more limited food system that can be supported on the space station and in other analogs.

To view the ceremony of crew exiting their habitat, visit here.

Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all.

Learn more about CHAPEA at:

www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/chapea/

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Kelli Mars

30 Years Ago: STS-65, the Second International Microgravity Lab Mission

On July 8, 1994, space shuttle Columbia took to the skies on its 17^th trip into space, on the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) mission. Six space agencies sponsored 82 life and microgravity science experiments. The seven-person crew consisted of Commander Robert D. Cabana, Pilot James D. Halsell, Payload Commander Richard J. Hieb, Mission Specialists Carl E. Walz, Leroy Chiao, and Donald A. Thomas, and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai representing the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan, now the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Jean-Jacques H. Favier of the French space agency CNES served as a backup payload specialist. During their then-record setting 15-day shuttle flight, the international team of astronauts successfully completed the science program. They returned to earth on July 23.

Left: The STS-65 crew patch. Middle: Official photo of the STS-65 crew of Richard J. Hieb, seated left, Robert D. Cabana, and Donald A. Thomas; Leroy Chiao, standing left, James D. Halsell, Chiaki Mukai of Japan, and Carl E. Walz. Right: The payload patch for the International Microgravity Laboratory-2.

In August 1973, NASA and the European Space Research Organization, reorganized as the European Space Agency (ESA) in 1975, agreed to build a reusable laboratory called Spacelab to fly in the space shuttle’s cargo bay. As part of the agreement, ESA built two pressurized modules in addition to other supporting hardware. First flying on STS-9 in 1983, the 18-foot-long pressurized Spacelab module made its 10^th flight on STS-65. In September 1992 NASA named Hieb as the IML-2 payload commander and Mukai and Favier as prime and backup payload specialists, respectively, adding Chiao and Thomas as mission specialists in October 1992, finally designating Cabana, Halsell, and Walz as the orbiter crew in August 1993. For Cabana and Hieb, both selected as astronauts in 1985, STS-65 marked their third spaceflight.  NASA selected Halsell, Walz, Chiao, and Thomas in 1990, in the class nicknamed The Hairballs. Walz would make his second flight, with the other three making their first. NASDA selected Mukai in 1985 and she holds the distinction as the first Japanese woman in space. Chiao and Mukai as part of the STS-65 crew marked the first time that two Asians flew on the shuttle at the same time, and with Kazakh cosmonaut Talgat A. Musbayev aboard Mir, the first time that three people of Asian origins flew in space at the same time.

Left: The STS-65 crew during preflight training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Right: Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare the Spacelab module for the STS-65 mission.

Columbia returned to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida following its previous flight, STS-62, in March 1994. Technicians in KSC’s Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) serviced the orbiter, removed the previous payload, and installed the Spacelab module in the payload bay. Following a successful leak check of the Spacelab module, rollover of Columbia from the OPF to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) took place on June 8, where workers mated it with an external tank (ET) and two solid rocket boosters (SRBs). Following integrated testing, the stack rolled out to Launch Pad 39A seven days later. The crew participated in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test on June 22.

Liftoff of space shuttle Columbia on STS-65 carrying the second International Microgravity Laboratory.

On July 8, 1994, precisely on time, Columbia thundered off KSC’s Launch Pad 39A to begin the STS-65 mission. For the first time in shuttle history, a video camera recorded the liftoff from the orbiter’s flight deck, showing the vibrations during the first two minutes while the SRBs fired, smoothing out once the shuttle main engines took over. Mounted inside Columbia’s payload bay, the Spacelab 18-foot-long module provided a shirt-sleeve environment for the astronauts to conduct the scientific experiments. As during many Spacelab missions, the STS-65 crew carried out science operations 24-hours a day, divided into two teams – the red shift comprised Cabana, Halsell, Hieb, and Mukai, while Chiao, Thomas, and Walz made up the blue shift.

Left: Still image from video recorded on the shuttle’s flight deck during powered ascent. Middle: James D. Halsell, left, and Carl E. Walz moments after Columbia reached orbit. Right: View of the Spacelab module in the shuttle’s payload bay.

Left: Richard J. Hieb opens the hatch from the airlock to the tunnel leading to the Spacelab module. Middle: Hieb and Chiaki Mukai begin activating Spacelab and its experiments. Right: The view from the tunnel showing astronauts at work in the Spacelab module.

After reaching orbit, the crew opened the payload bay doors and deployed the shuttle’s radiators, and removed their bulky launch and entry suits, stowing them for the remainder of the flight. Shortly after, Hieb opened the hatch to the transfer tunnel and translated through it to enter the Spacelab module for the first time. He and Mukai activated the module and turned on the first experiments. For the next 14 days, the astronauts worked round the clock, with Cabana, Halsell, and Walz managing the shuttle’s systems while Hieb, Chiao, Thomas, and Mukai conducted the bulk of the research. The astronauts commemorated the 25^th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch on July 16 and the Moon landing four days later, recalling that their spacecraft and the Command Module shared the name Columbia.

Left: Chiaki Mukai of the National Space Development Agency of Japan, now the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, talks to students in Japan using the shuttle’s amateur radio. Middle: Richard J. Hieb, left, and Robert D. Cabana take an air sample from an experiment. Right: Hieb in the Lower Body Negative Pressure device.

Left: Donald A. Thomas, left, Leroy Chiao, Richard J. Hieb, and Chiaki Mukai at work in the Spacelab module. Middle: Chiao, left, and Thomas work on the Biorack instruments. Right: Goldfish swim in the Aquatic Animal Experiment Unit.

Left: Robert D. Cabana uses the shuttle’s amateur radio. Middle: Leroy Chiao looks out at the Earth. Right: Carl E. Walz working on the shuttle’s flight deck.

Left: Carl E. Walz flies through the Spacelab module. Middle: Donald A. Thomas gives two thumbs up for the crew’s performance during the mission. Right: Thomas, left, Walz, and Leroy Chiao pay tribute to Apollo 11 on the 25^th anniversary of the Moon landing mission.

Left: The first time two Asians fly on the shuttle at the same time – Chiaki Mukai, left, of the National Space Development Agency of Japan, now the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, left, and NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao. Middle: Donald A. Thomas, left, James D. Halsell, Carl E. Walz, and Chiao, all selected in 1990 as part of astronaut class 13, nicknamed The Hairballs. Right: Inflight photograph of the STS-65 crew.

A selection of the STS-65 crew Earth observation photographs. Left: Rio de Janeiro. Middle: Barrier islands in Papua New Guinea. Right: Hurricane Emilia in the central Pacific Ocean.

Left: James D. Halsell uses the laptop-based PILOT to train for the entry and landing. Middle: The astronauts close Columbia’s payload bay doors prior to entry. Right: Flash of plasma seen through Columbia’s overhead window during reentry.

At the end of 13 days, the astronauts finished the last of the experiments and deactivated the Spacelab module. Managers waved off the planned landing on July 22 due to cloudy weather at KSC. On July 23, the astronauts closed the hatch to the Spacelab module for the final time, closed Columbia’s payload bay doors, donned their launch and entry suits, and strapped themselves into their seats for entry and landing. Cabana piloted Columbia to a smooth landing on KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility, completing 236 orbits around the Earth in 14 days, 17 hours, and 55 minutes, at the time the longest shuttle flight. Mukai set a then-record for the longest single flight by a woman. In October 1994, Columbia returned to its manufacturer, Rockwell International in Palmdale, California, for scheduled modification and refurbishment before its next mission, STS-73, in October 1995.

Left: Robert D. Cabana pilots Columbia during the final approach to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, with the Vehicle Assembly Building visible through the window. Middle: Columbia touches down on KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility to end the STS-65 mission. Right: Donald A. Thomas, left, and Cabana give a thumbs up after the successful mission.

The two Spacelab modules flew a total of 16 times, the last one during the STS-90 Neurolab mission in April 1998. Visitors can view the module that flew on STS-65 and eight other missions on display at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. The other module resides at the Airbus Defence and Space plant in Bremen, Germany, and not accessible to the public.

The Spacelab long module that flew on STS-65 and eight other missions on display at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia.

Enjoy the crew narrate a video about the STS-65 mission. Read Cabana’s and Chiao’s recollections of the STS-65 mission in their oral histories with the JSC History Office.

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Kelli Mars

NASA Marshall Researchers Battle Biofilm in Space

A small group of scientists on the biofilm mitigation team at NASA’s Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama, study solutions to combat fast-growing colonies of bacteria or fungi, known as biofilm, for future space missions.

Biofilm occurs when a cluster of bacteria or fungi generates a slimy matrix of “extracellular polymeric substances” to protect itself from adverse environmental factors. Biofilm can be found nearly anywhere, from the gray-green scum floating on stagnant pond water to the pinkish ring of residue in a dirty bathtub.

For medical, food production, and wastewater processing industries, biofilm is often a costly issue. But offworld, biofilm proves to be even more resilient.

“Bacteria shrug off many of the challenges humans deal with in space, including microgravity, pressure changes, ultraviolet light, nutrient levels, even radiation,” said Yo-Ann Velez-Justiniano, a microbiologist and environmental control systems engineer at Marshall.

Biofilm is icky, sticky – and hard to kill.

Liezel Koellner

Chemical Engineer and NASA Pathways Intern

“Biofilm is icky, sticky – and hard to kill,” said Liezel Koellner, a chemical engineer and NASA Pathways intern from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Koellner used sophisticated epifluorescence microscopy, 3D visualizations of 2D images captured at different focal planes, to fine-tune the team’s studies.

Keenly aware of the potential hurdles biofilm could pose in future Artemis-era spacecraft and lunar habitats, NASA tasked engineers and chemists at Marshall to study mitigation techniques. Marshall built and maintains the International Space Station’s ECLSS (Environment Control and Life Support System) and is developing next-generation air and water reclamation and recycling technologies, including the system’s wastewater tank assembly.

“The wastewater tank is ‘upstream’ from most of our built-in water purification methods. Because it’s a wastewater feed tank, bacteria and fungus grow well there, generating enough biofilm to clog flow paths and pipes along the route,” said Eric Beitle, ECLSS test engineer at Marshall.

To date, the solution has been to pull and replace old hardware once parts become choked with biofilm. But engineers want to avoid the need for such tactics.

“Even with the ability to 3D-print spare parts on the Moon or Mars, it makes sense to find strategies that prevent biofilm buildup in the first place,” said Velez-Justiniano.

The team took the first step in June 2023 by publishing the complete genome sequence of several strains of bacteria isolated from the space station’s water reclamation system, all of which cultivate biofilm formation.

They next designed a test stand simulating conditions in the wastewater tank about 250 miles overhead, which permits simultaneous study of multiple mitigation options. The rig housed eight Centers for Disease Control and Prevention biofilm reactors – cylindrical devices roughly the size of a runner’s water bottle – each 1/60th the size of the actual tank.

Each bioreactor holds up to 21 unique test samples on slides, bathed continuously in a flow of real or ersatz wastewater, timed and measured by the automated system, and closely monitored by the team. Because of the compact bioreactor size, the test stand required 2.1 gallons of ersatz flow per week, continuously trickling 0.1 milliliters per minute into each of the eight bioreactors.

“Essentially, we built a collection of tiny systems that all had to permit minute changes to temperature and pressure, maintain a sterile environment, provide autoclave functionality, and run in harmony for weeks at a time with minimal human intervention,” said Beitle. “One phase of the test series ran nonstop for 65 days, and another lasted 77 days. It was a unique challenge from an engineering perspective.”

Different surface mitigation strategies, upstream counteragents, antimicrobial coatings, and temperature levels were introduced in each bioreactor. One promising test involved duckweed, a plant already recognized as a natural water purification system and for its ability to capture toxins and control wastewater odor. By devouring nutrients upstream of the bioreactor, the duckweed denied the bacteria what it needs to thrive, reducing biofilm growth by up to 99.9%.

Over the course of the three-month testing period, teams removed samples from each bioreactor at regular intervals and prepared for study under a microscope to make a detailed count of the biofilm colony-forming units on each plate.

“Bacteria and fungi are smart,” said Velez-Justiniano. “They adapt. We recognize that it is going to take a mix of effective biofilm mitigation methods to overcome this challenge.”

Biofilm poses as an obstacle to long-duration spaceflight and extended missions on other worlds where replacement parts may be costly or difficult to obtain. The biofilm mitigation team continues to assess and publish findings, alongside academic and industry partners, and will further their research with a full-scale tank experiment at Marshall. They hope to progress to flight tests, experimenting with various mitigation methods in real microgravity conditions in orbit to find solutions to keep surfaces clean, water potable, and future explorers healthy.

Joel Wallace
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-786-0117
joel.w.wallace@nasa.gov

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Beth Ridgeway

Gateway: Illuminating the Future

An interplay of light and shadows cast the docking ports for Gateway, humanity’s first space station around the Moon, into sharp relief. 

Built by NASA commercial partner Northrup Grumman, HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost), is one of four modules where international teams of astronauts will live, conduct science, and prepare for missions to the lunar South Pole region. The module’s main structure is currently undergoing testing in Turin, Italy. One docking port seen inside HALO, image right, is where a cargo spacecraft and Gateway’s Lunar View module, provided by ESA (European Space Agency), will dock. The docking port shown outside of HALO, image left, is where the SpaceX Starship and the Blue Origin Blue Moon Human Landing Systems will dock during the Artemis IV and V missions, respectively.

Gateway will launch to lunar orbit with the Power and Propulsion Element, provided by Maxar Space Systems, and later expand with ESA’s Lunar I-Hab and Lunar View modules, the Crew and Science Airlock provided by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, advanced external robotics provided by CSA (Canadian Space Agency), and critical hardware from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

NASA and its international partners will explore the scientific mysteries of deep space with Gateway. The space station is central to the Artemis architecture that will return humans to lunar surface for scientific discovery and chart a path for the first humans to Mars.

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