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Bone cells and now heart cells are on the space research agenda for the Expedition 62 crew. The International Space Station continues gearing up for more space investigations recently delivered aboard the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship.

NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Meir turned her attention today to a new experiment exploring cardiac activity in microgravity. She tended to heart cells swapping media that nourishes the samples being observed and manipulated with magnetic sensors. The results could inform measures to keep astronauts healthy on long-term missions and possibly treat heart conditions on Earth.

Bone health is also important for humans living and working on and off the Earth. Over in the Japanese Kibo laboratory module, NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan worked in the Life Science Glovebox servicing bone cell samples for an experiment that began in February. That research is comparing samples nurtured in weightlessness to a set of samples that are magnetically levitated in a lab on Earth. Insights could prove valuable when treating bone ailments such as osteoporosis.

The pair also split their time on several other investigations ranging from radiation detection to protein crystals. Radiation detectors were retrieved from Dragon and installed throughout the station to characterize the orbital lab’s radiation dosage and distribution. The crew also looked at protein crystals that grow better in space than on Earth, for a pair of studies, PCG-10 and JAXA Moderate Temp PCG, supporting the development of more effective medications.

Commander Oleg Skripochka focused on Russian communications gear throughout the day testing two-way audio and video satellite links. He also spent some time exploring advanced photography techniques to locate Earth targets.

The Expedition 62 crew started unloading and activating new science experiments, which were delivered Monday aboard the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship.

NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir opened Dragon’s hatch shortly after its capture and installation on Monday. The duo quickly retrieved critical research samples and installed science hardware, setting up operations aboard the International Space Station.

Mice are living on the station now after their ride to space aboard Dragon. Morgan placed the rodents in specialized habitats for a JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) investigation exploring how microgravity affects genetic expression. Observations will give doctors insights into the how human body will adapt to longer missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Meir collected a science freezer and commercial research hardware from inside Dragon and began setting up the gear throughout the orbital lab. In the afternoon, she got back to work on ongoing bone research tending to bone cells being observed to understand Earth ailments such as osteoporosis.

Commander Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos collected air samples from inside Dragon shortly after its hatch opening Monday. The veteran cosmonaut focused on Russian life support maintenance Tuesday morning before setting up Earth observation hardware during the afternoon.

While the International Space Station was traveling more than 262 miles over the Northeast Pacific near Vancouver, British Columbia, Expedition 62 Flight Engineer Jessica Meir of NASA grappled Dragon at 6:25 a.m. EDT using the space station’s robotic arm Canadarm2 with NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan acting as a backup.

Ground controllers will now send commands to begin the robotic installation of the spacecraft on bottom of the station’s Harmony module. NASA Television coverage of installation is now scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. Watch online at www.nasa.gov/live.

Here’s some of the research arriving at station:

New Facility Outside the Space Station

The Bartolomeo facility, created by ESA (European Space Agency) and Airbus, attaches to the exterior of the European Columbus Module. Designed to provide new scientific opportunities on the outside of the space station for commercial and institutional users, the facility offers unobstructed views both toward Earth and into space. Potential applications include Earth observation, robotics, material science and astrophysics.

Studying the Human Intestine On a Chip

Organ-Chips as a Platform for Studying Effects of Space on Human Enteric Physiology (Gut on Chip) examines the effect of microgravity and other space-related stress factors on biotechnology company Emulate’s human innervated Intestine-Chip (hiIC). This Organ-Chip device enables the study of organ physiology and diseases in a laboratory setting. It allows for automated maintenance, including imaging, sampling, and storage on orbit and data downlink for molecular analysis on Earth.

Growing Human Heart Cells

Generation of Cardiomyocytes From Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Cardiac Progenitors Expanded in Microgravity (MVP Cell-03) examines whether microgravity increases the production of heart cells from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). The investigation induces stem cells to generate heart precursor cells and cultures those cells on the space station to analyze and compare with cultures grown on Earth.

Keep up to date with the latest news from the crew living in space by following https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, and the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

SpaceX Dragon is on track to arrive at the International Space Station tomorrow morning March 9, with an expected capture of the cargo spacecraft around 7 a.m. EDT. NASA Television coverage will begin at 5:30 a.m. Watch live at http://www.nasa.gov/live.

When it arrives to the space station, Expedition 62 Flight Engineers Jessica Meir of NASA will grapple Dragon, with Andrew Morgan of NASA acting as a backup. The station crew will monitor Dragon vehicle functions during rendezvous. After Dragon capture, ground commands will be sent from mission control in Houston for the station’s arm to rotate and install it on the bottom of the station’s Harmony module. Coverage of robotic installation to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module will begin at 8:30 a.m.

Dragon lifted off on Friday, March 6, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The cargo spacecraft with more than 4,300 pounds of research, equipment, cargo and supplies that will support dozens of investigations aboard the orbiting laboratory. Dragon will join three other spacecraft currently at the space station

Keep up to date with the latest news from the crew living in space by following https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, and the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

NASA and SpaceX mission managers have given the “go” for Friday’s launch of the Dragon cargo ship at 11:50 p.m. EST. The Expedition 62 crewmembers continue to get ready for Dragon’s arrival at the International Space Station on Monday.

Dragon will lift off atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket loaded with fresh supplies to replenish the crew and new experiments including live mice for more space research. NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir will be on duty Monday morning inside the cupola to capture Dragon at 7 a.m. EDT with the Canadarm2 robotic arm. NASA TV is covering the launch and capture activities live.

The duo will spend portions of Thursday and Friday brushing up on the robotics skills necessary to grapple the resupply ship as it orbits about 10 meters from the space station. Morgan will lead the capture activities on Monday as Meir backs him up and monitors the spacecraft’s approach and rendezvous.

Meanwhile, research aboard the station is ongoing as the three-member crew explored how microgravity affects biology and physics to benefit humans on and off Earth.

Meir continued test operations on a 3D bioprinter to demonstrate the feasibility of manufacturing human tissue and organs in space destined for patients on Earth. She later nourished bone cells being compared to magnetically levitated samples on Earth. Results could provide therapeutic insights for bone ailments such as osteoporosis.

Morgan started Thursday drawing his blood sample and spinning it in a centrifuge before stowing the collection in a science freezer. Later, he set up experiment gear inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox to study transparent alloys and understand the dynamics and formation of microstructures on Earth.

Commander Oleg Skripochka started the day maintaining power and life support systems inside the Russian segment of the orbital lab. The veteran cosmonaut also spent time Thursday on a pair of experiments researching station ergonomics and crew psychology.