{"id":19352,"date":"2022-11-28T18:12:50","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T18:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/11\/28\/iss-resupply-drops-off-experiments-for-life-in-deep-space-the-register\/"},"modified":"2022-11-28T18:12:50","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T18:12:50","slug":"iss-resupply-drops-off-experiments-for-life-in-deep-space-the-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/11\/28\/iss-resupply-drops-off-experiments-for-life-in-deep-space-the-register\/","title":{"rendered":"ISS resupply drops off experiments for life in deep space \u2022 The Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

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SpaceX’s 26th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station arrived this weekend, bringing with it a bundle of scientific experiments to further prepare humans for life beyond Earth.<\/p>\n

Before we enter an age that could see people trek to the stars and become an interplanetary species, we’ll first have to address some major hurdles, like how we’ll manage to stay healthy or how different levels of gravity will affect the building of structures on alien worlds.<\/p>\n

For Moon or Mars-bound astronauts, the experiments brought on board aim to address those very concerns.<\/p>\n

What’s space exploration without a medical tricorder?<\/h3>\n

The longer an astronaut remains away from Earth, the greater the odds of a random medical emergency or illness. It’s also possible future NASA missions may not include a medical doctor; and even if they do, equipment will be limited.<\/p>\n

\"moon-microscope\"<\/p>\n

NASA’s Moon Microscope blood diagnostic device. Pic: NASA<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

That’s what the Moon Microscope<\/a> is for. It is a test kit “for in-flight medical diagnosis that includes a portable hand-held microscope and a small self-contained blood sample staining device,” NASA said<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This will enable astronauts to collect and stain blood samples, images of which are transmitted to the ground for an Earth-based doctor to assess. Along with improving crew medical monitoring, NASA hopes the kit could also be used to test water, food and planetary surfaces for contamination.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How to eat well in deep space<\/h3>\n

Ask anyone who’s had a package of freeze-dried ice cream and they’ll tell you that astronauts eat like royalty. NASA isn’t so sure that such food will be sufficient for long-term survival in space, though, hence the Veg-05<\/a> experiment.<\/p>\n

ISS astronauts have already been working with the vegetable-growing setup that will be used for Veg-05 \u2013 aptly named “Veggie” \u2013 to grow leafy greens on the station, which NASA said has been successful so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"nasa-veggie-experiment\"<\/p>\n

Lettuce grown as part of the first Veggie experiment Pic: NASA<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This latest stage of the experiment will see the ISS crew growing dwarf “Red Robin” tomato plants, and not only to test which of two setups works better. Veg-05 will also ask astronauts to rate the quality of the tomatoes grown in the experiment as well as take surveys to gauge psychological benefits from interacting with plants while in space.<\/p>\n

But it isn’t just good food that astronauts lack in space: there’s a need for nutrient supplements as well, but NASA said deep space missions will test the limits of the shelf lives of such supplements from Earth.<\/p>\n

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