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Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2), the second all-private astronaut mission to ISS, docked to the orbiting laboratory.
About Axiom Mission-2
- As part of Ax-2, the four astronauts will conduct more than 20 different experiments, including research that will help improve understanding of human physiology both on Earth and on-orbit and other investigations in fields such as healthcare and technology development.
- The four private astronauts blasted off into space aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
- The life science experiments to be conducted on the space station include DNA nano-therapeutics, which are nanotubes that can be used for therapeutic mRNA delivery;
- production of stem cells and stem cell-derived products;
- investigation of the inflammatory response of human cells in microgravity;
- study of triple-negative breast cancer (a type of breast cancer that does not have any of the receptors that are commonly found in breast cancer) cells to understand immune dysfunction; and
- studying bioengineered liver and kidney tissue constructs to understand the impact of microgravity on vascularisation of thick tissues.
- The human research experiments include projects that will see how humans adapt and respond to spaceflight, and the study of the activity of DNA and RNA-editing enzymes involved in mutations, among others.
- The physical science experiments to be conducted include cloud seeding, which is the process of artificially generating rain by implanting clouds with particles such as silver iodide crystals; testing of a newly developed hydrogen-rich polymer to check its ability to protect against space radiation; and a night-time experiment to image thunderstorms, lightning, and other electrical phenomena.
Source: ABP Live
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