A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at
2:51 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, May 11, about 261 miles southwest of Long Beach, California,
with more than 3,700 pounds of NASA cargo, science and technology
demonstration samples from the International Space Station.
The Dragon spacecraft will be taken by ship to Long Beach where some
cargo will be removed and returned to NASA, and then be prepared for
shipment to SpaceX's test facility in McGregor, Texas, for processing.
A variety of technology and biology studies conducted in the unique
microgravity environment of the space station returned aboard the
commercial resupply spacecraft, including research in the burgeoning
field of nanotechnology. The Microchannel Diffusion
study, for example, examined how microparticles interact with each
other and their delivery channel in the absence of gravitational forces.
In this one-of-a-kind laboratory, researchers were able to observe
nanoscale behaviors at slightly larger scales – knowledge which may have
implications for advancements in particle filtration, space exploration
and drug delivery technologies.
CASIS Protein Crystal Growth 4 also has applications in medicine –
specifically, drug design and development. Growing protein crystals in
microgravity can avoid some of the obstacles inherent to protein
crystallization on Earth, such as sedimentation. One investigation
explored the effect of microgravity on the co-crystallization of a
membrane protein with a medically-relevant compound in order to
determine its three-dimensional structure. This will enable scientists
to use “designer” compounds to chemically target and inhibit an
important human biological pathway thought to be responsible for several
types of cancer.
The spacecraft also returned to Earth the final batch of human
research samples from former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly’s historic
one-year mission. These samples will be analyzed for studies such as Biochemical Profile, Cardio Ox, Fluid Shifts, Microbiome, Salivary Markers and the Twins Study.
Additional samples taken on the ground, as Kelly continues to support
these studies, will provide insights relevant for NASA’s Journey to Mars
as the agency learns more about how the human body adjusts to
weightlessness, isolation, radiation and the stress of long-duration
spaceflight.
The spacesuit worn by NASA astronaut Tim Kopra during a January spacewalk
also was returned for additional analysis by engineers on the ground,
as NASA continues to investigate the source of water that caused and
early end to the spacewalk after Kopra reported a small water bubble
inside his helmet.
Dragon currently is the only station resupply spacecraft able to
return a significant amount of cargo to Earth. The spacecraft lifted off
from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida
April 8, and arrived at the space station
April 10,
carrying almost 7,000 pounds of supplies and scientific cargo on the
company’s eighth NASA-contracted commercial resupply mission.
The International Space Station is a convergence of science,
technology and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and
makes research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station
has been occupied continuously since November 2000. In that time, more
than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft
have visited the orbiting laboratory. The space station remains the
springboard to NASA's next great leap in exploration, including future
missions to an asteroid and Mars.
Get more information about SpaceX's mission to the International Space Station at:
http://www.nasa.gov/spacex