Northrop Grumman sends NASA science and cargo to the International Space Station

WASHINGTON, February 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — A new supply of 8,300 pounds of scientific investigation and cargo launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 12:40 p.m. EST Saturdayon February 19, aboard a Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft, and is currently traveling to the International Space Station.

The Cygnus spacecraft, which was launched on an Antares rocket, is expected to arrive at the space station around 4:35 a.m. on Mondaythe 21st of February. NASA Television, the Nasa appand the agency website will provide live coverage of the spacecraft’s approach and arrival from 3 a.m.

NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Baron will capture Cygnus with the station’s robotic Canadarm2 upon arrival. The spacecraft will then be installed on the Earth-facing port of the station’s Unity module.

This is Northrop Grumman’s 17th contract resupply mission under the second commercial resupply services contract with NASA. the delivery includes essential materials to support dozens of the more than 250 scientific and research investigations conducted during NASA’s Expedition 66 mission aboard the space station.

Scientific research conducted by Cygnus includes:

Protect our skin
Deterioration of skin tissue, a normal part of aging, occurs over decades. Microgravity causes changes in the body like aging, but which happen much faster, so they can be more easily studied. Colgate Aging Skin will assess cellular and molecular changes in engineered human skin cells in microgravity. The findings could help speed the development of products aimed at protecting skin from the aging process on Earth.

Testing drugs against tumors
3D MicroQuin Tumor will examine the effects of a treatment on breast and prostate cancer cells. These cells can grow into a more natural 3D model in microgravity, making it easier to characterize their structure, gene expression, cell signaling, and treatment response. The results could provide new information about the cellular protein targeted by the drug and help advance the development of other cancer drugs.

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Improved hydrogen sensors
the Demonstration of advanced hydrogen sensor technology will test new sensors for the space station’s oxygen generation system. Current sensors ensure that no hydrogen enters the cabin oxygen, but can be sensitive to humidity, nitrogen, and other issues that require replacement every 201 days. This technology could provide more durable sensors for situations where quick replacement is impractical, reducing the number of spare parts needed for longer space missions such as the Moon or Mars.

Better batteries
Space demonstration for all solid-state Li-ion batteries (Space As-Lib), an investigation by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will feature the operation of a lithium-ion secondary battery capable of safe and stable operation at extreme temperatures and in an environment under empty. The battery uses solid, inorganic and flame retardant materials that do not leak, making it safer and more reliable. The results could demonstrate the battery’s performance for various potential uses in space and other planetary environments. Solid-state batteries also have potential applications in harsh environments and the automotive and aerospace industries.

Plants in space
Current systems for growing plants in space use soil or a growth medium. These systems are small and do not scale well in a space environment due to mass, containment, maintenance and sanitation issues. To solve these problems, eXposed Root In-Orbit Test System (XROOTS) will use water- and air-based methods instead, which will reduce the overall mass of the system. The results could provide insight into the development of larger-scale systems to grow food crops for space exploration and future habitats. The components of the system could also improve the cultivation of plants in greenhouses on Earth and contribute to better food security.

Improve fire safety
Ignition and extinction of solid fuel (SoFIE) will make it possible to study the flammability of materials and the ignition of fires under realistic atmospheric conditions. This installation uses the Combustion Integrated Rack (RIC), which allows testing at different oxygen concentrations and pressures that represent current and planned space exploration missions. Gravity influences flames on Earth, but in microgravity fire acts differently and can behave in unexpected ways aboard the space station. Some evidence suggests that fires may be more dangerous in reduced severity. The findings could help ensure crew safety by improving the design of extravehicular activity suits and cabin materials, improving our ability to determine the best techniques for extinguishing fires in space.

The results of these and other investigations aboard the space station will help keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions as part of the Nasa. Moon and Mars efforts, including lunar missions through the agency Artemis program.

Cygnus will also provide critical hardware to be installed over the next ISS Deployment Solar Panel (IROSA) spacewalks, as well as other components for the proper functioning of astronaut life on the space station, such as a waste deployer and acoustic blankets for the waste management system.

This Cygnus mission is the first to feature enhanced capabilities that will allow the spacecraft to perform a reboost, using its engines to adjust the space station’s orbit as a standard service for NASA. The agency has a reboost planned while Cygnus is tethered to the orbital lab. A test of the maneuver was performed in 2018 during Cygnus’ ninth resupply mission.

Cygnus will remain on the space station until May before deploying CubeSats and then disposing of several thousand pounds of junk upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, leading to its destruction.

Get the latest space station news, images and features at instagram, Facebookand @space station and @ISS_Research on Twitter.

Learn more about the mission at:

http://www.nasa.gov/northropgrumman/

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SOURCENASA