NASA’s SpaceX CRS-35 Mission to Launch Health Research

NASA’s 35th Commercial Resupply Services mission, launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, will carry experiments focused on human and plant health and drug-resistant organisms to the International Space Station. The mission supports astronaut health during long-duration missions through four investigations from NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences division. Research includes 3D models of the human brain, a crop disease study, a faster way to assess astronaut health, and an analysis of antibiotic-resistant bacteria aboard the space station.

A precision health investigation will send small, lab-grown models of the human brain to the orbiting laboratory for five weeks. Researchers will compare these tissue models with identical ones kept on Earth to determine how a short spaceflight affects the human brain at the cellular level. The findings aim to deepen understanding of brain responses to stress and help develop methods to counter risks to astronaut brain health during future missions beyond low Earth orbit.

A space crops investigation will test whether crop diseases develop faster and more severely in microgravity. The experiment compares molecular and structural changes between Earth-grown and space station-grown plants infected with a disease-causing fungus. Results could guide plant breeding on Earth to produce disease-resistant crops and support future space agriculture systems by minimizing yield losses.

The mission will also test a compact microplate reader, the first of its kind aboard the space station, as part of the Commercially Enabled Rapid Space Science initiative. The device will detect and measure biomarkers such as antibodies, antigens, and proteins, allowing scientists to analyze samples aboard the station and obtain data quickly. This capability aims to support timely detection of infections and other health issues in astronauts during long-duration missions.