NASA-SpaceX Crew 7 to conduct over 200 scientific investigations
NASA and SpaceX are gearing up to launch four astronauts as part of the Crew 7 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Once aboard the orbiting space lab, astronauts will perform over 200 research technology demonstrations and scientific investigations, including collecting samples for microbial research and studying the sleep differences on Earth and in space.
Meet the crew members of the upcoming mission
The four astronauts who will be flying to the ISS as part of the Crew 7 mission are NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos. Mogensen will serve as the flight engineer. Moghbeli and Borisov will be making their first trip to space via Crew 7 mission.
The crew will conduct several important scientific investigations
The crew will have a busy time aboard the ISS. During spacewalks, the astronauts will collect samples to ascertain if the space station releases microorganisms through life support system vents and if so, how much. These specimens will then be brought back to Earth where scientists will analyze them to see if microorganisms can survive the conditions in space and reproduce.
Researchers intend to study how microbes would behave on Mars
Interestingly, researchers intend to simulate space-like environments on Earth where they can continue monitoring how the microbes thrive under such conditions. They eventually want to test how microbes will behave on the Moon and Mars.
Scientists will be monitoring changes in sleep patterns of astronauts
Conditions in space also affect the sleep patterns of astronauts. This in turn can impact their overall health. To investigate that, scientists will send an earbud electroencephalogram (EEG) device that will measure the brain activity of astronauts when they are asleep. The improvised device is less complicated compared to the standard EEGs and is easy to handle.
Scientists aim to study how space affects the human body
Additionally, scientists aim to study how space affects the human body. NASA says this is the "first study of human response to different spaceflight durations" and this could very well be among the most crucial investigations performed on the Crew 7 mission. The results from this investigation will be crucial in helping plan the duration of crewed expeditions to the Moon and Mars.
Crew 7 will launch on August 17
Along with all the aforementioned scientific studies, the Crew 7 mission astronauts will carry out maintenance activities on the ISS. According to the latest developments, the launch of Crew 7 has been pushed from August 15 to August 17. The mission will take off on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
