Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers with JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 7, 2025, to begin final preparations for their upcoming mission to the International Space Station. [NASA]
Crew-10 commander Anne McClain, pilot Nichole Ayers, JAXA mission specialist Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos mission specialist Kirill Peskov reached station orbit on March 15 and have since slipped into lab-technician mode for Expedition 73.
What’s in the microgravity pipeline
Central to the researchers’ investigations is the exploitation of microgravity. By removing the confounding effects of buoyancy and sedimentation that hinder Earth-based studies, researchers working with the ISS National Lab aim to gain perspectives that are simply unattainable planetside. Their focus will continue the following:
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Viral-load sensing. A Lehigh University team is watching micron-scale particles drift along a temperature gradient to fine-tune a disposable device that can read viral copies in blood or saliva without bulky lab gear—work impossible on Earth where buoyancy and sedimentation muddy the signal.
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Protein “ghost-busting.” Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers are mapping how therapeutic proteins glom together during manufacturing. By letting a droplet float freely, they can separate wall effects from true aggregation kinetics—data drugmakers hope will stave off costly batch failures.
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Ceramic-nanomaterial hybrids. University of Alabama-Birmingham scientists are sintering ceramic matrices with conductive nano-fillers to make composites that shrug off extreme heat while doubling as wiring or energy-storage substrates. The upside: parts can be molded into almost any form factor before final curing.
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DNA-mimic nanoscaffolds. University of Connecticut and Eascra Biotech are refining Janus-base nanomaterials—self-assembling strands that imitate DNA backbones and could ferry osteoarthritis or oncology drugs. Fewer gravity-induced defects mean more uniform scaffolds and, potentially, more predictable dosing.
Why it matters now
The ISS National Laboratory facilitated more than 100 payloads launched in 2024 alone, and its managers have noted that a concentrated microgravity ‘sprint’ can resolve complex fluid dynamics or crystallization problems that might otherwise take years in terrestrial labs. For applications like rapid viral-load diagnostics or stabilizing fragile protein therapeutics, markets where faster turnaround times directly impact revenue or shelf life, the practical days shaved off development often outweigh the mere novelty of conducting research in space.
The International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members in 2018. [Image courtesy of NASA]
