Today, Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) Commander Michael López-Alegría, Pilot Walter Villadei, Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravcı, and Mission Specialist Marcus Wandt completed their fourth full day (flight day seven) on the International Space Station (ISS).
The crew is spending much of their time conducting research and outreach engagements. Since launching to the ISS on Jan. 18, the Ax-3 astronauts have now orbited the Earth approximately 96 times.
MLA and Villadei utilized the Timeshifter application, which helps them synchronize with the ISS crew sleep schedule.
Today, Villadei continued to complete more microscope imaging of the cancer cell cultures stored in bioreactor bags for the Cancer in LEO project. This project studies tumor organoids in microgravity with the goal to identify early warning signs of cancer for prediction and prevention of disease.
After adding a growth solution yesterday, Gezeravcı proceeded to take images of the plant samples to track their growth progression for the Extremophyte Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) project. This study will ultimately examine how the stress responses of plants in microgravity could translate to improved agricultural practices on Earth, in space, or on other terrestrial bodies for future space exploration missions.
Gezeravcı also completed surface swapping for the second part of the CRISPR study, which will evaluate the salt stress tolerance of two plants (one salt-sensitive and one salt-tolerant) that will be germinated and grown onboard the ISS. This will show how microgravity affects the growth, movement, and genetics of Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress, a member of the mustard family) and could provide valuable insights into plant adaptation to extreme environments and help develop more resilient crops for agriculture.
Wandt completed a test of the ESA-led Multi-Avatar and Robots Collaborating with Intuitive Interface (Surface Avatar) project and provided post-execution notes on the use of the payload. Surface Avatar is focused on developing robotic assets for space exploration, building infrastructure on planets and asteroids, and optimizing processes for data connections and communications relays.
Today, Villadei participated in an event with the medical director for the Italian company GVM Assistance, Giampaolo Stopazzolo, to discuss medicine in space. During Ax-3, GVM is testing a telemedicine platform by collecting and monitoring data using a health application through devices worn by the crew. This technology could be used in the future to monitor and manage the health of astronauts before, during, and after human spaceflight missions.
Tomorrow at 8:25 a.m. CT, Villadei will participate in a live NASA PAO event with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.
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