The Cell Science-02 mission, CS-02, will be the second mission of the Cell Science project to use the Bioculture System aboard the International Space Station. The Bioculture System research platform was developed at NASA Ames Research Center and allows researchers to carry out studies on cell cultures in microgravity on the ISS. Research on cell cultures helps scientists learn about the details of cellular components and processes, providing a foundation for understanding how organisms as a whole function on the ground and in the space environment.
Cell Science-02 is a space flight experiment that will research the effects of microgravity on cultures of osteoblasts, which are cells that form new bone tissue. The investigation will study the effects of two different bone stimulating factors on the growth, differentiation, and cellular functions of osteoblasts in cell culture, as well as on their communication with surrounding cells. CS-02 scientists hypothesize that the two different bone stimulating factors will differentially impact the way osteoblasts specialize into different cells in microgravity and on Earth.
The information gained from the CS-02 study will assist scientists who are developing therapies for bone loss. In the spaceflight environment, bone density loss is one of the major health risks faced by astronauts. On Earth, osteoporosis affects hundreds of millions of people, leading to bone density loss and an increased risk of fracture. The results of this experiment could lead to new countermeasures against bone loss and new treatments for damaged bones, helping both astronauts in space and people here on Earth. The science for this mission is sponsored by the DoD Space Test Program.
Project Manager: Elizabeth Pane, NASA Ames Research Center
Mission Scientist: Natalya Dvorochkin, FILMSS, NASA Ames Research Center
Principal Investigator: Rasha Hammamieh, Ph.D., United States Army Center for Environmental Health Research (USACEHR)
Principal Investigator: Melissa Kacena, Ph.D., Indiana University School of Medicine
Co-Investigators: Nabarun Chakraborty (USACEHR) and Aarti Gautam (USACEHR)
DoD Payload Integration Manager: Carolynn Conley, MEI Technologies Inc., DoD Space Test Program – Houston