On June 3 at 17:29 UTC, CRS-22 launched on shiny new Falcon 9 booster 1067. SpaceX threaded the needle between storms and was able to send the mission off on the first attempt. It successfully docked to the IDA-3 port on the ISS on June 5 at 09:09 UTC.

CRS-22 is the second flight of the newly upgraded Cargo Dragon 2 and carries the first of three pairs of ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays in its unpressurized trunk. These will be installed on the station’s truss in front of the current solar panels, which will allow the new panels to use the current electrical channels on the station. The oldest panels on the station’s truss are pushing twenty years in space, the youngest twelve years old, and their output has degraded over the years from their extended time in space. The ISS needs more power for its future programs, including new commercial operations and the Artemis program. When all of the new panels are installed, power generation will be back to the amount provided by the eight panels when they were new.

In addition to the new solar panels, CRS-22 also carried a number of experiments for the astronauts to perform, including new live animal experiments! One experiment, called Cell Science‑04, tracks how tardigrade gene expression changes across multiple, stressed-out generations. We know in humans that stress causes generational changes to our biology. Experimenting with humans is discouraged, so itty bitty, hard to kill tardigrade it is. 

Researchers are exploring if and how the tardigrades adapt to the environment of space. The tardigrades arrived at the ISS frozen into two groups. One group will be thawed and active for only one generation, or one week, then put back in the freezer. The other set will be active for four generations, or two months, before also getting refrozen. All the tardigrade will eventually return to Earth, where their genomes will be sequenced and compared to pre-launch sequences to see what changed. With luck, the tardigrades will give us insight into space-related health problems, and facilitate the creation of countermeasures for human astronauts.

To learn about the other animal experiment – one involving squid – visit our website, DailySpace.org.

Another exciting experiment launched on CRS-22 involves a Butterfly IQ Ultrasound, a small, tablet-controlled commercial ultrasound unit. This common medical device will allow an astronaut to image the internal workings of their own body, including their internal jugular vein, the lungs, bladder, and kidneys. One of the strangely complicated parts of this research is the camera setup required to allow astronauts and technicians on the ground to work together. To make this happen, the tablet will have a camera pointed at its screen so the astronaut and tech can both see the images. A second camera will provide a view of the crew member so folks can watch and help with the experiments.

I feel like the astronaut in that story may count as another live animal experiment, and this next experiment… well, you decide for yourself.

As previously mentioned, Crew 2 is doing Tissue On A Chip investigations. CRS 22 launched Kidney Cells 2, which will investigate the formation of microcrystals or kidney stones. In this experiment, a small slide with cells will replicate the functions of a kidney, and monitor how microcrystals behave in zero-G. It’s hoped this will lead to better therapies for the prevention and treatment of kidney stones, which astronauts are particularly prone to because of dehydration and minerals loss that occurs in space.

More Information

Launch discussion thread (Reddit)

NASA Invites Public to Share Excitement of SpaceX Cargo Launch (NASA)

New Solar Arrays to Power NASA’s International Space Station Research (NASA)

SpaceX’s 22nd Commercial Resupply Mission to Space Station Launches Water Bears, Squid, Solar Panels (NASA)

Butterfly IQ Ultrasound (NASA)

Effects of Microgravity on the Structure and Function of Proximal and Distal Tubule MPS (NASA)

Launch video