Ramona Adams
NASA has launched SpaceX‘s ninth commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station as part of the company’s Commercial Resupply Services contract with the space agency.
NASA said Monday the CRS-9 mission carries 5,000 pounds of cargo, which will reach the space station on Wednesday.
The space agency added the cargo contains samples and instruments that will support various ISS science and research investigations, one of which is the Biomolecule Sequencer — the first space-based DNA testing experiment.
The Biomolecule Sequencer aims to identify microbes, diagnose diseases, monitor crew health and potentially detect DNA-based life outside of the Earth, NASA noted.
The ISS crew will also test a new three-dimensional solar cell and continue research on the effect of microgravity on bone loss and the human heart to help address health risks posed by long periods of space travel.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted the Dragon spacecraft carrying the scientific cargo Monday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Dragon is scheduled to leave ISS on Aug. 29 and subsequently splash down in the Pacific Ocean with more than 3,300 pounds of science, hardware, crew supplies and spacewalk tools.
