Space to Ground: Capture: Feb. 02, 2024

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

What is said in the film

Welcome to Space to Ground, I'm Nilufar Ramji. With a new cargo delivery arriving this week, the space station crew continues to work on unpacking the 8,200 pounds of science, equipment, and supplies. Plus, have you ever thought about the innovation space exploration brings to our home planet? NASA’s 2024 spinoffs are ready to show you! NASA Northrup Grumman’s 20th mission, NG-20 was berthed to the Unity module on Thursday, February 1.

NASA astronaut, Jasmin Moghbeli took the lead to capture Cygnus with the Canadarm 2 robotic arm while Loral O’Hara monitored Cygnus’ automated approach and rendezvous. Among the new science now on the Space Station, we are looking at how microgravity affects manufacturing, specifically, thin films that have a wide range of resources including the production of semiconductors, metallic films, and crystals, using advanced vapor deposition. The Manufacturing of Semiconductors and Thin-Film Integrated Coatings has the potential for producing films with superior surface structures and broad applications ranging from energy harvesting to advanced sensor technology. This research could lead to the development of more efficient and higher-performing electrical devices here on Earth. For astronauts on long-duration missions, this technology is one part of the manufacturing process that could be crucial for producing components and devices in space, reducing the need for resupply missions from Earth.

Another investigation called the Compartment Cartilage Tissue Construct demonstrates two technologies for producing cartilage in microgravity as a model for studying the progression of cartilage diseases. Cartilage has limited self-repairing capacity, and its degeneration can often results in irreversible osteoarthritis, which is a leading cause of disability in older patients. This type of cartilage research in microgravity could lead to the faster development of effective therapies. Results from this investigation could advance cartilage regeneration as a treatment for joint damage and diseases on Earth and contribute to development of ways to maintain cartilage health on future missions to the Moon and Mars. As NASA innovates for the benefit of all, what the agency develops for exploration has the potential to evolve into other technologies with broader use here on Earth.

The 2024 edition of NASA Spinoffs hit the shelves this week where several commercialized technologies applied NASA’s research and development expertise to impact our lives on a daily basis. One of the spinoffs includes a technology developed for NASA to make improvements to existing automated testing for viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens in the air and water and on surfaces aboard the International Space Station. To read more about this innovation and more than 40 other medical and commercialized technologies, visit spinoff. nasa. gov.

And that’s Space to Ground for now, thanks for watching.

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