jsc2024e066523 (1/6/2024) --- Colorado Springs students Noah Grebe, Luke Davis, and Blake MacDonald observe crystal growth.Their experiment, Calcium Sulfate Crystal Growth in Microgravity, is part of the Nanoracks-National Center for Earth and Space Science Education-Surveyor-Student Spaceflight Experiments Program Mission 18 to ISS (Nanoracks-NCESSE-Surveyor-SSEP).

jsc2024e043914 (7/10/2024) --- In-Space Expansion of Hematopoietic Stem Cells for Clinical Application (InSPA-StemCellEX-H1) continues tests of a technology to produce human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in space. In this image, HSCs were incubated with a fluorescent probe that identifies living cells. Dead cells would fluoresce green. The cells have been loaded into a device called a hemocytometer that provides a grid to make it easy to obtain an accurate count of cells. Astronauts will use a similar technique in space to help determine the rate of HSC expansion over time. Expanding HSC production has the potential to improve patient outcomes and reduce overall mortality for thousands of people diagnosed and living with blood cancer every year. Image courtesy of University of Colorado Boulder.