Nov. 22 (UPI) — A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to blast off on Tuesday to deliver supplies and experiments to the International Space Station.
The CRS-26 mission is set to launch on a Falcon 9 rocket at 3:54 p.m. EST from launch complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center and will be streamed on NASA’s official YouTube channel.
The Dragon will deliver equipment and experiments intended to prolong the survivability of astronauts in space including “a study which will grow dwarf tomatoes as part of efforts to create a continuous fresh-food production system in space, and an experiment that tests an on-demand method to create specific quantities of key nutrients.”
The tomatoes will be grown in an on-station Vegetable Production System known as “Veggie.”
Several pieces of equipment designed to help better assess the health of astronauts will also be onboard the Dragon.
“One of the payloads aboard the cargo flight is the Moon Microscope kit for in-flight medical diagnosis that includes a portable handheld microscope and a small blood sample staining device,” reads a press release from NASA on Tuesday.
The kit will allow astronauts to collect and view blood samples and transmit the images back to Earth so that flight surgeons can diagnose illnesses.
A new piece of technology called Falcon Googles will be transported to the space station to provide high-speed video of astronauts’ eyes to help better understand the effects of space travel.
“Devices like this will be invaluable as we work toward preparing astronauts for long-duration exploration to the Moon and beyond to Mars,” said Cherie Oubre, deputy flight scientist with NASA’s Human Research Initiative.
Additionally, the Dragon will deliver an experimental “Extrusion” tool designed create shapes out of resin in microgravity.
“Our method reduces the time to create key parts needed for daily mission use and it may support future space construction of large structures like trusses and antennae,” says Ariel Ekblaw, principal investigator and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative.
The mission is also set to deliver a new set of International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs) which could increase the space station’s available power by up to 30%.
