SUPPLY LAUNCH: A SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft carrying more than 6,500 pounds of science experiments, crew supplies, and other cargo on its way to the International Space Station launched Tuesday (Dec. 21) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

It was scheduled to autonomously dock at the space station around 4:30 a.m. today and will remain there for about a month. Among the science experiments Dragon is delivering to the space station are:

Bioprinting bandages: Bioprinting uses viable cells and biological molecules to print tissue structures. The German Aerospace Center study Bioprint FirstAid demonstrates a portable, handheld bioprinter that uses a patient’s own skin cells to create a tissue-forming patch to cover a wound and accelerate the healing process. On future missions to the Moon and Mars, bioprinting such customized patches could help address changes in wound healing that can occur in space and complicate treatment.

Lunar laundry detergent: Astronauts on the space station wear items of clothing several times, then replace them with new clothes delivered on resupply missions. Limited cargo capacity makes this a challenge, and resupply is not an option for longer missions, such as those to the Moon and Mars.

In a collaboration with NASA, a fully degradable detergent specifically designed for use in space will be studied for the performance of its stain removal ingredients and the formulation’s stability in microgravity.

Once proven in space, Tide plans to use the new cleaning methods and detergent to advance sustainable, low-resource-use laundry solutions on Earth.

Parts made in space: Turbine Superalloy Casting Module (SCM) tests a commercial manufacturing device that processes heat-resistant alloy parts in microgravity. Researchers expect more uniform microstructures and improved mechanical properties in superalloy parts processed in microgravity compared to those processed on Earth.

Learn more about SpaceX’s mission for NASA at https://www.nasa.gov/spacex.