iss_emit_002.png An image of the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT), which will help researchers determine climate effects by measuring the composition of minerals that become airborne dust. Credits: NASA

NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 2, to discuss the hardware, technology demonstrations, and science experiments, including a new climate research investigation, headed to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s 25th commercial resupply mission for NASA. Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live on the agency’s website.

SpaceX is targeting Thursday, June 9 at 10:45 a.m. to launch its cargo Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

One of the primary payloads aboard the cargo flight is the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation or EMIT. This tool will identify the composition of mineral dust from Earth’s arid regions and analyze dust carried through the atmosphere from deserts to see what effects it has on the planet, further advancing NASA’s data contributions to monitoring climate change.

The media call also will highlight experiments studying the aging of immune cells and the potential to reverse those effects during post-flight recovery, an investigation of how sutured wounds heal in microgravity, and a student experiment testing a concrete alternative for potential use in future lunar and Martian habitats.

Teleconference participants include:

• Kirt Costello, NASA’s chief scientist for the International Space Station Program Research Office
• Dr. Robert Green, principal investigator for the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) 
• James Wall and Jocelyn Hoang Thai from the Stanford student experiment, Biopolymer Research for In-Situ Capabilities  
• Dr. Monica Monici, principal investigator of the Suture in Space study  
• Dr. Sonja Schrepfer, principal investigator for the Immunosenescence experiment  
• Dr. Janet Jansson, principal investigator of the DynaMoS investigation  

To participate in the call, media must contact Gina Anderson at least two hours prior to the start of the call for dial-in details at: gina.n.anderson@nasa.gov.

The public can submit questions on social media using #AskNASA.

Cargo resupply from U.S. companies ensures a national capability to deliver critical science research to the space station, significantly increasing NASA's ability to conduct

new investigations at the only laboratory in space. 

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and enables research not possible on Earth. NASA recently celebrated 21 years of continuous human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, which has hosted 258 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leaps in exploration, including future human missions to the Moon and eventually to Mars.

Members of the public can attend the launch virtually and receive mission updates. To participate, members of the public can register for email updates to stay up to date on mission information, mission highlights, and interaction opportunities.

For launch countdown coverage, NASA's launch blog, and more information about the mission, visit:

 https://www.nasa.gov/spacex

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Press Contacts

Gina Anderson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1160
gina.n.anderson@nasa.gov

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