{"id":18802,"date":"2017-09-17T18:59:59","date_gmt":"2017-09-17T10:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacexs-dragon-cargo-capsule-splashes-down-with-a-crew-of-mouse-tronauts\/"},"modified":"2017-09-17T18:59:59","modified_gmt":"2017-09-17T10:59:59","slug":"spacexs-dragon-cargo-capsule-splashes-down-with-a-crew-of-mouse-tronauts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacexs-dragon-cargo-capsule-splashes-down-with-a-crew-of-mouse-tronauts\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX\u2019s Dragon cargo capsule splashes down with a crew of mouse-tronauts"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_363054\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-363054\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-363054\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/170917-spacex-630x476.jpg\" alt=\"Dragon's return trip\" width=\"630\" height=\"476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/170917-spacex-630x476.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/170917-spacex-768x581.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/170917-spacex.jpg 1049w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-363054\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SpaceX\u2019s robotic Dragon cargo capsule backs away from the International Space Station after its release by the station\u2019s robotic arm. (NASA TV)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>SpaceX\u2019s robotic Dragon capsule was set loose from the International Space Station today and returned to Earth with more than 3,800 pounds of cargo and experiments, including a set of live mice that will be studied after their stint in zero gravity.<\/p>\n<p>The trip marked the completion of SpaceX\u2019s 12th space station resupply mission under the terms of its multibillion-dollar contract with NASA. \u201cGodspeed, Dragon 12,\u201d Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli said as the Dragon was released by the station\u2019s robotic arm.<\/p>\n<p>Dragon\u2019s parachute-assisted Pacific Ocean splashdown came five and a half hours later, at around 7:15 a.m. PT off the coast of Southern California. A recovery ship was sent to pick up the capsule and bring it back to Long Beach for shipment to SpaceX\u2019s processing facility in Texas. The mice and other time-sensitive payloads will be delivered to NASA on an expedited basis.<\/p>\n<p>The Rodent Research-9 study is aimed at investigating how extended periods of weightlessness affects blood vessels in the brain and the eyes, as well as tracking cartilage loss in hip and knee joints. The results could help scientists figure out new ways to help astronauts cope with the health effects of zero-G, and help arthritis patients back on Earth.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=909361057092837376&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2017%2Fspacexs-dragon-cargo-capsule-splashes-crew-mouse-tronauts%2F&amp;sessionId=913954bfc30746c5e93b9be0972f0ab86c54de2d&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"909361057092837376\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i178280209534858877=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.@Astro_Paolo and @AstroKomrade released @SpaceX #Dragon with Canadarm2 at 4:40am ET today for return to Earth. https:\/\/t.co\/5rHQlLLgWo pic.twitter.com\/PhQkutEWdN<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 International Space Station (@Space_Station) September 17, 2017<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The habitat containing the mice was shipped up to the space station aboard the Dragon a little more than a month ago, along with a prototype supercomputer and more than three tons of other experiments and supplies. The supercomputer is staying in space, but today the Dragon brought back other scientific samples \u2013 including lung tissue that was grown in space and protein crystals that are thought to play a role in Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<p>The research facilities working on the experiments \u2013 including the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which is supporting the Parkinson\u2019s disease research \u2013&nbsp;will be looking forward to follow-up studies on the samples. Unfortunately, the mice don\u2019t have as much to look forward to. Once they\u2019re brought to the lab, they\u2019ll be euthanized and dissected for study.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX\u2019s Dragon is currently the only space vehicle capable of bringing substantial shipments back to Earth from the space station. Other robotic cargo craft, such as Russia\u2019s Progress and Orbital ATK\u2019s Cygnus,&nbsp;burn up during atmospheric re-entry. Russia\u2019s crewed Soyuz spacecraft can bring people back from space, but there\u2019s not much extra room for cargo.<\/p>\n<p>That situation is expected to change within the next few years, when Boeing\u2019s crewed&nbsp;Starliner space capsule and Sierra Nevada Corp.\u2019s robotic Dream Chaser space plane&nbsp;enter service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SpaceX\u2019s robotic Dragon cargo capsule backs away from the International Space Station after its release by the station\u2019s robotic arm. (NASA TV) SpaceX\u2019s robotic Dragon capsule was set loose from the International Space Station today and returned to Earth with more than 3,800 pounds of cargo and experiments, including a set of live mice that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[291,717,190,316],"class_list":["post-18802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-commercial-space","tag-international-space-station","tag-nasa","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18802"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18802\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}