USA/ Polish scientist: our experiment is waiting to be launched into orbit in the Dragon capsule

Our microalgae placed in a special container are waiting to be launched into orbit in the Dragon capsule, Ewa Borowska, who leads the experiment, which is to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Ax-4 mission, told PAP. She added that the launch delays to date have not harmed these exceptionally resistant organisms.

"Space Volcanic Algae" is one of 13 experiments as part of the Polish technological and scientific mission IGNIS to the International Space Station (ISS). It will be conducted by Dr. Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, a Polish project astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA).

NASA and Axiom Space said Saturday that the Axiom-4 mission will not launch until June 19 at the earliest; the launch window is open until June 30.

As part of the "Space Volcanic Algae" project, scientists will investigate how microalgae cope with space conditions. Microalgae similar to those naturally occurring in volcanic areas and geysers, such as in Iceland or Yellowstone (USA), were selected for the experiment. These are extremophile organisms, which means that they are highly resistant to extreme conditions – for example, pressure, temperature, radiation or high concentrations of certain substances.

The algae are placed in an aluminum, fully automated box called a "cube" that will be connected to a power supply on the ISS in the Columbus module of the European space laboratory. The container with microalgae is to be returned to Earth with the mission crew. The researchers will then compare the results from orbit with the Earth experiment, which they will conduct in the same cube.

Ewa Borowska, CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and scientist at Extremo Technologies, told PAP that the microalgae cube is waiting to be launched into orbit in the Dragon capsule, which will be flown to the International Space Station (ISS) by astronauts from the Ax-4 mission, including Pole Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski.

"Since algae are extremophiles, delaying the start is also a lesson for us. We will check how resilient they are," she emphasized.

She added that on Wednesday, her team received a box of microalgae that had already been placed in the capsule for inspection: "It turned out that they were in good condition and after a few days of waiting in the capsule, nothing harmful happened. Then we had a so-called handover, i.e. re-handing over our cube to Axiom Space so that it could be placed in Dragon again."

Another postponement of the launch may affect the course of experiments, especially biological ones.

"For the last long months, we have been focusing on getting everything ready and sending our algae to the International Space Station. The delay is not an easy situation, but the thing about space research is that we should choose very resistant organisms, because you never know what will happen. For example, how long they will wait to fly into orbit and then to the Moon or Mars," the scientist noted.

She added that if the algae did not cope well with waiting in the box, she had the option of preparing a fresh experiment in NASA laboratories. In addition, in the event of a prolonged delay in the launch and the need for Ewa Borowska and her team to return to Poland, there is a person living in the US who will look after the microalgae until the launch.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to carry a Dragon capsule carrying members of the Axe-4 mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The Ax-4 mission crew consists of: Peggy Whitson (USA) – commander, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland/ESA) – specialist, Shubhanshu Shukla (India) – pilot and Tibor Kapu (Hungary) – specialist. Dr Uznański-Wiśniewski will be the second Pole in space after Mirosław Hermaszewski.

This is the fourth commercial manned expedition carried out by the American company Axiom Space. The participation of the Pole in it is the result of an agreement signed by the Ministry of Development and Technology and the European Space Agency to prepare and conduct the Polish technological and scientific mission IGNIS to the ISS. The Polish Space Agency (POLSA) is also involved in the preparations. 13 experiments and technologies of Polish scientists and companies will be taken to the ISS.

From Cape Canaveral Anna Bugajska (PAP)

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