NASA and SpaceX are targeting 10:22 a.m. EDT Friday, June 10, to launch the agencys next investigation to monitor climate change to the International Space Station. Flying aboard SpaceXs 25th commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory is NASAs Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT).
SpaceXs Dragon spacecraft will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida to deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the international crew, including a new climate research investigation.
Live coverage will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agencys website, with prelaunch events starting Thursday, June 9.
Dragon will carry more than 4,500 pounds of cargo, including a variety of NASA investigations like EMIT, which will identify the composition of mineral dust from Earths aridregions and analyze dust carried through the atmosphere from deserts to seewhat effects it has on theplanet, further advancing NASAs data contributions to monitoring climate change.
Other investigations include studying the aging of immune cells and the potential to reverse those effects during postflight 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.
Arrival to the station is scheduled for 6:20 a.m. Sunday, June 12. Dragon will dock autonomously to the forward-facing port of the stations Harmony module, with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines monitoring operations from the station.
The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.
