NASA has successfully launched a spacecraft with nearly 8,000 pounds of scientific investigations, technology demonstrations, commercial products along with cargo that includes research on cancer treatments and a “new space toilet”. A Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft blasted off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 9:16 PM EDT on Friday, October 2. It is scheduled to reach the International Space Station (ISS) around 5:20 AM EDT on Monday, October 5. 

Expected to remain at the ISS until mid-December,  the toilet for astronauts on the Cygnus cargo ship is an up-gradation from the current facility in space. The new female-friendly addition would help the organisation in preparing for its future missions to Mars and the Moon and reportedly costs $23 million.

Claiming smaller footprints of the Universal Management System (UWMS), the new space toilet will support a possible increase in the number of crew members aboard the ISS. UWMS demonstrates a compact toilet and the urine transfer system that further makes waste management and storage automated. 

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New crop, cancer treatments to reach ISS

In the same mission, NASA has also launched a set of a new crop of vegetables to the space station. While different types of lettuces and greens are already aboard the ISS, now radishes will also be added to the mix. By the cultivation of fresh seeds, the researchers will not only be able to see how different soil and light impact growth but also optimize the plants in space. 

Apart from an upgrade on ‘space salad’, NASA has also sent targetted cancer treatments to space to test them in microgravity. The drugs that have been included for this test are ‘onco-selective’, that is, they can differentiate between cancer cells and healthy cells. 

NASA said, “Researchers expect any drugs that also demonstrate this trait in microgravity could make good candidates for safer, more effective, and affordable medicines to treat leukemia and other cancers. This could improve survival rates for thousands of people every year.”

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