Astronauts Launching on NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 Will Support Variety of ISS National Lab-Sponsored Research

The crew will support projects spanning biomanufacturing, regenerative medicine, physical sciences, technology development, and student-led experiments during their six-month mission

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Four new crew members are preparing to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission. During their six-month expedition, NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov will support hundreds of scientific investigations, including numerous ISS National Lab-sponsored projects that seek to benefit life on Earth and enable a robust low Earth orbit (LEO) economy. The mission will launch no earlier than 11:10 a.m. EDT on October 1 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

While on station, the crew will work on ISS National Lab-sponsored research aimed at advancing biomedical innovation, fundamental science, STEM education, and technology development. Below are highlights of some projects the Crew-13 astronauts are expected to support.

Biomanufacturing and Regenerative Medicine

Several investigations seek to advance biomanufacturing and regenerative medicine through the development of organoid models, growth of vascularized tissues, and crystallization of therapeutically relevant proteins.

• The National Stem Cell Foundation is using human neural organoid models to study neuroinflammation and test potential therapeutics for neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson's Disease.
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center researchers aim to grow stem cell-derived cardiac spheroids with blood vessels to model cardiovascular disease and examine how cancer drugs affect the heart. This project was awarded through the ISS National Lab's Igniting Innovation collaboration with NASA's Biological and Physical Sciences Division.
• Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) aims to use organoids created from patient-donated colorectal cancer cells to test chemotherapy drugs and identify targets for new therapeutics. This project was also awarded through Igniting Innovation.
• Another WFIRM team aims to study how vascularized, 3D-bioprinted liver tissue constructs develop and function in microgravity. Results from this project, which originated from NASA's Vascular Tissue Challenge, could help lead to in-space production of tissues for organ transplants on Earth.
• Aspera Biomedicines is continuing protein crystallization research to improve the formulation of its new cancer therapeutic that is currently in clinical trials.

NSF-Funded Fundamental Science

Multiple projects are fundamental science studies funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). For more than a decade, the ISS National Lab and NSF have collaborated on annual research solicitations, and NSF has funded nearly 100 ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations.

• The University of California, San Diego is leveraging microgravity to study the forces that affect catastrophic mudflows that occur after wildfires. 
• Virginia Tech will examine the effects of microgravity on key processes involved in wound healing.
• The University of Kentucky will study how alloys melt and flow in microgravity, which is important for applications that involve joining two metals in space, such as in-orbit spacecraft repair or assembly.
• Princeton University will examine how bacterial films form on the surface of drops to better control bacterial films in food preservation, environmental control, and healthcare.

Student-Led Research

Some experiments are student-led projects through STEM education programs. The Genes in Space program, founded by Boeing and miniPCR bio and supported by the ISS National Lab, challenges students to design innovative DNA experiments for spaceflight. This year's project focuses on the in-space production of proteins that could support future long-duration spaceflight missions. The student team will test different DNA sequences that code for the same protein to see which ones produce the protein most effectively in space. Results could help researchers develop better ways to produce proteins for therapeutics, food production, and other applications on missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Expanding ISS Research Capabilities

The crew is also expected to help support the installation of a new facility on the exterior of the space station. Voyager Technologies' Nanoracks External Laboratory (NEL) will provide a next-generation platform for experiments operating in the harsh environment of space, which includes enhanced radiation levels, extreme temperature fluctuations, and exposure to atomic oxygen. Mounted on Voyager's Bishop Airlock, NEL succeeds the earlier Nanoracks External Platform (NREP) as the company's primary external payload-hosting facility on the orbiting laboratory.

These represent only a portion of the diverse research portfolio the Crew-13 astronauts will support during their mission on station. Additional information on ISS National Lab-sponsored projects will be available as NASA's commercial resupply missions launch to the space station throughout the expedition.

Since 2011, the ISS National Lab has sponsored more than 1,000 payloads delivered to the ISS, enabling breakthroughs in biomedical innovation, technology development, materials science, and commercial space utilization. Results from this research have led to more than 705 peer-reviewed publications, more than 20% of which appear in top-tier journals.

To learn more about valuable results from research on the orbiting laboratory, subscribe to Upward, the official magazine of the ISS National Lab.

Download a high-resolution image for this release: Crew-13 Astronauts

About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory:
The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Laboratory^® allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve quality of life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology, and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space^® (CASIS^®) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative Agreement with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit our website.

SOURCE International Space Station National Lab