Astronauts aboard the ISS are conducting a groundbreaking experiment on bone-forming stem cells, aiming to decode how microgravity accelerates bone loss. The study, housed in Japan’s Kibo lab module, involves treating human bone samples with a specialized compound to observe cellular responses in space.

NASA’s Jonny Kim and JAXA’s Kimiya Yui led the research setup, activating the Life Science Glovebox and installing a gravity-simulating incubator. The bone samples, delivered by SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft, will be returned to Earth for post-flight analysis.

In parallel, the Dragon spacecraft successfully executed a reboost maneuver using its external propulsion kit — a key step in maintaining the ISS’s orbital altitude. This marks a shift from traditional Russian-led altitude adjustments, showcasing SpaceX’s growing role in station operations.

Crew members Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke continued unpacking scientific payloads, while preparing for upcoming physics experiments focused on material behavior in microgravity. Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritsky, and Oleg Platonov conducted emergency drills and routine maintenance tasks.

This mission underscores the ISS’s role as a frontier for biomedical innovation and international collaboration in space science.