CHARTING THE MICROBIAL MAP—Read the Cover Story

Upward Volume 8 Issue 3

Upward Volume 8, Issue 3 Available Now

In this issue’s cover story, learn about microbes that hitchhike with astronauts, inhabit the space station, and adapt to the unique conditions there. Other features highlight how wave patterns in vibrating fluids could improve heat removal systems and how researchers are propelling bubbles using light to precisely steer fluids—both of which are critically important for future space missions.

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View From the Cupola: Sachin Velankar

November 19, 2025

View From the Cupola: Sachin Velankar

At age 17, Anna-Sophia Boguraev won a STEM contest that changed her perspective on what is possible on Earth and beyond.

Upward 

Upward 8.3 Good Vibrations

November 19, 2025

Good Vibrations: Transforming Cooling and 3D Printing in Space

By studying fluid wave patterns on the ISS, scientists discover how to harness resonance for valuable applications.

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The sampling tools used to swab surfaces across the ISS for the study.

November 19, 2025

Charting the Microbial Map: What Astronauts Leave Behind

A sweeping 3D survey uncovers the microbial ecosystem thriving onboard the ISS—and what it means for living beyond Earth.

Upward 

Five fluid-filled cuvettes prepared for launch to the ISS as part of the investigation.

November 19, 2025

Reshaping Clean-Energy Design With Space Bubbles

Light-activated bubbles in microgravity are revealing new ways to move fluids—insights that could unlock cleaner, more...

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Anna-Sophia Boguraev works in the vaccine lab at the Ragon Institute of Harvard, MIT, and Mass General Brigham

July 23, 2025

From High School Labs to the ISS: How Genes in Space Shaped the Future of Four Young...

As kids, their ambitions were sky-high. With help from an annual STEM contest, those childhood dreams didn’t vanish.

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This microscopic image shows a cloned tumor sample from a SpaceX CRS-30 investigation that used Encapsulate’s tumor-on-a-chip system to grow patient-derived cancer cells and test chemotherapy drugs in microgravity.

July 23, 2025

The Tumor Oracle: How a Startup is Using the ISS to Outwit Cancer

Could cancer become less mysterious? Research onboard the ISS offered some surprising results.

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The future LunaNet will bring terrestrial internet capabilities to astronauts, rovers, and orbiters.

July 23, 2025

Interplanetary Internet: Sending Data Across the Solar System

In the future, the ability to communicate and transfer data will be crucial for exploration across our solar system.

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Anna-Sophia Boguraev, M.D.-Ph.D. Student at Harvard and MIT

July 23, 2025

View From the Cupola: Anna-Sophia Boguraev

At age 17, Anna-Sophia Boguraev won a STEM contest that changed her perspective on what is possible on Earth and beyond.

Upward 

Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli works onboard the ISS in March 2024 to retrieve bags containing heart cells for the Emory team's experiment.

March 25, 2025

Celestial Cells: Advancing Regenerative Heart Therapies in Space

What if an observation about cancer cells in space could lead to life-saving treatments for heart failure on Earth?

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Axiom Space astronauts Peggy Whitson and Rayyanah Barnawi producing the Janus base nano-matrix for the first time on station.

March 25, 2025

Microgravity Manufacturing: Producing Nanomaterials That Could Revolutionize Medicine

Osteoarthritis affects one in seven Americans and currently, the only long term solution is surgery.

Upward 

March 25, 2025

Seeing Clearly Now: Pioneering Steps in Space Toward a Cure for Blindness

Treatments for age-related macular degeneration remain frustratingly reactive: slow the decline, cushion the fall.

Upward 

March 25, 2025

View From the Cupola: Hema Ramkumar

At age 11, I was crazy enough to declare my intent to cure blindness. Throughout my teens and twenties, I spent every minute...

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