Moffitt Cancer Center experiment on board of first all-private astronaut mission to ISS

TAMPA, Fla. - The historic SpaceX launch on Friday morning has a special connection to the Tampa Bay area: an experiment from the Moffitt Cancer Center is part of the mission.

Later this morning, Axiom and SpaceX will be launching from Cape Canaveral the all-private mission to the International Space Station. The local experiment comes in a tiny box and will study stress and DNA damage caused by space travel. Scientists say astronauts are exposed to a number of different DNA stressors during space flight, such as radiation, microgravity, and other physical stressors.

Once at the space station, cells will be exposed to the stressors, but it will be testing the impact of silencing or deleting a particular gene to see if the cells are protected against DNA damage. The lab is about the size of a shoebox and is controlled from Earth.

Four astronauts will be on board – a veteran Spanish-American NASA astronaut, who is now the vice president of business development for Axiom; an Ohio real estate and tech entrepreneur; a former fighter pilot from Israel; and a Canadian businessman and philanthropist.

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The cost of their ticket to the ISS was $55 million. 

Once they get to the space station, the team will help conduct more than two dozen science experiments. One of those experiments was created by two doctors from the Moffitt Cancer Center.

"To have our experiment on board and on this historic mission is really exciting," said Dr. Patsy McDonald. "Astronauts are exposed to a number of different DNA stressors during space flight, and that includes radiation, microgravity as well as physical stressors."

The Moffitt scientists will be controlling it over the next ten days. Their goal is to develop a drug that can be used as a preventative measure for astronauts.