Representatives of the Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) made a special announcement at the Engadget Expand conference in San Francisco on Sunday, March 17. The group is in charge of managing the U.S. National Laboratory aboard the International Space Station. The first payload of scientific experiment selected by CASIS will be launched to the ISS by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket later this year. The payload has been designated ARK 1(for Advancing Research Knowledge). The ARK 1 mission patch was unveiled at Engadget Expand and introduced with a brief video featuring artist Shepard Fairy who designed the patch.
In addition to the onstage announcement, CASIS also had a booth at Engadget Expand to provide information to both academic researchers and private companies about services the group provides to help get research projects aboard the ISS. CASIS recently formed a partnership with start-up accelerator MassChallenge to help fund research projects in space by start-up companies. CASIS also announced on Friday a Request for Information (RFI) seeking to identify entities capable of serving as implementation partners for microgravity-based, non-embryonic stem cell research conducted on the station.
For more information about CASIS, go to their website at: http://www.iss-casis.org/
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