On the morning of Sunday, December 6th, SpaceX launched the first cargo-variant of the new Dragon 2 to the Space Station atop a reusable Falcon 9 with over 6,000 lbs of supplies, science, and hardware. Supercluster photographers John Kraus and Erik Kuna were on-site at Kennedy Space Center to capture the launch of the mission from historic Apollo 11 pad 39A.

For SpaceX, it was their 4th round trip flight of this Falcon 9 booster, 24th launch of the year, and 68th successful booster landing. It was also the first time SpaceX utilized the 39A crew access arm to load a cargo vehicle.

"This 21st contracted resupply mission for SpaceX is the first flight of an upgraded Dragon design, similar to that of the Crew Dragon used to transport astronauts to and from the station, says NASA. "The upgraded spacecraft has double the capacity for powered lockers, with 12, which preserve science and research samples during transport to and from Earth. Science payloads now also can remain in the upgraded Dragon through the duration of the mission as an extension to the station’s lab space."

The CRS-21 Cargo Dragon arrived safely on Monday at 1:30 PM EDT and automatically dock to the station’s Harmony module with NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Victor Glover monitoring operations.

Here's a list of CRS-21 science payloads published by NASA:

A mixture of meteorite samples and microbes are headed to the space station. Certain microbes form layers on the surface of rock that can release metals and minerals, a process known as biomining. A previous investigation from ESA (European Space Agency), BioRock, examined how microgravity affects the processes involved in biomining. ESA follows up on that work with BioAsteroid, which examines biofilm formation and biomining of asteroid or meteorite material in microgravity. Researchers are seeking a better understanding of the basic physical processes that control these mixtures, such as gravity, convection, and mixing. Microbe-rock interactions have many potential uses in space exploration and off-Earth construction. Microbes could break down rocks into soils for plant growth, for example, or extract elements useful for life support systems and production of medicines.

Microgravity causes changes in the workload and shape of the human heart, and it’s still unknown whether these changes could become permanent if a person lives in space more than a year. Cardinal Heart studies how changes in gravity affect the heart at the cellular and tissue level. The investigation uses 3D-engineered heart tissues, a type of tissue chip. Results could provide a new understanding of heart problems in patients on Earth, help identify new treatments, and support the development of screening measures to predict cardiovascular risk before spaceflight.

HemoCue tests the ability of a commercially available device to provide quick and accurate counts of total and differentiated white blood cells in microgravity. Doctors commonly use the total number of white blood cells and five different types of white blood cells to diagnose illnesses and monitor a variety of heath conditions. Verification of an autonomous blood analysis capability on the space station could enhance health care on Earth and is an important step toward meeting the health care needs of crew members on future missions.

SUBSA-BRAINS examines differences in capillary flow, interface reactions, and bubble formation during the solidification of brazing alloys in microgravity. Brazing is a type of soldering used to bond materials, such as an aluminum alloy to aluminum or aluminum alloy to ceramics, at high temperatures. The technology could serve as a tool for in-space construction of human habitats and vehicles on future space missions, as well as for repairing damage caused by micrometeoroids or space debris.

Launching in the trunk of the Dragon capsule, the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock is a commercial platform that can support a range of scientific work on the space station. Its capabilities include deployment of free-flying payloads such as CubeSats and externally mounted payloads, housing small external payloads, jettisoning trash, and recovering external Orbital Replacement Units. ORUs are modular components of the station that can be replaced when needed, such as pumps and other hardware. Roughly five times larger than the airlock on the Japanese Experiment Module already in use on the station, the Bishop Airlock allows robotic movement of more and larger packages to the exterior of the space station, including hardware to support spacewalks. It also provides capabilities such as power and ethernet required for internal and external payloads.

The Effect of Microgravity on Human Brain Organoids study observes the response of brain organoids to microgravity. Small living masses of cells that interact and grow, organoids can survive for months, providing a model for understanding how cells and tissues adapt to environmental changes. Organoids grown from neurons or nerve cells exhibit normal processes such as responding to stimuli and stress. Therefore, organoids can be used to look at how microgravity affects survival, metabolism, and features of brain cells, including rudimentary cognitive function.

These are just a few of the hundreds of investigations currently being conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Advances in these areas will help keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration beyond low-Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars through NASA’s Artemis program.