Worms in Space: ISS Mini-Lab Aims to Decode Deep-Space Health

University of Exeter-led researchers sent C. elegans worms (0.1–2.5 mm) to the ISS aboard Cygnus XL to study how living organisms cope with space. Housed in a 4×11 inch Petri Pod mini-lab with 12 chambers (four imaged using fluorescent and white light), the worms will spend about 15 weeks in a controlled microgravity and radiation environment, first inside the station and then mounted outside. The mission will monitor health metrics with mini cameras and sensors and relay data back to Earth to help understand biological responses critical to protecting astronauts on long-duration spaceflight.