[NASA]. The abstract in PubMed or at the publisher’s site is linked when available and will open in a new window.

Papers deriving from NASA support:

  1. Strock NC, Hardy JG, Hummel JW, Varanoske AN, Frisco DJ, Macaulay TR, Prejean BJ.Fitness and in-flight exercise training parameters predictive of functional task performance in astronauts following long-duration spaceflight.J Appl Physiol (1985). 2026 Oct 9. Online ahead of print.PI: N.C. StrockNote: ISS results. This article may be obtained online without charge.

    Journal Impact Factor: 3.7

    Funding: “Funding was provided by NASA Human Research Program through NASA’s Human Health and Performance Contract (HHPC2) 80JSC025D0068.” PI reports NASA Task Book project “Functional Task Test Data Analysis With Respect to Muscle Strength and Aerobic Capacity Adaptations Following Spaceflight and Bed Rest” funding.
  2. Benedetti S, Štupica H, Zuccotti GV, Weissig V, Marotta D, Pappone C, Tull A, Rubins KH, Beheshti A, Mason CE, Ferraro SHuman induced pluripotent stem cells and organoid models in space for investigating severe pediatric metabolic and congenital disorders.Precis Clin Med. 2026 Dec;9(4);pbag028. Review.PI: C.E. MasonNote: This article may be obtained online without charge.

    Journal Impact Factor: 6.4

    Funding: “C.E.M. thanks the WorldQuant and GI Research Foundation, NASA (grant Nos. 80NSSC22K0254, 80NSSC23K0832, and 80NSSC25K7731), and the National Institutes of Health (grant Nos. R01ES032638 and U54AG089334).”
  3. VanBommel SJ, Knight AL, Harrington AD, Do S, Herd CDK, Liu Y, Berger JA, Clark BC, 3rd, Connell SA, Elam WT, Hausrath EM, Hecht MH, Hurowitz JA, Johnson JR, Jones MWM, Kenney RI, Martínez GM, Morantz CN, Schmidt ME, Shumway AO, Siljeström SM, Steele A, Uckert K, Wade LA, Yingst RA, Allwood AC, Bell JF, 3rd, Cable ML, Coelho T, Flannery DT, Ganly B, Tallarida N, Tice MM, Van Beek JK, Vicente-Retortillo Á.Fine and ultrafine Martian dust presents additional risks for future crewed missions to Mars.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2026 Oct 26;123(44):e2620747123.Note: This article may be obtained online without charge.

    Journal Impact Factor: 9.5

    Funding: “We acknowledge the efforts of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Science and Engineering Teams. This effort was carried out, in part, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the NASA (80NM0018D0004). Additional funding acknowledgements include: Mars2020 Phase E funding under contract with the NASA to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory: S.J.V. and A.L.K. (1715776), J.A.H. (1529702), J.R.J. (1532432), R.A.Y. (1578261),E.M.H. (1716857), and J.F.B. (1511125); Mars 2020 Participating Scientist Program via NASA (S.J.V. and A.L.K.–80NSSC21K0328) and the Canadian Space Agency (CDKH–CGCPU 20EXPMARS); ASU subcontract 15-707 (1511125) for J.R.J.; Grant PID2024-161247OB-C31 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033and by ERDF/EU for G.M.M. and Á.V.-R. S.M.S. acknowledges funding from the Swedish National Space Agency (Contracts 2021-00092 and 2024-00240) and the Swedish Research Council (2023-03858).”
  4. Hsu SK, Opdensteinen P, Hussain T, Steinmetz NF.Nuclease-free scalable purification of Physalis mottle virus-like particles expressed in Escherichia coli.Biotechnol Bioeng. 2026 Oct 22. Online ahead of print.PI: P. OpdensteinenNote: This article may be obtained online without charge.

    Journal Impact Factor: 3.9

    Funding: “This work was supported in part by NIH grant R01 HL175766 (to N.F.S.) P.O. was supported in part through a TRISH post-doctoral fellowship by the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) through NASA Cooperative Agreement NNX16AO69A. …”
  5. Luyo ZNM, Heerbrandt RS, Boden AF, Keumeni FEE, Britten RA, Wellman LL, Sanford LD.Sex differences in freezing behavior and extinction learning among Wistar rats exposed to social isolation and 15 cGy GCRsim space radiation both alone and in combination.Life (Basel). 2026 Sep 30;16(10):1638.PI: L.D. SanfordNote: This article is part of Section “Physiology and Pathology” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/life/sections/Physiology_and_Pathology) and may be obtained online without charge.

    Journal Impact Factor: 3.9

    Funding: “This research was supported by the NASA CBS VNSCOR grant, 80NSSC19K1582.”
  6. Yoon S, Kwon E, LePine JA, Aurora SR, Newton DW, Wellman N.Designing fulfilling and productive workdays: Effects of task meaningfulness sequences on daily engagement and performance.J Appl Psychol. 2026 Oct 26. Online ahead of print.PI: J.A. LePineNote: From the abstract: “Given the importance of experiencing fulfilling and productive workdays, scholars have focused on ways to boost employees’ daily engagement and performance, suggesting this may be accomplished by increasing meaningfulness of their work tasks. However, an alternative approach may be needed in multifaceted work contexts where employees need to complete sets of varied tasks each day, including tasks that lack meaningfulness. To address this issue, we integrate the workday design perspective with research on residual engagement to examine implications of strategically sequencing tasks in terms of their meaningfulness.”

    Journal Impact Factor: 6.7

    Funding: PI reports NASA Task Book project “Understanding and Preventing Crew Member Task Entrainment” funding.

Other papers of interest:

  1. Burchett Darantiere A, Zarodniuk M, Giza S, Rexroat J, Kuehl P, Clements T, Balraj K, Marco H, D’Souza A, Najera J, Bhargava R, Datta M.Multi-omics and spatial analysis of microgravity-grown glioblastoma organoids reveal superior modeling of advanced disease after long-term spaceflight.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2026 Oct 21;123(43):e2616218123.Note: ISS results. This article may be obtained online without charge.
  2. Osada E, Bochimoto H, Sato Y.Spaceflight under partial gravity conditions is associated with increased pulmonary CD8+ T cells and CD8+ tissue-resident memory T cells in mice.Life Sci Space Res. 2026 Oct 29. Online ahead of print.Note: ISS results.
  3. Akbarialiabad H, Khayatan D, Taghrir MH, Leachman SA, Grant-Kels JM, Melin MM, Beheshti A, Costes SV, Bunick CGM, A., Christiansen R, El-Assaad F, Grada A.Melanoma risk in astronauts: Clinical screening, surveillance, and the microgravity paradox.Clin Dermatol. 2026 Oct 28. Review. Online ahead of print.Note: This article may be obtained online without charge.
  4. Basem Y, Alaa A, Ata A, Bahr AR, Camboni S, Giordo R, Casu G, Nasrallah GK, Zayed H, ElHefnawi M, Pintus G.Cardiovascular remodeling in spaceflight: Mechanotransduction, space radiation, and countermeasure strategies.Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2026 Oct 27;101963. Review.Note: This article may be obtained online without charge.
  5. Guidolin K, Srinivas S, Almand A, Hong S, Lim R, Wisbach G, Carroll D, Fer D.Exploring perspectives and engagement in space surgery: A survey of SAGES members.Surg Endosc. 2026 Oct 22.
  6. Lange RM, Sharma TP.Natural compounds as potential countermeasures for spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome.Front Ophthalmol (Lausanne). 2026 Oct 8;6:1801651. Review.Note: This article is a perspective and is part of Research Topic “Space Ophthalmology: Assessment, Treatment and Mitigation of Spaceflight Associated Neuroocular Syndrome (SANS)” (https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/58922/space-ophthalmology-assessment-treatment-and-mitigation-of-spaceflight-associated-neuroocular-syndrome-sans#overview). The Research Topic also includes articles from previous Current Awareness Lists #1,068 https://doi.org/10.3389/fopht.2023.1229748, #1,074 https://doi.org/10.3389/fopht.2023.1279831, and #1,123 https://doi.org/10.3389/fopht.2024.1487992. Additional articles will be forthcoming and may be found in the link to the Research Topic. This article may be obtained online without charge.
  7. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.Human Exploration Across the Moon.Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2026. 209 p.
  8. Parisi N, Nadim M, Choi A, Dietzel J, Dalal S, Akgun Y.A narrative review of spaceflight-induced atherogenic pathways and the potential role of dextran sulfate LDL apheresis.Life Sci Space Res. 2026 Oct 23. Online ahead of print.Note: This article may be obtained online without charge.
  9. Shen Y, Dong W, Bian Q, Wang J, Liu X, Tang Y, Mao R, Yang R, Wu H.Space microgravity modulates Mentha growth and terpenoid metabolism: A putative molecular pathway from gravity perception to hormonal network remodeling.Life Sci Space Res. 2026 Oct 26. Online ahead of print.Note: From the abstract: “To investigate how the spaceflight environment affects the growth, development, and secondary metabolism of aromatic plants, we conducted a comprehensive multi-omics analysis comparing Mentha plants cultivated for 90 days in the Space Vegetable Garden (SVG) of the Tiangong Space Station with synchronous ground controls.”
  10. Garces R, Ho A, Choudhary M, Primm TP, Gana S, Karki AB.Influence on growth and physiology of Campylobacter jejuni under simulated microgravity.Pathogens. 2026 Sep 30;15(10):1028.Note: A rotary cell culture system was used in this study to simulate microgravity. This article is part of Special Issue “Molecular Mechanisms of Stress Adaptation in Foodborne Pathogens” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/pathogens/special_issues/39FYN0QR8Z) and may be obtained online without charge.
  11. Nguyen TTH, Dang TTK, Do GD, Tran TT, Ho CNQ, To QM, Nguyen MTP, Le CPM, Do APN, Dinh LTA, Phan NLC, Doan CC, Nguyen HTM, Le LT.Effects of simulated microgravity on Limnospira platensis growth and transcript expression related to photosystem and open reading frames.Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2026 Oct 14;48(10):1061.Note: A 3D clinostat was used in this study.
  12. Zimmermann PH, Ax T, Garrelfs K, Mulder E, Sharaf K, Tare DD, Tank J, Klussmann JP, Jordan J, Limper U.Head and neck symptoms during prolonged simulated weightlessness.Front Physiol. 2026 Oct 29;17:1967313.Note: From the abstract: “Microgravity exposure induces cephalad fluid shifts in astronauts, but systematically collected data on head and neck-related symptoms remain limited and largely anecdotal. We therefore performed a retrospective pooled analysis of nine mid- and long-duration six-degree head-down tilt bedrest campaigns, an established analog of microgravity-induced fluid shifts, conducted at a single research center between 2016 and 2025.” This article may be obtained online without charge.
  13. Block K, Ziraldo G, Trautmann G, Furlan S, Singh A, Grosser S, Gutsmann M, Lorenzon P, Volpe P, Vida I, Blottner D, Salanova M.NEMUCO: The in vitro 4D NMJ as an innovative powerful tool to study nerve and muscle cell-cell communication.Int J Mol Sci. 2026 Oct 9;27(20):8946.Note: This article is part of Special Issue “Molecular Mechanisms of Skeletal Muscle Adaptation” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms/special_issues/JCODBN1BWK) and may be obtained online without charge.
  14. Habenicht J, Kirchner EA.Sensorimotor adaptation to gravity-compensated and augmented upper-limb loading assessed by electromyographic and behavioral measures.Acta Astronaut. 2027 Feb.Note: This article may be obtained online without charge.
  15. Hande MP, Liu C, Hirakawa H, Velmurugan P, Seah MYJ, Koh SW, Tsukamoto S, Suzuki M, Wang B, Fujimori A.Atm deficiency enhances the induction and persistence of Fe-ion-induced cytogenetic damage in mouse splenocytes.J Radiat Res. 2026 Oct 27;rrag091. Online ahead of print.Note: This article may be obtained online without charge.
  16. Islam MS, Wyatt SE.Integrating cortical microtubules into plant gravity signaling: Dynamics, tubulin phosphorylation, and growth regulation.Front Plant Sci. 2026 Oct 7;17:1970801. Review.Note: This article is part of Research Topic “Mechanosensing in Plants: Regulatory Networks Driving Development and Environmental Response” (https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79410/mechanosensing-in-plants-regulatory-networks-driving-development-and-environmental-response) and may be obtained online without charge.
  17. Lachowicz M, Wilk I, Hrehorowicz I, Bałamucki S, Lisowski M, Jamro D, Zurek G, Andrzejewski W.Cognitive workload across subjective and electrodermal measures in relation to previous-night sleep.Front Cognit. 2026 Oct 12;5:1928964.Note: This article is part of Research Topic “Cognitive control in motion: How physical fitness supports cognition–movement coupling across the lifespan” (https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80609/cognitive-control-in-motion-how-physical-fitness-supports-cognition-movement-coupling-across-the-lifespan) and may be obtained online without charge.
  18. Praween N, Akshaya MV, Sreekumar MG, Kumar S, Basu PK.Electrochemical profiling of urinary extracellular vesicle proteomes to reveal differential hypoxic adaptation.Anal Chim Acta. 2026 Dec 1;1425:346296.
  19. Sorokina SS, Malkov AE, Zamyatina EA, Shemyakov AE, Belov OV, Popova NR.Impact of helium ions on mouse behavior, memory, microglia, and blood metabolome.Biology (Basel). 2026 Oct 12;15(20):1819.Note: This article is part of Section “Neuroscience” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/biology/sections/Neurosci) and may be obtained online without charge.
  20. Zhang G, Zhao L, Xuanyuan Y, Han Z, Xu X, Mi D, Sun Y.Ellagic acid counteracts ionizing radiation–induced stress resistance decline and lifespan reduction through DAF-16/SKN-1-mediated pathways in C. elegans.Life Sci Space Res. 2026 Oct 23. Online ahead of print.Note: From the abstract: “Ionizing radiation (IR) exposure in deep space environments has emerged as a serious health concern, as it induces persistent oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, ultimately reducing lifespan. Dietary intervention with natural bioactive compounds presents a promising radioprotective strategy. In this study, we demonstrate that Ellagic acid (EA) effectively restores lifespan and enhances stress resistance in Caenorhabditis elegans after extremely high-dose IR exposure.”

astrobiology, Microgravity, NASA, space biology, space medicine, spaceline,

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp...

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