Iowa’s Peggy Whitson shares about recent space flight covering 8.4 million miles

After extending her cumulative days in orbit to 695 — more than any other American in space exploration history — Iowa native Peggy Whitson on Friday joined her diverse trio of mission colleagues to discuss their recent privately-funded 20-day expedition covering 8.4 million miles over 320 orbits.

“This mission proved what's possible when we work together between nations, between public and private sectors, between seasoned astronauts and first-time flyers,” said Whitson, commander of the Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station, which launched June 25 and spent 18 days conducting 60-plus scientific activities in low-Earth orbit before splashing down off the coast of San Diego on July 15.

“We trained across continents, across cultures and across times,” she said of her four-person crew representing America, India, Poland, and Hungary. “But when it mattered most, when the stakes were high and the world was watching, we moved as one.”

The mission launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket that put into orbit the team tasked with conducting a wide range of research — including cancer biology, regenerative medicine, artificial intelligence, agriculture, and materials science.

“We studied how cells repair themselves, how crops might thrive in places where nothing should grow, how the human brain adapts when gravity is no longer a constant,” Whitson said during the press conference. “We explored how to manage insulin dependent diabetes in space and took steps toward making space flight accessible for those with historically disqualifying conditions.

“I'd say that's not too bad for an international team who only started working together a year ago,” Whitson, a Beaconsfield, Iowa, native said Friday.

Representing 31 countries — including those of the crew — the mission’s research portfolio included four material science studies, eight technology demonstrations, 11 STEAM activities, 12 life science investigations, and 27 human research projects spanning a wide range of disciplines.

From cancer biology and regenerative medicine to artificial intelligence and agriculture, the privately-funded mission reinforced low-Earth orbit as “a platform for innovation.”

“Many of these studies were designed to address challenges both in space and on Earth, such as improving disease modeling, enhancing food security, and developing smarter autonomous systems,” Axiom said in a recap of the mission. “The scale and diversity of the Ax-4 research portfolio positions commercial astronaut missions as catalysts for advancing knowledge and solving real-world problems.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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