Wrapped snugly in a custom container, seven carefully chosen materials left Earth on Aug. 24, 2025, traveling at 17,500 mph. Nestled at the top of a Falcon 9 rocket, house dust, freeze-dried human liver, and cholesterol joined four other scientific specimens to travel to the International Space Station (ISS).

Called reference materials, these thoroughly studied samples serve important roles on Earth—and now beyond. These reference materials will play a critical role in understanding the effects of outer space on everyday objects as space becomes a place where people live, conduct research, and even start new businesses. For example, drug development is already happening in low Earth orbit. As this kind of research grows, so will the need for reference materials.

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