André freezing blood samples

André Kuipers on the International Space Station completing ESA’s ROALD-2 biological experiment. Blood samples are frozen in the Space Station’s freezer for preservation before being returned to Earth for analysis.

ROALD experiments look at why certain human cells replicate less in space.

The findings are being shared with the scientific community, especially researchers studying people with reduced immune response. The chances are that elderly people could benefit from this field of investigation.

André Kuipers was flight engineer for Expeditions 30 and 31, and performs experiments as part of ESA's long-duration PromISSe mission.