ICE Cubes payloads on SpaceX CRS-34

Baby BOX‑E (BioOrbit) is a compact, autonomous drug‑crystallisation payload designed to translate decades of microgravity research into a scalable manufacturing capability. Developed by BioOrbit, the payload demonstrates large‑volume crystallisation of pharmaceutical compounds in microgravity. By reducing gravity‑driven convection and sedimentation, Baby BOX‑E enables the growth of larger, purer, and more uniform crystals, which are essential for developing injectable formulations of complex medicines, including cancer therapies. Hosted inside the ICE Cubes Facility, the payload operates without routine crew intervention and has been engineered with modular scalability, supporting future expansion toward industrial‑scale in‑space pharmaceutical production. Read more about the Baby BOX-E payload, research and partners here.

TIGERS‑X (Thailand Innovative G‑force Varied Emulsification Research for Space Exploration, ISHA Lab/CRA) is Thailand’s first autonomous medical experiment payload qualified to international space standards. The mission investigates how complex medical fluids, specifically parenteral nutrition solutions composed of glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids, mix and form stable emulsions in microgravity, where surface tension and interfacial forces dominate fluid behaviour. Using an automated lab‑on‑a‑chip microfluidic system equipped with high‑resolution imaging, TIGERS‑X conducts long‑duration orbital experiments to study low‑energy mixing processes relevant to clinical nutrition for spaceflight and advanced medical applications on Earth. Operated inside the ICE Cubes Facility with near‑real‑time ground commanding and no crew involvement during nominal operations, TIGERS‑X builds on prior parabolic‑flight results and advances Thailand’s growing life‑science research activity in space. Read more about the TIGERS-X payload, research and partners here.

Laplace (Deutsche Raumfahrtagentur im DLR, Technische Universität Braunschweig) addresses one of planetary science’s most fundamental questions: how microscopic dust grains evolve into planets. The experiment studies the earliest stage of planet formation, when micron‑sized particles collide at very low speeds and stick together to form fragile, porous aggregates inside protoplanetary disks. To reproduce these conditions, Laplace investigates dust clouds suspended in a thin gas atmosphere under sustained microgravity aboard the ISS, eliminating sedimentation and compression effects that dominate on Earth. Using a thermophoretic trap to confine freely moving particles and a dedicated imaging system to continuously record their interactions, Laplace provides long‑duration, in‑situ observations of dust aggregation processes that are otherwise inaccessible, supplying critical data to refine models of planetary system formation. Read more about the Laplace payload, research and partners here.

Stay tuned for updates.