Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDNPJ microgravity
The long arc of scientists in spaceflight: scientists flying with their experiments.
- 1Department of Horticultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. [email protected].
- 2Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. [email protected].
- 3UF Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. [email protected].
Abstract
Recent developments in commercial suborbital spaceflight have expanded opportunities for researchers to fly with their experiments. In an accompanying paper in npj Microgravity, we report results from a researcher-tended experiment aboard Blue Origin New Shepard flight NS-26¹. This Perspective examines the historically rare role of scientists flying to conduct their own research and argues that firsthand participation in spaceflight enriches scientific observation, interpretation, and discovery.
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BibTeX
@article{ferl2026long,
title = {{The long arc of scientists in spaceflight: scientists flying with their experiments.}},
author = {Robert J Ferl},
journal = {NPJ microgravity},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41526-026-00667-0},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42881184},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The long arc of scientists in spaceflight: scientists flying with their experiments.
AU - Robert J Ferl
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - NPJ microgravity
DO - 10.1038/s41526-026-00667-0
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42881184
AB - Recent developments in commercial suborbital spaceflight have expanded opportunities for researchers to fly with their experiments. In an accompanying paper in npj Microgravity, we report results from a researcher-tended experiment aboard Blue Origin New Shepard flight NS-26¹. This Perspective examines the historically rare role of scientists flying to conduct their own research and argues that firsthand participation in spaceflight enriches scientific observation, interpretation, and discovery.
SN - 2373-8065
ER -