Explore all the OSDR visualization apps here: https://visualization.osdr.nasa.gov.

OSIRIS-REx Team Shares Update on Bennu Sample Requests

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer) mission delivered samples of the asteroid Bennu to Earth in 2023. Since then, Bennu samples have been distributed to the mission team, mission contributors, and the scientific community for analysis.

In a May 2026 newsletter, OSIRIS-REx Curator Nicole Lunning announced the end of Bennu sample allocations to the mission sample analysis team, as well as the completion of the sample transfer to the Canadian Space Agency (which was responsible for the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA) instrument). This means that from now on, all Bennu sample allocations will be to the broader scientific community.

An increasing number of Bennu samples will be available for the community to request as the curation team processes samples returned from the mission team. The next sample request deadline for OSIRIS-REx samples curated by NASA will be July 1, 2026.

For more information, read the full OSIRIS-REx sample update on the ARES (Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science) website.

NASA PSI Releases Three New Open Datasets

NASA’s Physical Sciences Informatics (PSI) data repository published three new open datasets in May, which reveal breakthroughs in materials science and help improve the accuracy of microgravity experiments:  

• PSI-153: The hypothesis for the experiment is that microgravity promotes composite formation by stabilizing the interface between the W nano-particle nuclei and the bulk liquid. In contrast, on Earth, the heavy W particles would fall out of the system as they form. Therefore, the composition of the solid formed on Earth will differ from that formed in microgravity.
• PSI-174: The “Micromechanics‑Based Modeling of Cement Solidified in the Microgravity” experiment aimed to advance knowledge of the mechanical properties of cement binders formed in reduced gravity by leveraging microgravity materials data available in the PSI database.
• PSI-137: The objective of this PSI grant was to advance the understanding of phase transitions in colloid-polymer mixtures under microgravity conditions by integrating experimental observations with predictive modeling.

To explore all openly available PSI datasets, visit the PSI repository.

IRSA Archive Adds SPHEREx Target List of Ice Sources to Catalog

NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) is an all-sky survey mission in 102 different infrared wavelengths, which scientists can use to identify the signatures of specific molecules. One of the mission’s major objectives is to study the distribution of frozen water and organic molecules in the Milky Way.

In May, the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA) announced that the SPHEREx List of Ice Sources (SPLICES) catalog is now available in the IRSA catalog search tool. SPLICE is a compilation of nearly nine million spatially isolated point sources that are bright in the infrared spectrum and are likely to exhibit ice absorption features when observed by SPHEREx. Now, users can search this catalog more easily than ever.

For more information, visit the SPLICES page on the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA) website.

NASA Heliophysics Modeling Service Adds New Thermospheric Density Model

NASA’s Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) is a service that enables, supports, and performs research for next generation space science and operational space weather models through an interagency partnership.

The CCMC’s Instant Run Service allows users to execute heliophysics models and view results immediately via a web interface. This May, the CCMC added the Machine Learning Thermospheric Density Model (MLTDM) to Instant Run, bringing the tool’s total number of available models to 26.

MLTDM predicts neutral thermospheric mass density at 400 km altitude by using a random forest algorithm trained on data from NASA’s GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment) and CHAMP (Challenging Mini-satellite Payload) satellites. This kind of thermospheric modeling helps scientists better predict low-Earth orbit paths and how the Sun’s activity affects our atmosphere.

Learn more about the MLTDM model and Instant Run on the CCMC website.

Open Science Data Repository Team Releases 17 New Space Biology Datasets for Public Research Use

NASA’s Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) released 6 new datasets, and 11 processed datasets, expanding public access to research that helps us understand how living systems respond to spaceflight. These datasets span key areas of human and animal health: muscle and cardiovascular function, radiation effects, reproductive biology, and cellular responses to microgravity.

By offering standardized datasets, OSDR enables researchers to compare findings across studies, build on existing knowledge, and generate new hypotheses without needing to repeat complex spaceflight experiments.

Processed Datasets

• OSD-949: Skeletal muscle-specific inducible AMPKa1/a2 knockout mice develop muscle weakness, glycogen depletion, and fibrosis that persists during disuse atrophy
• OSD-935: Long non‐coding RNAs Kcnq1ot1 and Lncpint are involved in skeletal muscle atrophy induced by the space exposome
• OSD-811: Space microgravity increases expression of genes associated with proliferation and differentiation in human cardiac spheres
• OSD-876: Zfp697 is an RNA-binding protein that regulates skeletal muscle inflammation and remodeling
• OSD-825: Evaluating sex-specific responses to western diet across the lifespan: impact on cardiac function and transcriptomic signatures in C57BL/6J mice at 530 and 640/750 days of age
• OSD-880: Zfp697 is an RNA-binding protein that regulates skeletal muscle inflammation and remodeling - Zfp697 skeletal muscle knockout RNA-Seq of unloading-reloading protocol
• OSD-901: Expression data from cultured mouse spermatogonia cryopreserved on the International Space Station (ISS) or on Earth
• OSD-899: Transcriptional profiling of cecum from mice flown on the RR-10 mission
• OSD-720: Long-lasting sex-specific alteration in left ventricular cardiac transcriptome following gamma and simGCRsim radiation
• OSD-900: Transcriptional profiling of lungs from mice flown on the RR-10 mission
• OSD-940: Effects of simulated microgravity on colorectal cancer organoids growth and drug response

New Datasets

• OSD-952: Automated behavioral segmentation and markerless pose tracking of mice during spaceflight
• OSD-973: Microarray analysis of differentially expressed genes in the kidneys and testes of mice after long-term irradiation with low-dose-rate gamma-rays- kidney data
• OSD-974: Microarray analysis of differentially expressed genes in the kidneys and testes of mice after long-term irradiation with low-dose-rate gamma-rays - testis data
• OSD-981: Bone Marrow Adipose Tissue Is Not Required for Reconstitution of the Immune System Following Irradiation in Male Mice.
• OSD-813: Impact of near continuous low dose rate neutron irradiation on pregnancy outcomes in mice.
• OSD-773: Exposed Root On Orbit Test System (XROOTS), an aeroponic and hydroponic plant growth system technical demonstration on the International Space Station (ISS)

Explore these and additional datasets through OSDR.