SpaceX’s 23rd NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-23) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) initiated on Sunday, August 29, as a previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket deployed the Dragon spacecraft to orbit at 3:14 a.m. EDT. from Launch Pad-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Dragon arrived to the Space Station by Monday, August 30, delivering over 4,800 pounds of cargo.

Confirmed contact and capture of the @SpaceX #Dragon cargo vehicle at 10:30am ET this morning while traveling over western Australia. https://t.co/cBNqC5JGaz pic.twitter.com/46ehWF3C9F

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 30, 2021

CRS-23 Dragon docked as the Space Station was traveling 260 miles above Western Australia. The spacecraft autonomously docked to the forward-facing port of the ISS Harmony module at 10:30 a.m. EDT as NASA Flight Engineers Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of monitored the automated operation. There are two Dragon spacecraft docked at the Space Station now: the cargo capsule and the Crew Dragon that transported Crew 2 astronauts McArthur, Kimbrough, alongside Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet to ISS. They arrived to the orbiting laboratory in April and will return to Earth until November. The CRS-23 Dragon that delivered cargo will return in around one month. Pesquet took some photographs of the capsule's arrival, shown in video below. 

Pour le plaisir des yeux : un gif de l'approche du #Dragon 🤩
🐲
A Dragon approaches, in a GIF 😁 #MissionAlpha pic.twitter.com/OjKsMtyFR6

— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) August 30, 2021

“We have a new visitor on Space Station! The SpaceX Dragon cargo vehicle just arrived this morning loaded with science and goodies. Time to unpack!” NASA astronaut Kimbrough said. The supplies the crew will unpack include materials needed to conduct dozens of scientific experiments in microgravity. The U.S. youth group ‘Girl Scouts’ sent up some control experiments to study plant growth, ant colonization, and the brine shrimp lifecycle in microgravity. The Girl Scouts research supplies are delivered inside a special device designed to safely transport and host research in microgravity, called ProXopS Faraday Research Facility. Its the first time the device is used at ISS.  The Faraday device also hosts an experiment (Faraday-NICE) for the Houston Methodist Research Institute, that will test a new implantable remote-controlled medicine delivery system in microgravity. "The device could provide an alternative to bulky, cumbersome infusion pumps, a possible game changer for long-term management of chronic conditions on Earth. Remote-controlled drug delivery could simplify administration for people with limitations," NASA said.

Girl Scouts prepared experiments launching to the @Space_Station tomorrow! They have the opportunity to conduct a control experiment and compare their results to studies conducted in space on plants, ants and brine shrimp. https://t.co/RQTCyErOHj pic.twitter.com/TP70ZWs7YI

— ISS Research (@ISS_Research) August 27, 2021

The capsule is also carrying a new robotic arm that will be tested inside the station's Bishop Airlock. “This investigation supports development of robots to support crew intravehicular activities and, eventually, extravehicular activities,” NASA wrote about the robotic arm called ‘GITAI S1 Robotic Arm Tech Demo’. “Space robotics also could support on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing tasks, lowering the costs of such tasks and contributing to increased commercial activity in space.”

Dragon also delivered the materials needed to research the effects on microgravity and space radiation on the growth of bones. The experiment is called 'REducing Arthritis Dependent Inflammation First Phase' (READI FP) "This study could improve scientists’ understanding of the physical changes that cause bone loss and identify potential countermeasures," the agency states, "This insight also could contribute to prevention and treatment of bone loss on Earth, particularly in post-menopausal women." 

🥼 POV: You're on the @Space_Station awaiting a new delivery of science.

In this behind-the-scenes video, @Astro_Kimbrough and @Astro_Megan tour the orbiting lab while previewing @ISS_Research arriving Aug. 30 aboard a @SpaceX Dragon spacecraft: https://t.co/EqeZDXBqdP pic.twitter.com/gxVmtpB775

— NASA (@NASA) August 29, 2021

All Featured Images Source: NASA Astronaut Shane Kimbrough