NASA is using the SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station as a structured biomedical research campaign, running at least six distinct human-performance investigations that feed directly into hardware and protocol decisions for Artemis lunar missions and eventual Mars expeditions. The crew — NASA astronauts Luke Delaney and Jessica Watkins, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, and CSA astronaut Joshua Kutryk — serve simultaneously as crew and research subjects. The headline study is Venous Haemostasis, a new NASA-ESA collaboration that pools blood-draw schedules and analytical measurements across both agencies to understand why microgravity disrupts venous blood flow and increases clot risk in some astronauts but not others. Before, during, and after flight, participants undergo MRI scans, jugular vein ultrasounds, blood pressure checks, and blood draws. Jason Lytle, a cardiovascular researcher at Johnson Space Center, frames the stakes plainly: weightlessness can cause irregular and slow blood flow, raising the risk of venous thromboembolism — a potentially life-threatening condition with no hospital nearby. A second study, Manual Piloting, uses lunar-landing simulations aboard the station to measure how extended microgravity exposure degrades an astronaut's ability to handle challenging landings. The study specifically tests whether refresher training shortly before a landing event can restore sensory orientation, motion control, and decision-making — a question with direct implications for Artemis surface missions where crew will transition between gravity environments. The B-Complex study continues from earlier increments, testing whether a daily B-vitamin supplement can prevent or reduce Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS), a condition that alters eye structure during long-duration missions. Crew members undergo vision tests and take B vitamins before, during, and after flight, with an additional assessment of how the supplement affects blood vessel function. Three additional Human Research Program studies round out the campaign. Standard Measures collects consistent physiological and behavioral baselines across as many crew members as possible. Spacecraft Occupant Risk characterizes the forces astronauts experience during landing to refine re-entry hardware and injury-reduction strategies. Zero T2 compares health outcomes between astronauts who use the station's treadmill for aerobic exercise and those who do not — directly informing exercise protocols for smaller Artemis and deep-space vehicles where a treadmill may not fit. The throughline is institutional: every study feeds a specific design decision downstream. Venous Haemostasis informs preventive medical protocols for at-risk crew. Manual Piloting shapes training timelines for lunar descent. SANS research determines whether a cheap supplement replaces expensive hardware countermeasures. Spacecraft Occupant Risk feeds capsule and seat design. Zero T2 constrains vehicle architecture by answering whether you can delete the treadmill. This is engineering-grade medicine, not curiosity-driven science. Michael Stenger, the Human Research Program's chief scientist, frames the portfolio as building toward Moon Base operations and Mars expeditions. The ISS remains the only platform where these longitudinal studies can run at scale, which gives the current station-utilization period an urgency it sometimes lacks in public perception. Every mission increment that passes without these data collection windows is a data gap that compounds downstream.
