Liftoff! 🚀 Axiom Mission 1, the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, lifted off from NASAKennedy at 11:17 a.m. (15:17 UTC) on Friday, April 8. Ax-1's four-member crew, led by former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, will spend just over a week on the ISS, running scientific studies ranging from stem cell research to self-assembling space habitats; Ax-1 will also take time for student outreach and various commercial activities. As we move forward with NASAArtemis to explore the Moon and Mars, we're working with our commercial partners (like axiom.space) to open humanity's access to low-Earth orbit, bringing more people, more science, and more opportunities to outer space. NASA recently signed agreements with three companies to develop designs for new space stations, a key step in our ongoing work to create a robust ecosystem of destinations for future space travelers. Currently traveling through space in SpaceX's Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, Ax-1 ...