Event: Horizons in Biosciences & Informatics Seminar Series (HBISS)
What: SpaceXray: The First Human Radiographs in Space on Fram2
When: Tuesday, October 22nd, 9a PT; 12p ET; 6p CEST; 9:30p IST
Where: Blue Marble Space Zoom
Who: Dr. Sheyna Gifford (Mayo Clinic), Dr. Michael Pohlen (UC San Diego), and Dr. Lonnie Petersen (MIT), the SpaceXray study team
Topic: HBISS: SpaceXray: The First Human Radiographs in Space on Fram2
Time: Oct 22, 2026 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Launch Meeting - Zoom
Meeting chat link
Launch Meeting - Zoom
Meeting ID: 852 4651 1343
Passcode: 568128
Summary:
On SpaceX’s Fram2 mission in 2025, crewmembers with only a few hours of preflight training acquired the first human radiographs in space using a commercial off-the-shelf portable X-ray system. Here is the recent Gifford et al. 2026 publication in the journal Radiology. Three crewmembers with no medical background captured the images and decided for themselves, based on guidance the team provided, which images met the standard and which did not. This talk traces the full arc of the SpaceXray study: hardware selection, the Dragon qualification path, preflight versus in-flight image quality, the central-body positioning challenge in microgravity, nondestructive testing of spacecraft hardware, and how the team assessed the device’s impact on crew health and safety monitoring and on mission operations. The seminar will close with what comes next: smaller, vacuum-hardened systems, ongoing research into AI-assisted positioning and interpretation, and the role of on-orbit radiography in crew health for exploration-class missions.
Biography:
Dr. Sheyna Gifford is a reseacher in the department of Aerospace, Occupational, and Preventive Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and Principal Investigator of the SpaceXray study, which she led from parabolic flight demonstrations in 2022 through the first on-orbit radiographs aboard Fram2. Her aerospace medicine experience includes serving as a mission special for the HERA space analog at Johnson Space center, the crew physician and journalist for the year-long HI-SEAS IV simulated Mars mission, and as the flight surgeon for the AstroAccess parastronaut flights.
Dr. Michael Pohlen is a board-certified radiologist and Assistant Professor of Clinical Radiology in the Cardiothoracic Imaging Division at UC San Diego, and a co-investigator on the SpaceXray study. He trained in diagnostic radiology at Stanford University with a dual fellowship in thoracic and cardiovascular imaging, and his research focuses on AI applications in thoracic imaging and the adaptation of imaging modalities for human spaceflight.
Dr. Lonnie Petersen is a professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Director of the Aerospace Physiology Lab at MIT. Her clinical background is in Anesthesiology and she has served in pre-hospital and arctic medicine. She holds a PhD in Space and Aviation Medicine and her research is focused on human health and performance in extreme environments with a focus on technology development. Prof. Petersen is a co-investigator on the SpaceXray study.
About HBISS:
The purpose of HBISS is to foster interdisciplinary conversation, education, and collaboration. Expertsin biosciences and informatics are invited to speak once a month and engage with members of the Open Science Data Repository’s Analysis Working Group (OSDR-AWG) and the public to facilitate discussion of cutting-edge research, techniques, and methodology.
From March 2022 through February 2025, the HBISS series was designed exclusively for an internal NASA audience. Beginning in April 2025, the series was opened to the public and the broader OSDR-AWG community. To stay in the loop, join the AWG.
Questions, or want to be removed from this HBISS listing?
Contact HBISS organizer ryan.t.scott@nasa.gov