RRRM-2: Bulk and Spatial RNA Sequencing of Mouse Hippocampi from ISS Mission

The Rodent Research Reference Mission-2 (RRRM-2) flew forty female C57BL/6NTac mice on the International Space Station in 2026. This dataset from NASA includes bulk RNA sequencing and spatially resolved transcriptional profiling data from the hippocampi of a subset of these mice, comparing flight animals with multiple ground control groups. The data is designed to assess the effects of spaceflight and recovery on gene expression in the brain.

Use Cases

• Identify gene expression changes in the hippocampus due to spaceflight based on bulk RNA-seq data.
• Analyze spatially resolved transcriptional patterns in brain tissue sections from flight and control animals.
• Compare the effects of long-duration spaceflight (ISS-T group) versus shorter flight with recovery (LAR group).
• Investigate age-dependent responses to spaceflight by comparing data from 12-week-old and 29-week-old mice.

Strengths

• Includes data from a controlled spaceflight experiment with 160 total mice across multiple control groups.
• Provides two complementary data types: bulk RNA sequencing and spatially resolved transcriptional profiling.
• Experimental design controls for age, with young and old cohorts, and includes on-orbit and post-recovery sacrifice timepoints.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The sample size for the provided sequencing data is relatively small, with 3-5 animals per subgroup.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data generated from hippocampi of mice flown on the International Space Station, processed via bulk RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics on gene expression arrays.

Time Range

Data collection corresponds to the RRRM-2 mission timeline.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 19:54:38.440425; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Samples originated from mice on the International Space Station and corresponding ground controls.