RRRM-2: Single-Cell Bone Marrow Transcriptomics from Mice in Spaceflight

Single-cell transcriptional profiling data from the femur bone marrow of mice flown on the International Space Station's Rodent Research Reference Mission-2 (RRRM-2). The dataset includes profiles from 16 mice, specifically 4 young and 4 old flight animals from the Live Animal Return group and their 8 matched ground controls. The data was generated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Identify cell-type-specific gene expression changes in bone marrow due to spaceflight based on the single-cell transcriptional profiles.
• Compare aging-related transcriptional responses to spaceflight based on the inclusion of young (12-week) and old (29-week) mice.
• Study the effects of post-flight recovery on bone marrow transcriptomics by analyzing data from the Live Animal Return cohort.
• Benchmark computational methods for single-cell RNA-seq analysis using a well-controlled, spaceflight-related dataset.

Strengths

• Data originates from a controlled NASA spaceflight experiment with independent ground, basal, and vivarium control groups.
• Includes a specific comparison of age effects with 12-week-old and 29-week-old mice.
• Profiles a specific, biologically relevant tissue (femur bone marrow) at single-cell resolution.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The provided dataset is a subset (16 mice) of the full RRRM-2 study, which involved 160 mice.
• Data is stored in a BIN file format, which may require specialized tools for access and analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Single-cell transcriptional profiling of femur bone marrow from mice in the RRRM-2 spaceflight mission.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 19:44:34.734345; freshness should be verified.

Geography

International Space Station and associated ground control facilities.