A tiny, self-sustaining aquatic ecosystem is bound for the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the SpaceX CRS-35 mission, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Dubbed SCAMPI, the experiment was developed by an international team of 51 students and young researchers representing 11 academic institutions across the U.S. and Europe. Its mission is to study how a closed aquatic ecosystem—comprising shrimp, algae, and microbial populations—behaves in the complete absence of Earth’s gravity.

Because it houses living organisms, SCAMPI was classified as a "late-load payload," requiring meticulous final preparations at the launch site right up until liftoff. Working at the Kennedy Space Center, the student team performed final health checks on the sealed biological components before handing the payload over to NASA for integration and transport.

Once aboard the ISS, an astronaut will install the experiment inside the ICE Cubes Facility—a commercial research platform located in the European Columbus laboratory module. Throughout the mission, the student researchers will monitor the ecosystem remotely, collecting vital data on how microgravity influences interactions among its living and non-living components. The insights gained will aid scientists in designing advanced life-support systems for long-duration space exploration, including future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.