Overview
- Three crew members on SpaceX’s Fram2 mission used an FDA‑cleared Impact Wireless/MinXray portable X‑ray and an FDA‑cleared flat‑panel detector to take human and equipment radiographs during the 3.5‑day polar flight that launched March 31, 2025 and returned April 4, 2025.
- The findings, published July 14, 2026 in Radiology, report that independent radiologists judged inflight images comparable in overall quality, contrast, and spatial resolution to preflight and postflight scans.
- Crew operators received about four hours of training and transmitted inflight images to an onboard computer for review, showing that minimally trained nonmedical personnel can operate the system in microgravity.
- Investigators noted weaker positioning scores for central‑body images such as chest, abdomen, and pelvis, and the X‑ray generator sustained superficial exterior damage on recovery even though internal components and output were unaffected.
- Authors call for smaller, hardened designs, secure mounting, formal imaging protocols and study of AI tools for image guidance and interpretation to make routine in‑orbit radiography practical for long‑duration lunar and deep‑space missions and for remote terrestrial care.