Continuous Technical Innovation Requires Continuity of Fundamental Research

Humans have lived and worked in low Earth orbit(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles. (LEO) for decades—from Skylab to Mir to the space shuttle missions to more than 20 years on the International Space Station (ISS). Studies conducted in space have revealed new technological innovations and breakthroughs that benefit humans on Earth. Scientists are testing human cells in space as accelerated disease models to develop therapeutics for some of the most impactful diseases of our time, such as cancer. Investigators are leveraging the ISS to produce kilometers of specialty optical fibers that could potentially reduce optical losses tenfold. And researchers are manufacturing artificial retinas layer-by-layer in microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment. to improve their uniformity and, one day, provide sight-restoring treatment for macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

These breakthroughs are a direct result of sustained access to LEO through the ISS National Laboratory® and support for fundamental science in space that planted the seeds for technological innovation. We continue to reap the harvest of these seeds with discoveries from ISS research that improve human life through economic and technological advancement. However, if we want to continue to benefit from innovations in the decades to come, we must be diligent about planting new seeds by supporting fundamental research on the ISS now and on future commercial space stations.

Many examples of space-based investigations have led to improved products or processes in advanced manufacturing in LEO. NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration funded many early studies in microgravity focused on colloids and particles. Building on this research, the NASA Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) program has funded several colloidal studies under the Advanced Colloids Experiments (ACE) program. The ISS National Lab has sponsored multiple ACE projects, including research from Procter & Gamble (P&G) that studied colloid gelation on the ISS. As a result of these experiments and others conducted with BPS, P&G developed the colloid stabilization technology that went into its Febreze Unstopables Touch Fabric Spray, released in 2021.

Another example is research to produce high-value optical fiber by harnessing the advantages of the microgravity environment. For decades, it has been known that fluoride glass optical fibers have the potential to transmit light and data with an order-of-magnitude reduction in losses compared with traditional silica fibers, resulting in significantly lower power requirements. However, these improvements have not materialized, in part, due to the propensity for the glass to develop crystalline defects during the transition from a liquid to an amorphous solid. NASA funded a series of early studies in the 1990s that demonstrated reduced crystallization when the fibers were drawn in microgravity. These early exploratory studies stimulated several companies to leverage the ISS National Lab for optical fiber manufacturing in LEO. Through ISS National Lab-sponsored research, Flawless Photonics reported producing kilometers of fluoride glass fiber on the space station in the past year, including individual fiber draws more than a kilometer in length. This potentially revolutionary product manufactured in LEO directly results from the seeds planted by NASA nearly 30 years ago.

The ISS National Lab has long believed in the critical importance of fundamental research. We are proud to have partnered with the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) for nearly 10 years to leverage the unique microgravity environment of the ISS to explore fundamental science for groundbreaking discoveries. Through our long-running annual joint solicitations, we have sponsored space-based research in transport phenomena, such as combustion and fluid physics, as well as tissue engineering and mechanobiology. This research has led to valuable discoveries. For example, insight gained on cool flame chemistry could one day help improve internal combustion engine efficiency and reduce the emission of harmful pollutants. Findings on the complex fluids of pharmaceuticals could lead to higher-quality therapeutics and improved pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. And results on the accelerated aging of cells in microgravity could enable the development of robust models to study age-related diseases and test potential new treatments.

In addition to our work with NSF, the ISS National Lab funded early stem cell research on the space station more than a decade ago. This work paved the way for a partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study tissue chips, engineered systems containing human cells, which can serve as avatars for human organs during experiments in space. This collaboration led to a tissue chipA tissue chip, or organ-on-a-chip or microphysiological system, is a small engineered device containing human cells and growth media to model the structure and function of human tissues and/or organs. Using tissue chips in microgravity, researchers can study the mechanisms behind disease and test new treatments for patients on Earth. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has a multiyear partnership with the ISS National Laboratory® to fund tissue chip research on the space station. program between NIH and NASA BPS, and the current NIH Tissue Chips in Space solicitation with the ISS National Lab. Microgravity studies on stem cells and tissue chips are bearing critical innovations. Tissue chips in space have been validated as accelerated disease models to help researchers better understand disease progression and screen drugs for efficacy and toxicity. Results are also driving advancements in regenerative medicine technologies and the development of new therapeutics to treat cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, musculoskeletal diseases, and more.

The ISS National Lab will continue to support research that brings to fruition the innovations sown by decades of research in LEO. And even as we foster these innovations as they develop, we are cognizant of the importance of planting the next generation of seeds by continuing to sponsor fundamental research. As the LEO ecosystem enters a new era of commercial space stations, it is paramount that we as a nation continue to seed this fertile field of microgravity research without interruption. On future commercial LEO destinations, how will fundamental research be prioritized among competing interests such as applied R&D, manufacturing, and tourism? We must not lose sight of the value of fundamental science, as the seeds sown today grow to produce technological innovations of the future.