Research Opportunities Abound in October
The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, arrives at launch Pad-0A, Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Antares will launch with the Cygnus spacecraft filled with over 5,000 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station, including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions. The Orbital-3 mission is Orbital Sciences' third contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA.
Media Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
In the spirit of the Major League Baseball postseason, October is primetime. While the the ISSInternational Space Station National Lab team isn’t in the hunt for World Series glory, we ‘ve been very busy supporting out-of-this world research! Check out our October statistics: 1 RFI released, 1 RFP released, 9 research projects awarded, and 24 student experiments set to launch to the space station at the end of the month! Read on to learn more about these great research opportunities made available through the ISS National Lab.
Looking for Bright Ideas
Earlier this month, the ISS National Lab released a Request for Information with the purpose of identifying animal models and cell-based models for use on the ISS. The RFI will query experts to identify the best models that can be studied on station that may accelerate space-based research in understanding human disease, identifying drug targets and evaluating new therapeutics. To learn more about the RFI, visit: http://bit.ly/1EqsQ0B
Additionally, the ISS National Lab issued a formal solicitation for flight proposals focused on Earth observation to benefit energy technology.
For example, studies could include identifying, siting or monitoring solar parks, wind parks, and water resources. This solicitation is intended to enhance the National Lab research portfolio in the area of energy-related R&D. Learn more about this solicitation here http://bit.ly/1wttKDG
New Research, New Opportunities
While the ISS National Lab is diligently working with scientists and experts to identify promising research areas where the ISS can be leveraged as a research platform, we continue to select and award a bevy of quality research projects. the ISS National Lab awarded 3 research projects that were selected from our “Enabling Technologies” solicitation that was issued earlier this year. These projects will help to improve hardware and capabilities on station as well as increase throughput. Get the details on each awarded project here: http://bit.ly/1t8C6TA
In addition to the recent solicitation awardees, the ISS National Lab awarded 6 unsolicited research proposals that spanned disciplines from physical sciences to payload retrieval studies.
These awarded projects exemplify the innovative space research project development that the ISS National Lab is working to culture within the academic and commercial research communities. Learn about the recently awarded projects http://bit.ly/1wdBTMO
Fostering Entrepreneurship for ISS Research
Later this month, the ISS National Lab and The Boeing Company will unveil select startup companies who have developed concepts that could be enhanced through ISS research. For the past two years, the ISS National Lab has been an active participant in MassChallenge, the world’s largest startup accelerator, in an effort to reach new, innovative ideas and provide resources to ensure their potential ideas have the opportunity to be developed further through 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.. In fact, last year the ISS National Lab awarded 8 startups seed funding to help them achieve their goal of space-based research. Stay tuned to see what companies and ideas will be awarded later this month.
Orb-3 Loaded with Student Research
The next ISS resupply mission is Orb-3, which is scheduled to launch no earlier than October 27, 2014. This mission will launch 24 the ISS National Lab-sponsored student research experiments to the ISS! These student experiments were developed through two national STEM programs that are fostering a love for learning among elementary and high school student by introducing them to experiment design, embracing critical thinking and even art, through mission patch design. Eighteen of the experiments were developed through the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP).
This is the sixth SSEP mission to send student experiments to the ISS and the ISS National Lab is a proud sponsor of this initiative. The other six experiments were developed through the the ISS National Lab National Design Challenge (NDC), which is our marquee STEM initiative that works with teachers and students in a select region every year to introduce space research to the community. The six NDC experiments launching on Orb-3 are from NDC-Houston. To get all the details on the student research heading to the ISS via the ISS National Lab, visit: http://bit.ly/12bsFrj
While October, has been full of announcements and exciting developments the pace shows no signs of slowing as we head into the heart of the fall season. There are several key conferences that the ISS National Lab supported during this month as well including ISPCS and ASGSR. To stay up to date on all the ISS National Lab news and activity visit our website: issnationallab.org