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Benefits of Space Research
AN UNPARALLELED ENVIRONMENT FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The ISS National Lab provides an out-of-this-world platform for cutting-edge research and product development. Human space exploration missions quickly revealed that microgravity, or weightlessness, had profound and unique effects on physical and biological phenomena. Understanding these effects is critical for human exploration and pioneering space — but the study of these effects also advances knowledge on Earth. The International Space Station National Laboratory is a permanently crewed research facility, observatory, and engineering test bed that can provide powerful insights into fundamental and applied scientific investigations.
For example, spaceflight R&D allows the long-term study of underlying biological and physical processes whose effects are masked by dominant gravity-dependent forces. These advantages of the ISS National Lab benefit a wide variety of R&D focus areas, including pharmaceutical development, biotechnology, nanotechnology, materials science, tissue engineering, disease modeling, agriculture, Earth observation, atmospheric research, energy source generation, combustion, fluid dynamics, student educational initiatives, and many more.
These advantages of the ISS National Lab benefit a wide variety of R&D focus areas.
Spaceflight benefits R&D in drug discovery, nanotechnology, materials science, tissue engineering, agriculture, Earth observation, technology development, and more.
Northrop Grumman's Cygnus space freighter approaches the ISS in February, 2022.
iss062e120658 (April 2, 2020) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 62 Flight Engineer Jessica Meir conducts cardiac research in the Life Sciences Glovebox located in the Japanese Kibo laboratory module. The Engineered Heart Tissues investigation could promote a better understanding of cardiac function in microgravity which would be useful for drug development and other applications related to heart conditions on Earth.
SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT
Microgravity
Also known as weightlessness, which alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences. Systems and processes affected by microgravity include surface wetting and interfacial tension, multiphase flow and heat transfer, multiphase system dynamics, solidification, and fire and combustion. Moreover, microgravity induces a vast array of changes in organisms ranging from viruses and bacteria to humans, including global alterations in gene expression and three-dimensional aggregation of cells into tissue-like architectures.
Extreme Environmental Conditions
These conditions include exposure to extreme heat and cold cycling, ultra-vacuum, atomic oxygen, and high- energy radiation. Testing and qualification of materials, sensors, and component sub-systems exposed simultaneously to these extreme conditions have provided data to enable the manufacturing of long-life reliable components used on Earth as well as in the world’s most sophisticated satellites and spacecraft.
A Unique Vantage Point
Based on the location of the ISS within low Earth orbit. The ISS orbits at an altitude of approximately 250 miles (400 km), and its path covers more than 90% of Earth’s population. Observations from this orbiting platform can provide unique spatial resolution and variable lighting conditions compared with the sun-synchronous orbits of typical Earth remote- sensing satellites, allowing insight into diverse fields ranging from atmospheric modeling to agriculture.
Media Credit: Genes in SpaceAn annual national research competition for students in grades 7 through 12 to design pioneering biotechnology experiments that are conducted by astronauts on the space station. The program is funded by Boeing and miniPCR bio and supported by the ISS National Laboratory® and New England BioLabs.
ISS National Lab: Expert Guidance
The ISS National Lab is committed to changing how the world accesses, understands, and participates in space-based R&D, supporting nontraditional users from academia, industry, and government institutions in addressing real-world issues, from healthcare crises to consumer product improvement to educating our youth about cutting-edge science, technology, engineering, and math.
From improving quality of life for cancer patients to developing innovative treatments for osteoporosis, identifying potential solutions to address climate change, and even one day manufacturing artificial tissue and organs in space, we’re enabling a broad community of dreamers and doers to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Recent investigations include R&D from academic institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, Emory, and MIT— as well as payloads from Fortune 500 companies such as Procter & Gamble, Merck, and Eli Lilly and Co. These organizations are improving our quality of life here on Earth by using space to advance product development, improve drug design, study human health, and support educational programs.
Media Credit: NASA
BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH THE ISS NATIONAL LAB
In addition to cutting-edge science and technology, the ISS National Lab provides project management support and assistance in translating ground-based research goals into flight-ready payloads. Moreover, the ISS National Lab enables customized marketing and media opportunities to showcase researchers, organizations, and payloads—including a “Space Is In It” product endorsement. See Partnering for Innovation for more details.