« Back to Technology Development & Manufacturing
STEM Education Research
STEM education research onboard the ISS National Lab
Many ISSInternational Space Station National Lab projects leverage the ISS as the ultimate learning tool to engage K-12 students and enhance higher education, promote diversity and outreach into underrepresented demographics, and help build the space community workforce of the future.
At a Glance
Every area of ISS National Lab research has the potential to include a STEM component.
STEM flight projects enable students to work with the ISS National Lab, Implementation Partners, and Principal Investigators.
Many STEM projects are the result of national competitions that encourage teamwork, innovation, and scientific exploration.
In addition to being a powerful platform for research and development that can benefit humanity, the ISS is also a unique space-based classroom. It offers unparalleled opportunities for STEM education, allowing students and educators to engage with real-world science and engineering projects. The ISS National Lab supports a wide range of educational initiatives, from live experiments and demonstrations to interactive lessons and student-designed investigations. This learning environment inspires the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers, fostering a deeper understanding of space and its potential to improve life on Earth.
Examples of space-based STEM education research investigations to improve life on Earth include:
Engaging Communities:
Through the ISS National Lab’s Research Announcements, STEM education has provided opportunities to engage underrepresented and underserved communities in space-based research. From sending Native American heirloom seeds to the ISS, to partnering with organizations that seek to involve students in rural and disadvantaged students in scientific endeavors.
Fostering Scientific Literacy:
Creating a scientifically literate future workforce remains at the forefront of ISS National Lab initiatives. Through programs like Orion’s Quest, students investigate and draw conclusions about experiments that took place in space. They use actual data and evidence to draw conclusions and gain a better understanding of how science is conducted in the unique environment of the ISS.
Cultivating Effective Communicators:
In a constantly changing world, communication continues to be an integral part of successful organizations, businesses, and industries. The ISS National Lab recognizes the importance of cultivating effective communicators and partners with organizations such as Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) to provide opportunities for youth around the globe to communicate with astronauts aboard the ISS.
Inspiring the next generation of space industry workers and advancing science literacy among our nation’s students is a key focus area for the ISS National Lab.
Examples of recent stem education research investigations onboard the ISS National Lab include:
A partner program provided educational opportunities for underrepresented communities through an investigation that allowed students to study the sequestration of carbon by plants on station.
A free program allows students to talk with ISS crew members via ham radio, hosted its first-ever contact in Antarctica with 50 students at the remote Esperanza Base Research Station’s school. ARISS can now boast supporting schools on all seven continents.
The ISS National Lab hosted a launch event at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center that included a student poster session and provided an opportunity for the students to present their research.
Related Resources
ISS360
Orbital Insights: Student Research in Space
High school student Isabel Jiang’s winning Genes in Space project investigates how spaceflight conditions, such as radiation exposure, can activate genetic elements called retrotransposons, potentially leading to health issues.
ISS360
‘Bacteria Boys’ From Brevard County Middle School Launch Their Experiment to Space
Middle school students from Pinecrest Academy Space Coast are tested whether horseshoe crab blood can detect bacterial contamination in microgravity as effectively as it does on Earth.
REPORT
20 Years of Student Experiments Using the ISS
Download this Report to learn more about the student experiments this community has enabled over the past 20 years of continuous human presence onboard the ISS.