September 2024
Welcome to Space Station Spotlight, a monthly newsletter from the ISS National Laboratory®. Here’s where you can find all the latest R&D happenings on the space station, see what our partners are up to, and learn how to elevate your research to new heights by leveraging the unique space environment.
What’s new at the ISS National Lab?
The Crew-9 mission, part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, carried NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Over the next several months, the full ISSInternational Space Station crew will support hundreds of experiments to benefit humanity.
Through the project, Airbus U.S. Space and Defense, Inc. tested its new ArgUS Multi-Payload Adapter for the Bartolomeo external hosting platform on station. Bartolomeo enables research related to Earth observation, robotics, materials science, and astrophysics. ArgUS supports smaller payloads within a standard Bartolomeo slot, allowing multiple experiments to coexist and increasing the affordability of access to a space-based research platform.
ISSRDC(Abbreviation: ISSRDC) The only conference dedicated exclusively to showcasing how the International Space Station is advancing science and technology and enabling a robust and sustainable market in LEO. This annual conference brings together leaders from the commercial sector, U.S. government agencies, and academic communities to foster innovation and discovery onboard the space station. ISSRDC is hosted by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, manager of the ISS National Lab; NASA; and the American Astronautical Society. 2024 photos are now available on the ISS National Lab Flickr account.
Relive the 13th annual ISS Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC) held in Boston July 29-August 1 by viewing the conference photo album. Watch videos of selected sessions on the conference website, and read highlights from the pre-conference event day and ISSRDC Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3.
NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who launched to station on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June, tested the camera, which will be used on a later mission to capture content for Sphere, the next-generation entertainment medium in Las Vegas.
Wilmore and Williams carried out an investigation from Northeastern University examining tiny particles of different sizes that stick together in a fluid. Understanding how these particles behave is important for industries related to food, medicine, construction, and electronics.
Partner News
NASA is seeking possible new management of the Astrobee free-flying robot system. NASA announced a request for information (RFI) for entities interested in managing the Astrobee system on the ISS. Over the years, the Astrobee robots have provided a valuable capability for technology demonstrations, scientific research, and STEM education activities on station.
Blue Origin launched and returned its eighth suborbital space tourism mission. New Shephard, Blue Origin’s reusable combination rocket and capsule, launched six people to an altitude of around 341,000 feet before returning and safely landing in West Texas.
SpaceX launched and returned Polaris Dawn, the farthest human spaceflight since Apollo. For the mission, four private astronauts launched in a SpaceX Dragon capsule atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon spacecraft reached an orbit more than three times farther than the ISS. The crew also completed the first-ever commercial spacewalk.
Soyuz carried new crew members to the ISS and brought others back to Earth. Russia’s Soyuz capsule carried NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner to the space station for a six-month mission. The capsule then brought NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub safely back to Earth.
ESA printed a 3D metal part in space onboard the ISS for the first time. The printer and raw materials for the print were sent to the ISS earlier this year, and ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen installed the hardware on station. 3D metal printing capabilities to produce spare parts and tools will be crucial for future long-duration spaceflight missions.
Funding Opportunities
The Igniting Innovation ISS National Lab research announcement deadline was extended to October 3. The 2024 Igniting Innovation solicitation, in collaboration with NASA, seeks multiflight research leveraging the space environment to address challenges in disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The solicitation offers up to $4 million for an expected two to three awards. All proposed projects must include cells from diverse ethnic groups, and proposers should be sure to address this in their concept summary and full proposal. Find the details here.
Results
The latest issue of Upward, official magazine of the ISS National Lab, is online. Explore valuable findings from space-based R&D—download the current and past issues here.
University of Florida ISS research could lead to new treatments for age-related muscle loss. Read the Upward feature “The Beauty of Accelerated Aging” to see how the team used tissue chips 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 study age-related muscle loss on timescales much shorter than what’s possible on Earth. The 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. model could be used to better understand sarcopenia—an age-related muscle loss condition with no treatments aside from exercise—and test possible new therapeutics.
Researchers published results from NIH-funded cardiac tissue chip research on the ISS. Johns Hopkins University researchers developed a tissue chip system to study microgravity’s effects on heart tissue structure and function. The results, published in PNAS, could improve our understanding of heart disease and lead to new drugs for patients with heart conditions.
Workforce Development and STEM Education
A photo essay showcased how ISS National Lab educational partner programs engage students. Since 2014, Space Station Explorers partner programs have provided valuable opportunities for educators to bring space into their classrooms, sparking student imagination and introducing important science concepts.
Students talked with ISS crew members via HAM radio during two ARISS contacts this month. ISS National Lab educational partner program ARISS connected students in Poland and Brazil with astronauts on station through the contacts. Students asked the crew members about what it’s like to live and work in space and the skills needed to become an astronaut.
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