National Aeronautics and Space Administration

A Researcher’s Guide to:

Human Research

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This International Space Station (ISS) Researcher’s Guide is published by the NASA 

ISS Program Science Office.

Authors: 

Cynthia P. Haven

Suzanne G. McCollum

Clarence F. Sams, Ph.D.

Scott J. Wood, Ph.D.

Robert A. Pietrzyk

Executive Editor: Amelia Rai

Technical Editor: Neesha Hosein

Designer: Cory Duke

Cover and back cover: 

a. Expedition 32 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams exercises on the Combined Operational Load Bearing 

External Resistance Treadmill/T2 in the Node 3/Tranquility.

b. European Space Agency Andre Kuipers prepares to insert biological samples in the Minus 

Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS for long-term storage prior to return to Earth for analysis during 

Expedition 30. 

c. Expedition 32 Flight Engineer Akihiko Hoshide is pictured after undergoing a generic blood draw in 

the European Laboratory/Columbus Orbital Facility.

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European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and astronaut Chris Cassidy perform an Ocular Health Fundoscope 

Exam in the Destiny Laboratory of the International Space Station. 

Orbiting the Earth at almost 5 miles per second, a structure exists that is 

nearly the size of a football field and weighs almost a million pounds. The 

International Space Station (ISS) is a testament to international cooperation 

and significant achievements in engineering. The ISS is critically important to 

NASA’s future exploration missions. 

Within the NASA Human Research Program (HRP), the International Space 

Station Medical Projectss (ISSMP) element provides flight implementation 

services to HRP-sponsored research involving human research subjects 

allowing investigators to address the human risks of spaceflight enabling 

the safe exploration of space. For non-HRP-sponsored studies, the ISSMP 

supports the overall coordination of the flight studies into efficient science 

complements for each crew member and the scheduling of data collection 

sessions.

The ISS is a truly unique research platform. The possibilities of what can 

be discovered by conducting research on the ISS are endless and have 

the potential to contribute to the greater good of life on Earth and inspire 

generations of researchers to come. 

As we increase utilization of ISS, now is the time for investigators to propose 

new research and to make discoveries unveiling novel responses that could 

not be defined using traditional approaches on Earth. 

The Lab is Open

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International Space Station Medical Projects Overview 5

Preparing for Exploration Class Missions 7

Human Response to Living in Space 8

Flight Investigations 8

Flight Investigation Activities 11

Preflight Operations 11

In-Flight Operations 12

Postflight Operations 13

Spaceflight Research 15

Flight Support Capabilities 15

In-Orbit Research Hardware 15

Experiment-Unique Equipment 17

Data and Sample Sharing 18

Research Involving Human Subjects 20

Pathway to Flight Investigations 21

Funding Opportunities 23

Points of Contact 26

Future Directions 26

Table of Contents

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The International Space Station (ISS) 

provides an exclusive opportunity for 

advancing research into the effects 

of the unique spaceflight environment 

on humans and the development of 

space resources. The International Space 

Station Medical Projects (ISSMP) 

provides planning, integration, and 

implementation services for the 

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA) Human 

Research Program (HRP) research 

tasks. 

The goals and objectives of the ISSMP are to: 

• Maximize the utilization of the ISS to assess the effects of long-duration 

spaceflight on human systems and to develop and verify strategies to ensure 

optimal crew performance.

• Enable development and validation of a suite of integrated physical, 

pharmacologic and/or nutritional countermeasures against the deleterious effects 

of spaceflight that may impact mission success or crew health. 

• Support preflight, in-flight and postflight activities.

• Offer end-to-end, flight-experiment definition, development, documentation, 

integration, procedure development and validation, and hardware development 

and certification.

The ISSMP supports research investigators by defining science protocols as a set 

of implementable functional requirements, designing operational scenarios and 

developing as well as certifying hardware and software. Services provided by ISSMP 

include developing and validating in-flight crew procedures, providing ISS crewmember and ground-controller training, monitoring real-time, in-orbit experiment 

and hardware operations and facilitating data transfer to the principal investigators 

(PIs). The ISSMP maintains an expert team of professionals with the knowledge 

and experience to guide science protocols through the flight-development process.

International Space Station 

Medical Projects Overview

Figure 1. Flyaround view of the International Space Station 

taken from STS-132 Space Shuttle Atlantis after separation. 

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The ISSMP coordinates with the ISS International Partners (IPs) to develop 

integrated mission-specific science complements for human research investigations 

and to negotiate inter-agency schedules, usage agreements and international crew 

member subject participation. Support is provided for the human Institutional 

Review Boards (IRBs) approval process and scheduling the Informed Consent 

Briefings (ICBs) for potential crew member participation in the flight studies. The 

ISSMP offers investigators logistics support during all phases of the mission and 

also maintains a facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) for preflight and 

postflight collection of medical and scientific data for flight studies.

The ISSMP hardware and software teams provide design, fabrication and testing 

services for both ground and flight hardware and software systems. The application 

of unique knowledge of safety controls in human systems enables the reduction 

of risk in all flight-operational activities. Streamlined operational scenarios and 

optimized crew procedures for research and facility protocols are utilized to 

maximize science return within available resources, including end-to-end testing 

from experiment systems to data display and transmission in order to verify science 

data flow. The team provides complete integration support including pre-turnover 

Figure 2. ISS Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank prepares the Ultrasound 2 instrument developed and flight 

certified by the International Space Station Medical Projects.

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testing and hardware turnover for multiple flight vehicles to the ISS including the 

Russian Soyuz and Progress vehicles, European Ariane Transport Vehicle, Japanese 

H-II Transfer Vehicle and commercial launch vehicles.

The ISSMP provides services that result in the successful completion of a wide 

variety of multidisciplinary, human physiology research studies enabling the safe 

exploration of space and allowing for the future of exploration class missions.

Preparing for Exploration Class Missions 

NASA’s history has proven that humans are able to live safely and work in space. 

The ISS serves as a platform to extend and sustain human activities in preparation 

for long-duration, exploration-class missions. NASA uses the ISS for scientific, 

technological and educational purposes supporting future objectives in human 

space exploration. These objectives include protecting crews from the space 

environment, ensuring crew health through countermeasure development, testing 

research and technology developments, and developing and validating operational 

procedures for long-duration missions. 

The ISS is an orbiting research laboratory providing opportunities to address 

critical medical questions about astronaut health through multidisciplinary research 

operations to advance our understanding and capabilities for space exploration.

Figure 3. View of the moon over the Earth horizon taken by the Expedition 23 crew aboard the International Space Station.

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The HRP-sponsored, multi-disciplinary 

biomedical research currently underway on the 

ISS include studies addressing behavioral health 

and performance, bone and muscle physiology, 

exercise countermeasures, cardiovascular physiology, 

nutrition, and immunology. These life sciences 

research studies aim to provide a thorough 

understanding of the many physiologic changes 

that occur in a microgravity environment. Among 

the many physiological changes that occur in the 

human body include susceptibility to fainting after 

landing, vision changes potentially because of the 

harmful effects of microgravity on the eye and 

optic nerve, changes in blood volume, reduction 

in heart size and capacity, alterations in posture 

and locomotion, decreases in aerobic capacity and 

muscle tone, difficulty sleeping, increased risk for 

renal stone formation, and weakened bones.

The research focuses on astronaut health 

and performance and the development of 

countermeasures that will protect crew members 

from the space environment during long-duration 

voyages, evaluate new technologies to meet the 

needs of future exploration missions and develop 

and validate operational procedures for longduration space missions.

Flight Investigations

Following the selection and assignment of a research investigation to an ISS 

mission, the ISSMP provides the end-to-end integration, coordination and 

operational support to meet successfully the science requirements and objectives 

of the study. Among others, the current multi-disciplinary research areas in 

progress during ISS missions include functional performance testing through an 

integrated suite of functional and physiological tests before and after long-duration 

spaceflight. This study identifies critical mission tasks that may be impacted, maps 

physiological changes to alterations in physical performance and aids in the design 

Human Response 

to Living in Space

Figure 4. Human research on the ISS 

allows researchers to investigate the 

physiological and psychological effects 

of long duration spaceflight.

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of countermeasures that target specifically the physiologic systems responsible for 

impaired functional performance. 

Another study addresses the lack of gravity, which causes sensorimotor deficits 

post-landing and may impact piloted landings and early surface operations. ISSMP 

support for this study will aid in determining the underlying decrements in 

postflight operator proficiency. 

In the area of cardiovascular research, there is a study aimed at quantifying the 

extent, time course and clinical significance of cardiac atrophy associated with 

long-duration spaceflight and to identify the mechanisms of this atrophy and the 

functional consequences for crew members that spend extended periods of time in 

space. 

Crew members often experience back pain during spaceflight. The goal of another 

study is to use state-of-the-art imaging technologies to comprehensively characterize 

and quantify spaceflight-induced changes in disc morphology, biochemistry, 

metabolism and kinematics. The data collected will be analyzed to establish pain 

and disc damage mechanisms that will serve as a basis for future countermeasure 

development.

Figure 5. Subject uses a joystick to control navigation and docking during the rover simulation.

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Nutrition is a critical component 

to maintain crew health and 

performance successfully. A current 

study includes measures of bone 

metabolism, oxidative damage, 

and chemistry and hormonal 

changes as well as assessments of 

nutritional status. The results will 

have an impact on the definition 

of nutritional requirements and 

development of food systems for 

future exploration missions. Bone 

and muscle are affected significantly 

during spaceflight. The ISSMP 

supports a flight study evaluating the 

use of high-intensity, low-volume 

exercise training to minimize loss of muscle, 

bone, and cardiovascular function in ISS crew 

members during long-duration missions. 

Investigators expect to provide an integrated 

resistance and aerobic exercise training 

protocol capable of maintaining muscle, bone 

and cardiovascular health while reducing total 

exercise time. The results will provide valuable 

information in protecting human fitness for 

even longer space-exploration missions.

Upon completion of these experiments, a 

number of important risks will be identified, 

their impacts to long-duration space missions 

will be evaluated, and the need, if any, for 

countermeasures can be determined. In 

support of these research investigations, the 

ISSMP provides flight-hardware development, 

crew training, flight-crew procedures, and 

monitoring of real-time, in-orbit operations.

Figure 6. Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams poses 

with chopsticks and a drink pack while eating a meal in the 

Zvezda Service module. Nutrition plays an important role both in 

physiological and psychological well-being.

Figure 7. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert 

Thirsk, Expedition 20/21 flight engineer, uses the 

Advanced Resistive Exercise Device in the Node 1 

module.

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Preflight Operations

Once assigned to a mission, research 

investigations proceed through a 

number of milestones. The ISSMP 

partners with the investigators 

to ensure the following: science 

requirements are met; human 

institutional review approvals are 

obtained; crew training is scheduled; 

flight procedures are developed; and 

preflight baseline data collection 

(BDC) sessions are completed. 

Preflight data are collected for 

comparison with subsequent research 

findings to determine how spaceflight 

has affected a particular measurement 

and what effect the return to a 1-g environment may have. The ISSMP also leads 

the ICBs, enabling the participation of ISS crew members in each investigation and 

coordinates the integration of NASA and IP life sciences research experiments.

The availability of ISS crew members prior to launch for training and BDC is 

extremely limited because of a heavy training schedule requiring a great deal of 

international travel to Russia, Europe and Japan. All U.S. training and BDC 

(including vehicle and ISS system training as well as all NASA payloads) must 

be scheduled during the periods of time preflight when crew members are at 

JSC. Crew members depart for Russia approximately two months before launch 

(L-60 days). While it is possible to perform some simple testing in Russia 

between L-60 and L-30 (i.e., minimal sampling, simple ambulatory monitoring, 

questionnaires), it is more difficult to schedule and will require strong justification 

for implementation. 

There are no longer unique NASA facilities available for performing BDC in 

Russia; the only resources currently available are a freezer and centrifuge. In the 

L-30 to L-15 day timeframe, crew members’ schedules are very busy with required 

simulations, vehicle tests, and commissioning activities as well as time with their 

families, so scheduling research testing of any kind is usually not possible. The crew 

travels to the launch site at around L-15 days where there are no BDC facilities 

Flight Investigation Activities

Figure 8. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield, 

Expedition 34 flight engineer and Expedition 35 commander, 

participates in a training session in an International Space 

Station mock-up/trainer in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility 

at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Photo credit: NASA

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available for investigator use. The only feasible activities during this time are those 

that require passive monitoring (i.e., Actigraphy) or simple computer or pen/

paper entries. There is no freezer or any other equipment available at the launch 

site and retrieval of data and equipment must be arranged with crew surgeons (no 

investigator travel to launch site).

As crew time is very constrained during their time at JSC, the number, length and 

timing of BDC sessions should be optimized as much as possible. Training sessions 

are limited to skills-based sessions as opposed to lecture-style overview sessions. The 

ISSMP team works with HRP investigators to develop an appropriate training plan 

for each investigation that is selected for flight.

In-Flight Operations

All ISS crew members are currently 

launched on the Russian Soyuz 

spacecraft. The Soyuz is very space 

constrained, and it is not feasible 

to perform any in-flight operations 

before docking with the ISS. After 

docking with ISS, crew members are 

typically busy with handover activities, 

and crew time for scientific activities 

is extremely limited for the first two 

weeks. Crew time is also limited during 

periods when other vehicles dock or 

undock because of required preparation 

activities and around extra vehicular 

activities (EVAs). Weekends are 

protected as time off for crew members, 

and science is only performed if it is a 

crew preference or as part of voluntary 

science. 

In-flight crew time constraints require 

investigators to build flexibility into 

their scheduling requirements. In 

addition to the constraints mentioned 

Figure 9. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) 

astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, Expedition 33 flight engineer, 

performing an ultrasound scan supporting a skeletal 

muscle investigation. (Image Credit: NASA)

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above, many investigations often have similar in-flight timing requirements, and 

they cannot all be scheduled during the same week. Investigators should clearly 

state the reasoning for specific timing requirements and explain how flexible the 

timing is (plus or minus number of days). 

Experiment implementation is more difficult to achieve under the following 

conditions:

• Complicated in-flight sessions before the second week in-flight (e.g., requires 

set-up of multiple pieces of equipment, followed by testing session of more than 

an hour; sessions that require privatized voice or video).

• More than five complicated in-flight sessions involving multiple pieces of 

equipment (e.g., requires set-up of multiple pieces of equipment, followed by 

testing of more than two to three hours, requires extensive privatized resources).

• A single session with one crew member requiring four or more hours in one 

day.

• Crew activity that must be performed daily or more than once a week.

• Very precise/inflexible timing requirements for sessions (e.g., plus or minus 

window for testing of less than one week, multiple, timed blood draws, 

sessions that are linked to other crew activities like meals, EVAs, etc.). Note 

that occasional fasting data collections upon crew wake up are not difficult to 

implement.

• Extended, continuous activities over multiple days that could interfere with 

other operations.

Postflight Operations

The postflight priority is to rehabilitate the crew from the flight and return them 

to safe terrestrial function. All crew members are currently returned from the ISS 

via the Soyuz spacecraft after landing in Kazakhstan. United States Operation 

Segment (USOS) crew members (includes participants from IP agencies of Europe, 

Canada, and Japan) are returned directly to JSC within approximately 24 hours 

after landing via a NASA plane. Crew members may have significant circadian 

disruption. Investigators should not expect to have access to crew members 

until they have returned to JSC, and only limited testing is possible during their 

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return flight (i.e., Actigraphy, 

urine and saliva sampling). There 

is some opportunity for limited, 

passive testing upon immediate 

crew return to JSC (blood draws, 

ultrasound scans), but extensive or 

lengthy testing is not possible. The 

time period from crew landing to 

crew sleep after return to JSC is 

considered landing day or “R+0.” 

The start of R+1 begins after crew 

wake up the day after their return to 

JSC.

The total amount of time available 

for science BDC in the first 

week postflight (R+0 - R+7) is 

only 11.5 hours, and this scarce 

resource must be shared with 

multiple investigations. Therefore, 

investigators should only request 

BDC during this timeframe if it is 

required. In addition, scheduling 

flexibilities should be noted so 

that the postflight schedule can be 

optimized for maximum scientific 

data return. If testing requires use of 

a facility not located at JSC, travel 

time to and from the facility must be 

included in the session time. 

Because of these implementation 

constraints, the ISSMP must assess 

and integrate all postflight testing 

requirements early in the complement development process. These restrictions have 

a significant impact on the types and number of experiments that can be performed 

simultaneously.

Figure 10. The Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft with Expedition 36 

Commander Pavel Vinogradov of the Russian Federal Space 

Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin of 

Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy of NASA 

aboard, lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, 

Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013. (Credit: NASA/

Bill Ingalls.)

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Flight Support Capabilities 

The ISSMP services include 

the management, maintenance, 

operations, and use of the 

Telescience Support Center 

(TSC) located at JSC providing a 

focal point for real-time ISSMP 

operations and a distribution 

point for remote investigators 

to monitor their experiments 

and acquire telemetry data. The 

TSC interfaces with the Payload 

Operations Intergration Center 

at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight 

Center. The TSC provides 

investigators and ground teams 

with ISS Space-to-Ground audio capabilities allowing the relaying of commands 

and software uplinks to ISSMP facility systems. This facility serves as a gateway to 

distribute ISS digital data and video over virtual private networks to support the 

ISSMP science and engineering communities. Real-time system and experimentdata displays are available over a secure network between the ISS and remote 

investigator data facilities. 

In-Orbit Research Hardware

The ISSMP provides the Human Research Facility (HRF), which is comprised of 

a suite of hardware that provides core capabilities to enable research on human 

subjects. These research tools are available to HRP-sponsored investigators who 

wish to conduct human physiological research on the ISS. Most flight hardware 

must be specially built or modified to suit the space environment. The ISSMP 

provides flight hardware development processes designed to meet rigorous 

requirements for safety, mass, operation, human factors, electrical power usage, 

computer interfaces, and thermal properties. All flight hardware must be tested to 

verify that it can withstand the mechanical and acoustic vibrations encountered 

during launch, the acceleration forces during ascent into orbit, and the microgravity 

conditions in orbit.

The HRF consists of items mounted on two racks located in the Columbus module, 

Spaceflight Research 

Figure 11. Real-time science monitoring services are provided 

through the Telescience Support Center.

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as well as separate portable equipment kept in stowage locations and brought out 

as needed. The Human Research Facility enables human life science researchers to 

study and evaluate the physiological, behavioral, and biochemical changes induced 

by long-duration spaceflight. HRF Rack 1 (HRF-1) houses a Clinical Ultrasound, 

and the Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device for measuring inorbit, crew-member mass. HRF Rack 2 (HRF-2) houses the Pulmonary Function 

System, the result of a collaboration between NASA and the European Space 

Agency (ESA) to develop pulmonary physiology instrumentation, and a centrifuge 

for processing blood samples. HRF Racks 1 and 2 are currently in orbit and are 

regularly used for data collection and downlink of experiment data. 

Figure 12. Ultra-low cold storage is available with the in-orbit Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS. 

Expedition 39 flight engineers Steve Swanson and Rick Mastracchio work to transfer samples from the MELFI-1 to a 

Double Cold Bag.

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Supplies for collection of human biological samples, including blood, urine and 

saliva are available for investigators who require them. Standardization of this type 

of hardware both reduces costs and provides a familiar interface for crew members 

regardless of which investigation(s) they may be performing.

More information on the HRF hardware is available at: http://www.nasa.gov/

mission_pages/station/research/experiments/facilities_hardware.html.

Investigators should not assume that hardware previously flown but not listed on 

this website is available for their use. Potential investigators should check with the 

appropriate facility managers for current hardware functionality and availability.

ESA has also launched several hardware facilities designed for use in human life 

sciences experiments. Information about these facilities can be found at: http://

www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/facilities_by_partner_

agency.html. Investigators should be aware that while these ESA facilities will be 

aboard the ISS, use of them by NASA investigators will have to be negotiated. 

Hardware is available aboard the ISS for investigations that require conditioned 

storage of samples. Information about these facilities can be found under the 

“Refrigerator or Freezer” heading at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/

research/experiments/facilities_hardware.html.

Information on all ISS facilities can be found at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_

pages/station/research/facilities_category.html and http://www.nasa.gov/mission_

pages/station/research/news/new_facilities_brochure.html.

Executing flight experiments necessitates different constraints than is usually found 

in ground-based research. With the retirement of the space shuttle, all hardware is 

now launched to ISS using an IP resupply vehicle or a U.S. commercial vehicle. At 

this time, return of hardware and samples from the ISS is only possible using U.S. 

commercial vehicles, with a very limited capability on the Soyuz.

Experiment-Unique Equipment

Some investigators may need to develop their own special experiment hardware 

to work in conjunction with the facilities and functional capabilities of existing 

hardware. Development of Experiment-Unique Equipment can be costly and 

extend the preparation time for an experiment in order to design, build and test 

the hardware to meet spaceflight requirements. Commercially available hardware 

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is often more feasible to prepare for flight than custom-made hardware, but it will 

still require additional resources and certification in order to meet the requirements 

levied on all hardware flying to the ISS. It should not be assumed that any device 

can fly “as is” off the shelf. 

Investigators should keep in mind the following implementation issues when 

designing flight experiments. These are factors that ISSMP will assess when 

determining the feasibility of HRP flight projects:

• Is new flight hardware required? The extent of how difficult this development 

will be is dependent on how much design and development is required for 

custom-made equipment and how off-the-shelf equipment will have to be 

modified. Resources such as up-mass and volume could constrain launch 

opportunities.

• Does the hardware need to be returned to the ground for refurbishment or data 

retrieval? Down mass resources will be protected for critical science samples, 

data should be planned to be downlinked, and hardware no longer being used 

will likely be discarded.

• Is conditioned stowage required in orbit or for return? The ISS has freezers 

and refrigerators aboard the ISS. Conditioned down-mass volume is limited. 

Requirements for cold stowage should not exceed the capabilities of the 

equipment identified on the cold stowage website. 

Data and Sample Sharing

Some experiments collect identical or similar data as standard medical tests or other 

concurrently scheduled investigations. Duplication may be avoided via data sharing. 

A Data Sharing Plan is implemented for each mission to minimize crew time and 

inconvenience. The plan would also allow individual investigators to enhance 

their studies through interpretation of their data within the context of the many 

physiologic adjustments provoked by spaceflight. The correlation and comparison 

of all experiment results will, in turn, produce a more coherent and comprehensive 

understanding of human physiologic adaptation to spaceflight.

In addition, data produced from NASA-funded life sciences research must be 

archived in the Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) for the benefit of the greater 

research and operational spaceflight community. Archival data products may 

include but are not limited to low-level (raw) data, high-level (processed) data, 

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and data products such as calibration data, documentation, related software, and 

other tools or parameters that are necessary to interpret the data. To protect the 

right of first publication, funded investigator(s) are generally allowed a period 

of one year after final data collection before making the data available to other 

investigators through release from the LSDA. This archive, as well as other NASA 

data repositories, allows investigators to implement research by enabling analysis of 

existing astronaut experiment, medical and/or performance data.

Sample sharing also may be available to investigators depending on the type and 

quantity of sample requested. Similar to the Data Sharing Plan, sample sharing 

minimizes valuable crew time and inconvenience and decreases up and down mass.

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Research Involving 

Human Subjects

Currently, the maximum number of crew members aboard the ISS at any given 

time is six; this includes three Russian crew members and three USOS crew 

members. In-orbit durations are approximately six months, and the crew rotations 

are staggered, so there may be periods when only three crew members are aboard 

ISS. Currently, NASA-sponsored investigations may only seek participation from 

USOS crew members; therefore, the maximum number of subjects available per 

year for any one experiment is six. For planning purposes, four subjects per year 

is the average that should be assumed for any experiment since other constraints 

and crew consent may limit participation. All flight investigations involving USOS 

crew members must receive approval by the NASA/JSC IRB and the Human 

Research Multilateral Review Board. Approval by the ESA Medical Board and 

Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency IRB are also needed if participation of 

crew members representing those agencies will be recruited. Crew members are 

given an ICB on all proposed human research for their mission at approximately 

one year before launch. A large number of human life sciences investigations are 

being performed such that it is not possible for one crew member to participate in 

all of them, even if that crew member is willing. This is due to resource limitations 

described in this document as well as science conflicts between investigations. Based 

on crew members’ interest and program priorities, a specific complement of research 

is developed that can be performed within the flight resource constraints.

With a small subject pool and a large number of investigations requiring human 

subjects, the number of subjects required to complete an investigation becomes 

an important aspect of technical feasibility for all flight proposals. In addition 

to taking a long time to complete, studies that require large subject numbers 

limit the throughput for overall human spaceflight research. An investigation 

that has multiple constraints, and that will effectively reduce the number of 

other investigations in which a subject can participate, will be more difficult to 

implement. Investigators should note that one crew member can participate in up 

to 20 human life sciences investigations, depending on complexity, across all USOS 

partners.

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A proposal can be submitted for consideration to the Human Research Program 

in many different ways including, among others, through a NASA Research 

Announcement (NRA), NASA Space Act Agreement, NASA Human Research 

Program Directed Task and through an International Announcement of 

Opportunity. ISS investigators may receive funding from NASA and many 

other sources. These sources determine the sponsorship for access to the orbiting 

laboratory. Studies that involve only preflight and postflight testing of the crew 

members before launch and upon return from their spaceflight may also be 

performed. Additional information for prospective investigators can be found at: 

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/ops/research_information.

html.

Following development and submission of a research proposal to HRP, the 

proposal undergoes a peer-review process to evaluate the relevance of the study to 

NASA’s goals and objectives and the scientific merit of the proposed investigation. 

The outcome of this review may lead to a refinement of the study followed by 

selection as a flight investigation. After selection of a research proposal for a flight 

investigation is made by the sponsoring organization, the process formally begins 

to define the overall research requirements, objectives and probable costs. Critical 

to conducting a successful study is agreement on a set of realistic mission objectives 

including establishing the technical, functional, and performance requirements to 

satisfy the objectives. 

Pathway to Flight 

Investigations

Figure 13. Example pathway following select-for-flight for a research investigation.

Increment Stage Stage Stage

Launch Launch Launch Launch

Strategic Tactical ISS Flight Operations Post-flight

Experiment and Hardware

Requirements and Definition

(Design, Development, Test, Safety 

and Verification)

Mission Integration

(Increment Planning, Training

and Baseline Data Collection)

ISS Crew

Rotation

ISS Crew

Rotation

Real Time

(Operations)

Post Flight Ops, Baseline

Data Collection, (H/W, 

Sample and Data Return)

Hardware development time varies per payload

36 months to days

Manifest

Approved

L –X months L –12 months L –1 m 6 months Crew Return

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Subsequently, the ISSMP will conduct a feasibility evaluation of the investigation 

focusing on the functional requirements including the use of any experimentunique hardware and development time and the requested number of subjects. 

Ground-based requirements for conducting the preflight and postflight operations 

necessary for conducting the flight experiment must also be defined. Included 

in the feasibility is an assessment of the complexity of the experiment, crew time 

requirements and the testing schedule.

The ISSMP team plays a critical role in conducting HRP human life sciences 

investigations on the ISS and provides an experienced team to each investigation 

to assist each investigator in defining their experiment hardware, software and 

operational requirements.

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What Should Principal Investigators Know About Conducting 

Research on ISS?

Supporting research in science and technology is an important part of NASA’s 

overall mission. NASA solicits research through the release of NRAs, which cover 

a wide range of scientific disciplines. All NRA solicitations are facilitated through 

the Web-based NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation 

System (NSPIRES), http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/. Registering with 

NSPIRES allows investigators to stay informed of newly released NRAs and enables 

submission of proposals. NSPIRES supports the entire lifecycle of NASA research 

solicitations and awards, from the release of new research calls through the peer 

review and selection process. 

In planning the scope of their proposal, investigators should be aware of available 

resources and the general direction guiding NASA research selection. NASA places 

high priority on recommendations from the 2011 National Research Council’s 

NRC Decadal Survey, which placed emphasis on hypothesis-driven spaceflight 

research. In addition, principal investigators should be aware that spaceflight 

experiments may be limited by a combination of power, crew time, or volume 

constraints. Launch and/or landing scrubs are not uncommon, and alternative 

implementation scenarios should be considered in order to reduce the risk from 

these scrubs. Preliminary investigations using ground-based simulators may be 

necessary to optimize procedures before spaceflight. 

To understand previous spaceflight studies, prospective PIs should familiarize 

themselves with the NASA ISS Program Science Office database, which discusses 

research previously conducted on the ISS, including that of the International 

Partners. A detailed catalog of previous, current, and proposed experiments, 

facilities, and results, including investigator information, research summaries, 

operations, hardware information, and related publications is available through the 

NASA ISS Program Office at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/

index.html.

Additionally, details pertaining to research previously supported by the Space Life 

and Physical Sciences Research and Applications Division of NASA’s Human 

Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate can be located in the Space Life 

& Physical Sciences Research and Applications Division Task Book in a searchable 

online database format at: https://taskbook.nasaprs.com/Publication/welcome.cfm.

Funding Opportunities

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NASA generally uses Broad Agency Announcements (BAA) to solicit proposals 

for research and technology investigations. Such BAAs may take the form of 

Announcements of Opportunity (AO), NRAs or, less frequently, Cooperative 

Agreement Notices (CAN). In addition, for specific, well-defined research end 

points or tests, NASA may elect to use Request for Proposals. 

NASA solicits this research through the release of various research announcements 

in a wide range of science and technology disciplines. NASA uses a peer-review 

process to evaluate and select research proposals submitted in response to these 

research announcements. 

The AO is used to solicit and competitively select research investigations 

characterized as having a well-defined purpose and end product; for example, 

science investigations with hardware responsibility for a unique spaceflight mission, 

a program of flight missions or unique but large-cost, non-flight programs.

The NRA is used to solicit research that is characterized as being a part of the HRP’s 

ongoing approved research program under the budgetary discretion of the HRP 

program manager. Normally, the HRP will issue at least two NRAs annually in 

partnership with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, one for research 

in support of the Space Radiation Element and one for the remainder of the 

program. In general, an NRA solicits research investigations that are characterized 

as being of high relevance to NASA’s program interests but in which a specific end 

product or service is not well-defined but left to the creativity of the proposer. 

NRAs are typically used to solicit and competitively select proposals for ongoing 

programs although some may be singular in nature such as a data analysis program.

The CAN is used to solicit and competitively select proposals to support NASA 

program interests that require a high degree of cooperation between NASA and the 

selected institution. The scope of activities solicited by a CAN may be as modest 

as those through an NRA or as complex as those through an AO. The cooperative 

agreements awarded as a result of a CAN are similar to grants except that both 

NASA and the selected institution are required to provide resources, and both are 

involved in decisions related to the activities carried out by the selected institution.

NASA issues annual program solicitations that set forth a substantial number 

of research topics in areas consistent with stated agency needs or missions. Both 

the list of topics and the description of the topics and subtopics are sufficiently 

comprehensive to provide a wide range of opportunity for Small Business Concerns 

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to participate in NASA research programs. Topics and subtopics emphasize the need 

for proposals with advanced concepts to meet specific agency needs.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program was established 

by Congress in 1982 to provide increased opportunities for small businesses 

to participate in research and developments to increase employment and to 

improve U.S. competitiveness. The program’s specific objectives are to stimulate 

U.S. technologic innovation, use small businesses to meet federal research and 

development needs, increase private-sector commercialization of innovations and 

foster and encourage participation by socially disadvantaged businesses. Legislation 

enacted in 2000 extended and strengthened the SBIR program and increased its 

emphasis on pursuing commercial applications of SBIR project results. 

The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program awards contracts to 

small business concerns for cooperative research and development with a nonprofit research institution, such as a university. Congress’s goal in establishing the 

STTR program is to facilitate the transfer of technology developed through the 

entrepreneurship of a small business and is modeled after the SBIR Program with 

the same basic requirements and phased funding structure. STTR is nevertheless a 

separate activity and is separately funded. It differs from SBIR in several important 

aspects including existing as a smaller program. The small company must take the 

research and intellectual property of the research institution and convert it into 

a useful product. Additional information and a current list of solicitations are 

available at: http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

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Points of Contact

Future Directions

The ISSMP provides planning, integration and implementation services for 

HRP, enabling the research communities as well as NASA’s International Partners 

requiring access to space. For more information regarding the ISSMP, please visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/humanresearch/elements/research_info_elementissmp.html.

The ISS is a test bed to continue 

validation of countermeasures, 

assess autonomous operations, 

and evaluate new technologies to 

acquire the knowledge, skills and 

capabilities to venture beyond lowEarth orbit. With assembly of the 

ISS complete and all laboratories 

in operation, scientific research has 

become the top priority. The ISSMP 

is uniquely positioned to support 

life science investigations to produce 

a biomedical research portfolio to 

mitigate space human health risks 

and to extend and sustain human 

activities for future human space 

exploration.

Figure 14. The ISS is the only facility allowing researchers to 

evaluate the capabilities needed in preparation for missions to 

the moon and Mars. ((Image Credit: NASA)

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AO Announcements of Opportunity

BAA Broad Agency Announcements

BDC Baseline data collection

CAN Cooperative Agreement Notices

ESA European Space Agency

EVA Extra vehicular activities

HRF 1 HRF Rack 1

HRF 2 HRF Rack 2

HRF Human Research Facility

HRP Human Research Program

ICB Informed Consent Briefing

IP International Partner

IRB Institutional Review Board

ISS International Space Station

ISSMP International Space Station Medical Projects

JSC NASA’s Johnson Space Center

LSDA Life Sciences Data Archive

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NRA NASA Research Announcement

NSPIRES NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System

PI Principal Investigator

SBIR Small Business Innovation Research

STTR Small Business Technology Transfer

TSC Telescience Support Center

USOS United States Operation Segment

Acronyms

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The Complete ISS Researcher’s 

Guide Series

1. Acceleration Environment

2. Cellular Biology

3. Combustion Science

4. Earth Observations

5. Fluid Physics

6. Fruit Fly Research

7. Fundamental Physics

8. Human Research

9. Macromolecular Crystal Growth

10. Microbial Research

11. Microgravity Materials Research

12. Plant Science

13. Rodent Research

14. Space Environmental Effects

15. Technology Demonstration

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For more information...

Space Station Science

http://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

Facilities

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/

facilities_category.html

ISS Interactive Reference Guide

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/ISSRG/index.htm

Researchers/Opportunities

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/

ops/research_information.html

ISS Research Customer Helpline

JSC-ISS-research-helpline@mail.nasa.gov

281-244-6187

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Johnson Space Center

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson

www.nasa.gov

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