View of solar array and radiator 

panels over Earth limb taken by 

Expedition 52 crew. Credit: NASA 
INTERNATIONAL SPACESTATION 

Benefts for Humanity 

2022 

This book was developed collaboratively by the members of the 

International Space Station (ISS) Program Science Forum (PSF), 

which includes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 

Canadian Space Agency (CSA), European Space Agency (ESA), 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), State Space Corporation 

ROSCOSMOS (ROSCOSMOS), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). 

NP-2022-06-010-JSC 

i
 

 

 

 

 

 

Explore space station science from around the world on the websites of each of 

the International Space Station Program Science Forum’s members: 

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/ 

ESA (European Space Agency) https://www.esa.int/ 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) https://global.jaxa.jp/ 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) https://www.nasa.gov/ 

State Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS (ROSCOSMOS) https://roscosmos.ru/ 

Italian Space Agency (ASI) https://www.asi.it/ 

Acknowledgments 

A Product of the International Space Station Program 

Science Forum 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration: 

Kirt Costello, Heidi Parris, David Brady, Bryan Dansberry, 

Erin Winick Anthony, Melissa Gaskill, Carrie Gilder, 

Charles Plain, Nicole Rose, Michael Brody, Tracy Parr, 

Roger Weiss, Pia Sen, Cameron Dillon, Jessica Hellein, 

Morgan Kuligowski, Jacquelyn Emery, Lauren Prox, 

Erica Morrison, Ana Guzman 

Canadian Space Agency: 

Luchino Cohen 

European Space Agency: 

Thu Jennifer Ngo-Anh, Kirsten MacDonell 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency: 

Masaki Shirakawa, Izumi Yoshizaki, Kaoruko Sakamoto, 

Masako Tsubomi 

State Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS: 

Vasily Savinkov, Dmitri Samsonov, Sergei Prokopovich, 

Igor Sorokin 

Italian Space Agency: 

Giovanni Valentini, Luca Parca, Gabriele Mascetti 

Executive Editor: 

David Brady 

Managing Editors: 

Bryan Dansberry 

Erin Winick Anthony 

Cover Designer: 

Chris Getteau 

Technical Editor: 

Susan Breeden 

Graphic Designer: 

Cynthia Bush 

Video Editors: 

Nicole Rose 

Michael Brody 

Digital Editors: 

Roger Weiss 

Ana Guzman 

ii 
Economic Exploration Societal Scientifc Table of Contents Beneft Beneft Beneft Beneft

Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................................................ii 

Letter from the Chief Scientist ...........................................................................................................v 

Your Orbiting Laboratory .................................................................................................................... 1 

Why Do Research on the International Space Station? .....................................................................................................2 

Summarizing the unique and valuable research opportunities provided by an orbiting laboratory. 

A Foothold on the Edge of Space ......................................................................................................................................5 

A short overview of station capabilities and research accomplishments of the frst crewed expedition. 

From Outpost to Orbiting Laboratory ................................................................................................................................7 

The evolution of International Space Station research capabilities as refected through key achievements 

over the frst two decades of operations. 

Benefts of an Orbiting Laboratory ...................................................................................................................................12 

The interconnected nature of International Space Station benefts and how they are derived. 

Building on Past Results ..................................................................................................................................................15 

Focus on the third decade of station that has just begun and the growing number of studies and facilities 

building on prior results. 

Ad Astra—Future Plans for the Space Station .................................................................................................................18 

Forward-looking summary containing individual partner perspectives. 

Seeing our Home in a New Light ..................................................................................................... 24 

An Unmatched Eye on Earth ............................................................................................................................................26 

Story highlighting the many benefts originating from station payloads monitoring Earth and its climate. 

Observing Our Planet from Low Earth Orbit (Photo Essay) .............................................................................................31 

Benefts to Earth highlighted using images taken by cosmonauts and astronauts. 

AI-Spy with My Little Eye .................................................................................................................................................39 

How AI is being used to sort crew photos to support researchers. 

Down to Earth: Q and A with Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev ...............................................................................................41 

Expedition 1 cosmonaut discusses the evolution of station and the unique perspective it provides. 

Microbiology in Microgravity ........................................................................................................... 44 

Our Relationship to Microbes on the International Space Station ...................................................................................46 

Highlights of microbial research on station with a timeline of DNA sequencing accomplishments in space.

Harnessing the Power of Microbes for Mining .................................................................................................................51 

Highlighting research into use of microbes for extracting raw materials in space. 

Using Microgravity to Combat COVID-19 ........................................................................................................................52 

Discussing multiple COVID-related space station studies. 

Advancing Human Health ................................................................................................................. 54 

Space Station Leads to Breakthroughs in Human Health on Earth .................................................................................56 

How station provides insights into conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. 

Crystallizing Proteins in Space Helping to Identify Potential Treatments for Diseases ....................................................61 

Highlighting station contributions toward drugs and treatments benefting us all.

Tissue Chips Investigate Diseases, Test Drugs on the Space Station .............................................................................64 

How tissue chips are enabling new types of space-based medical research. 

Ultrasound Scans in Space Transform Medicine on Earth ..............................................................................................67 

How ultrasound procedures developed for station are used around the world. 

Improving Eye Surgery with Space Technology ...............................................................................................................69 

Earth applications of the International Space Station Eye Tracking study. 

iii 
 

Space 24/7/365 ................................................................................................................................. 70 

Technology Tested in Space is Preparing Us for the Moon and Mars .............................................................................72 

Highlighting space station technology demonstrations testing deep space exploration equipment. 

Human Research: Studying Astronaut Physiology ...........................................................................................................77 

How studies of astronaut health are preparing humanity to explore. 

Heat Safety in Space Keeps Infants and Patients Safe on Earth ....................................................................................82 

Spinoff benefts of International Space Station research benefting neonatal care on Earth. 

So You Want To Be a Space Farmer... ............................................................................................................................84 

How station plant science research could help astronauts grow food on deep space missions. 

Space Station Seed Studies Cultivate Student Scientists ...............................................................................................89 

Explore the benefts of student plant outreach experiments. 

Learning by Living and Working in Space ........................................................................................................................91 

How continuous habitation of the International Space Station is preparing humanity for deep space. 

Bringing Humanity Along for the Ride............................................................................................. 94 

A Direct Link to Space .....................................................................................................................................................96 

Highlighting programs giving students access to astronauts and encouraging the next generation. 

Generation Station .........................................................................................................................................................100 

Outreach challenges inspiring students by giving them the ability to conduct research 

and run code on station. 

Launching Art to New Heights .......................................................................................................................................103 

How station is engaging artists around the world 

New Frontiers in Physics ................................................................................................................ 104 

Going with the Fluid Flow ...............................................................................................................................................106 

The scientifc benefts of station research into fuid physics in microgravity. 

Physics Research Gets Slimed! .....................................................................................................................................109 

Using fuids research to inspire the next generation of science explorers. 

Space Station Study of Neutron Stars Helps Improve CT Scans ..................................................................................110 

A new medical use of a technology developed for astrophysics research. 

Automating an Astrophysics Collaboration that Bridges Countries and Galaxies .........................................................114 

Astrophysics benefts of the collaboration between NICER and MAXI instruments on the 

International Space Station. 

You’re Hot Then You’re Cold ..........................................................................................................................................116 

How physics studies conducted in extreme temperatures on station are teaching us about our universe. 

Growing the Low-Earth Orbit Economy ....................................................................................... 120 

Space Station Enables Launch, Growth of Space Businesses ......................................................................................122 

How station encourages the development of new industry in low-Earth orbit. 

Space Station Spurs Advances in Robotics for Space, Industry ...................................................................................126 

Spinoff commercial robotics technologies helping humanity back here on Earth. 

Miniature Satellites with Massive Benefts .....................................................................................................................128 

Opportunities provided by station’s CubeSat platform to countries and companies. 

Catch a Falling Satellite ..................................................................................................................................................134 

How the space station enables tests of technology to capture, refuel, and repair orbiting satellites. 

Building a Better Future in Orbit ....................................................................................................................................136 

The rise of in-space manufacturing demonstrations on station and the future of creating items 

in low-Earth orbit. 

iv 
Letter from the Chief Scientist 

On November 2, 2020, the International Space Station (ISS) entered its third decade of human-tended operation and science. 

The frst decade of station was the decade of construction; the second decade, moving from initial research to full utilization. 

We are now in the decade of results. 

During the past 20 years, the space station evolved from an outpost on the edge of space into a highly capable microgravity 

laboratory. Now results are compounding, new benefts are materializing, and the third decade is building on these last 

two decades of research. 

This orbiting laboratory enables researchers from around the world to take advantage of microgravity, exposure to space, and 

a unique perspective on Earth to conduct groundbreaking experiments through an environment accessible only through the 

space station. Although the International Space Station is a partnership among many nations, each with distinct goals, every 

partner shares a unifed goal: to use this amazing laboratory for the betterment of humanity. With more than 20 years 

of experiments now conducted on station, more breakthroughs are materializing than ever before. 

Benefts for Humanity 2022 highlights the diversifcation of benefts stemming from microgravity research—for society, 

science, exploration, and the economy. This edition focuses on new areas of scientifc study formed, future technologies 

for the exploration of the Moon and Mars, lifesaving discoveries, and companies and jobs created from these endeavors. 

The International Space Station advances scientifc understanding of our planet, improves human health, develops advanced 

technologies, and provides a space platform that inspires and educates the leaders of tomorrow—a legacy and infuence 

that will be felt for decades to come. 

For more information on the ISS Benefts for Humanity publication, go to: https://www.nasa.gov/stationbenefts 

The ISS Benefts for Humanity 2022 is a product of the International Space Station Program Science Forum (PSF), which 

includes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), European Space Agency 

(ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), State Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS (ROSCOSMOS), and the Italian 

Space Agency (ASI). 

Dr. Kirt Costello 

International Space Station Chief Scientist 

v 

View of the International Space 

Station from the SpaceX Crew 

Dragon Endeavour during 

Expedition 66. Credit: NASA
vi 1 

Your Orbiting 

Laboratory 

An Introduction to the International Space Station 

View of the International Space 

Station from the SpaceX Crew 

Dragon Endeavour taken on 

November 8, 2021. Credit: NASA -NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei 

I always thought being an astronaut would be an 

amazing thing. I never thought it would be a real 

possibility. But the thing that always inspired me 

about it was this idea that we get to explore and 

“

do it in a way that benefts all of humanity. 
2 

Why Do Research

NASA astronaut and Expedition 67 Flight 

Engineer Jessica Watkins enjoys the view of 

the Earth below from inside the International 

Space Station’s seven-windowed cupola. 

Credit: NASA 

on the 

International 

Space Station? 

The International Space Station is a 

modern marvel. Only 400 kilometers 

(250 miles) above our heads, it 

streaks spectacularly across the sky 

at 28,200 kilometers (17,500 miles) 

per hour, orbiting the Earth every 

90 minutes. The station carries an 

impressive array of research facilities 

supporting hundreds of experiments 

at any given time across every 

major science discipline. It can host 

up to eight visiting vehicles and 

accommodate 11 crew—all while 

providing an amazing view featuring 

16 sunrises and sunsets per day. 

But what is so special about an orbiting 

lab? What makes scientists willing to 

tackle the signifcant challenges of 

planning and scheduling research, 

designing and building hardware, 

and committing extraordinary time 

and effort to complete experiments? 

It’s all about location. 

An orbiting laboratory provides 

researchers with the unique features 

of low-Earth orbit (LEO): long-duration 

microgravity, exposure to space, and 

a unique perspective on our planet. 

These attributes enable scientists to 

conduct innovative experiments that 

cannot be done anywhere else. 

On Earth, everyone and everything 

experiences the constant pull of Earth’s 

gravity. Scientists looking to eliminate 

that force for their experiments use 

freefall. An object in freefall experiences 

almost zero net gravitational force (thus 

the term microgravity) as it drops. While 

scientists have several ways to generate 

microgravity conditions on Earth, the 

event can only last for a short time. 

An orbiting laboratory is in a permanent 

state of microgravity as it continuously 

falls around the Earth in a nearly perfect 

circle, providing consistent, long-term 

access to reduced-gravity conditions. 

Sustained microgravity is a gamechanger for scientists across many 

disciplines. For example, humans 

are uniquely tuned to Earth’s gravity. 

This force affects our entire body, 

from how hard our heart pumps to 

the density of our bones. Plants use 

gravity to determine which direction 

their roots should grow. Removing 

gravity gives biologists unique insights 

into the responses of all forms of life 

to new stresses. 

Many physical and chemical processes 

also change when you remove gravity, 

opening up opportunities to study 

boiling, melting, fuid and gas mixing, 

protein crystallization, and even an 

ultra-cold state of matter known as 

Bose-Einstein Condensate in ways 

These circular star trails and the rainbow of colorful lights on Earth below them were 

created by combining 18 images with prolonged exposures into a composite photo. 

This image shows the unique vantage point station provides for both astrophysical 

and Earth observations. Credit: NASA 

3 
not possible on Earth. For example, 

without gravity hot air does not rise, 

causing fames to become spherical and 

behave differently. Surface tension and 

capillary forces dominate fuid behavior 

in microgravity, allowing scientists to 

observe and measure the subtleties 

of these forces drowned out by gravity 

on Earth. 

“

Crew members can 

collect unscheduled 

data of an unfolding 

event such as a storm 

or volcanic eruption 

using handheld 

digital cameras. 

The space station’s orbit differs from 

sun-synchronous orbits of typical 

remote-sensing Earth satellites, 

providing unique observation 

opportunities for scientists. A lower 

altitude allows instruments to obtain 

greater detail, and the station passes 

over a majority of Earth’s landmass and 

population centers. The combination 

of a low-altitude fast orbit, a high 

orbital angle, and the slow rotation of 

the Earth underneath produces unique 

opportunities for observing a variety of 

locations, atmospheric phenomena, and 

natural disasters from different angles 

and with varying lighting conditions. 

Personal portrait taken of UAE Spacefight Participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori in the 

ambient light of the Veggie experiment. Credit: Hazza Ali Almansoori 

Hundreds of downlinks have allowed students in the tens of thousands worldwide 

to directly engage with station crew, inspiring the next generation of explorers. 

Credit: NASA 

Having crew on board also generates 

options not available with typical 

satellites. Crew members can collect 

unscheduled data of an unfolding 

event such as a storm or volcanic 

eruption using handheld digital 

cameras. They also can provide realtime assessment to determine whether 

environmental conditions, such as cloud 

cover, are favorable for data collection. 

The orbiting laboratory’s location at the 

upper edge of the Earth’s atmosphere 

allows researchers to study the effects 

of exposure of materials, electronics, 

and even microorganisms to the harsh 

space environment for long periods 

of time, then return those items and 

samples to the ground for detailed 

analysis. In addition, the station 

provides power, data transmission 

capacity, and repair capability for 

astrophysics instruments collecting 

data largely blocked by Earth’s 

atmosphere or magnetic feld. 

Throughout this book you will fnd 

examples illustrating the wide range 

of scientifc disciplines and technology 

demonstrations benefting from 

International Space Station research. 

The impacts of these efforts can all 

be traced back to key aspects of the 

station’s unique location—the edge 

of space. 

4 
The International Space Station and a docked 

Soyuz vehicle as seen from an approaching 

space shuttle in Aug. 2001. Credit: NASA 

A Foothold 

ON THE 

Edge of Space 

Expedition 1 kicks off science aboard the International Space Station 

On November 2, 2000, Russian 

cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and 

Sergei Krikalev and NASA astronaut 

Bill Shepherd commenced continuous 

operation of the world’s frst truly 

international space laboratory. 

At the start of Expedition 1, the 

International Space Station was more 

of an outpost on the edge of space 

than a microgravity laboratory. 

Consisting of the U.S. Unity node 

and Russian Zarya and Zvezda 

modules, the station offered less than 

200 cubic meters (260 cubic yards) of 

pressurized volume, roughly equivalent 

to a one-bedroom apartment, and 

about 3 kilowatts of power. 

During their 4-month mission, 

the Expedition 1 crew worked 

on approximately 50 science 

and technology investigations. 

Many focused on the performance of 

critical station systems; documentation 

of the acceleration, vibration, and the 

acoustic environments on board; and 

studies of their physical adaptations 

to extended time in the microgravity 

environment. These investigations 

helped to lay the groundwork for the 

future evolution of research aboard 

the International Space Station. 

As part of crew health monitoring, 

the frst of many investigations of crew 

viral shedding on station was initiated. 

Studies of this phenomenon, frst 

documented on space shuttle missions, 

led to the identifcation of reactivation 

of latent herpes viruses in crew as a 

potential health risk on long-duration 

space missions. This reactivation is 

typically “subclinical,” meaning crew 

are not truly sick and do not exhibit 

symptoms. 

While changes in immune function 

during a space mission, such as viral 

shedding, continue to be a focus in 

preparation for exploration efforts to the 

Moon and Mars, this specifc research 

also provided direct benefts to the rest 

of us on Earth. Technologies for saliva 

and urine testing designed for this 

5 
Expedition 1 crew members eat fresh 

oranges in the Zvezda Service module. 

Pictured, from the left, are Russian 

cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko, NASA 

astronaut William Shepherd, and Russian 

cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev. Credit: NASA 

research were patented and led to rapid 

virus-detection tests that are used today 

for diagnosing common ailments on 

Earth such as mononucleosis, herpes, 

and chicken pox. 

The Plasma Kristall-3 (PK-3) 

investigation was one of the frst 

physical science experiments performed 

on the space station. The Max Planck 

Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics 

in Germany and the Institute for High 

Energy Densities, part of the Russian 

Academy of Sciences, collaborated on 

this study of the formation and behavior 

of plasma crystals. Plasma crystals form 

under certain conditions in a complex 

(dusty) plasma. There, the electrically 

charged dust particles arrange in a 

regular macroscopic crystal lattice. 

In microgravity, scientists can grow 

plasma crystals larger than possible 

on Earth, making the station ideal 

for these experiments. Indeed, these 

collaborators have continued performing 

experiments over the life of the station. 

Cold plasma can permeate many 

materials and spread evenly and 

quickly. It can disinfect surfaces and 

has been proven to neutralize some 

drug-resistant bacteria within seconds. 

Thus, there are many Earthbound 

benefts from research into plasma 

crystals. Plasma research on station 

from this collaboration has contributed 

to the licensing of seven families of 

patents and the creation of three 

companies active in industries dealing 

in hygiene, medicine, water purifcation, 

odor control, car exhaust technology, 

and medical treatments for wound 

care and skin disease treatment. 

Products in development currently 

include a miniaturized wound treatment 

device that can create plasma from 

ambient air without using a gas tank. 

This capability could expand uses 

from hospital settings to doctors’ 

offces, patients’ homes, and even 

remote locations worldwide. 

Expedition 1 also initiated crew 

photography-based Earth observations 

research on the space station. 

From the platform’s unique vantage 

point, the crew used hand-held cameras 

to capture images of hurricanes, cities, 

and geographical features of interest. 

These photos added to long-running 

image-capture programs reaching back 

Cosmonaut Valeri Tokarev during space station Expedition 12 with the PK-3 

hardware. Credit: Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Germany 

On January 23, 2001, the crew 

photographed a plume of volcanic ash 

from Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico. 

Credit: NASA 

to the 1960s for both the Russian and 

U.S. space programs. 

Crew photography has continued over 

the life of the station. As of September 

2021, nearly 4 million Earth photos 

are publicly available to researchers 

interested in studying environmental 

changes over many years and decades. 

Well over 3 million of them have been 

taken aboard the International Space 

Station over the past 20 years. 

As impactful as these frst research 

accomplishments were, Expedition 1’s 

greatest accomplishment was to set 

the stage for all who followed. Over the 

next two decades of station use, new 

modules and research facilities have 

been added and the variety of research 

supported by the orbiting laboratory 

has expanded into new felds of science 

and technology while contributing to 

economic development. 

See Also: 

Down to Earth: 

Q and A with 

Cosmonaut 

Sergei Krikalev 

page 41 

6 
AzTech Sat-1 foats away from the space station. 

It is the frst satellite designed and built by 

students in Mexico that was deployed from 

the International Space Station. 

Credits: NASA/Nanoracks 

From Outpost 

The International to Orbiting Space Station grows up— 

20 years of research and 

human presence in Laboratory low-Earth orbit

Over the more than 20 years of (over 900 cubic meters [1,200 cubic utilization, including research, 

continuous habitation since the frst yards]), roughly equivalent to a fve- technology development, educational 

crew stepped aboard, the International bedroom home. To support the engagement, and commercial 

Space Station has evolved from an growing research portfolio, power development. Crew time available 

orbital outpost into a state-of-the-art generation increased by more than for scientifc and technology activities 

scientifc lab. This growth included an order of magnitude. increased from lows of 10-20 hours per 

the connection of over a dozen major week to highs in excess of 125 hours In 2011, the International Space Station components, expanding the interior per week. Bandwidth for data downlinks program offcially transitioned from 

pressurized volume by a factor of fve increased, enabling faster transmission a focus on assembly to prioritizing 

7 
MISSE materials exposure device being installed on the space station for the frst 

time in August 2001. The frst externally mounted experiment conducted on 

the space station, MISSE-1 exposed 750 material samples to space for about 

18 months. Credit: NASA 

of research data and allowing for more 

real-time monitoring of experiments. 

Data downlinks also enable real-time 

support of station crew by expert 

scientists on the ground as they 

conduct hands-on research. As a result, 

while it took 10 years to initiate the frst 

1,000 investigations on the station, the 

second 1,000 took half that time. 

The frst dedicated science lab, 

the U.S. Destiny module, was added 

in 2001. Three additional dedicated 

science modules have been added 

to the station since: the ESA (European 

Space Agency) Columbus and Japan 

Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) 

Kibo modules both launched in 2008, 

and the Russian Nauka module 

launched in 2021. 

Each dedicated science module 

increased the laboratory’s capacity 

to host both internal crew-tended 

research and external experiments 

conducted on platforms attached to 

the outside of the station. JAXA’s Kibo 

module added an additional airlock 

to the orbiting laboratory. This small 

airlock, with a sliding mechanism that 

allows crew to easily transfer science 

payloads from inside to outside, was 

specially designed to support external 

research and reduce the number of 

crew spacewalks needed for conducting 

science activities. 

The attachment of the iconic Cupola 

greatly increased capability to provide 

crew photographs of Earth and 

celestial objects for use by researchers. 

The Cupola also provides crew visibility 

to support control of the space station’s 

remote manipulator system, anchored 

by the Canadian Space Agency’s 

(CSA)’s Canadarm2 and Dextre. 

Canadarm2 and Dextre support 

spacewalks, maintenance, arriving 

vehicles, and external research 

activities. Impactful spinoff technologies 

have been created, thanks to the 

Canadarm2. Related technology 

has transformed the way surgery is 

performed with tools such as neuroArm, 

an image-guided, computer-assisted 

neurosurgery device; and the ImageGuided Autonomous Robot (IGAR), 

a digital surgical tool that provides 

increased access, precision, and 

dexterity for performing highly accurate, 

minimally invasive procedures. 

External experiments on station can 

take advantage of exposure to the 

harsh environment of space surrounding 

the orbiting lab. The space station’s 

frst external science facility, the 

Materials on ISS Experiment (MISSE), 

entered service in 2001 and hosted 

eight sets of experiments over the 

next 15 years. Exposure experiments 

such as these lead to development of 

better materials for future spacecraft, 

spacesuits, and structures needed for 

space exploration. These materials 

can also improve radiation protection, 

solar cell performance, and concrete 

manufacturing on Earth. 

Tests like these continue today using the 

upgraded MISSE Flight Facility (MISSEFF). An example of a growing number 

of commercially owned and operated 

facilities supporting research aboard 

the station, MISSE-FF eliminates the 

need for crew to go outside the station 

by employing the Canadarm2 to attach 

exposure samples for testing. 

Experiments housed on the outside 

of station also provide valuable 

opportunities for conducting Earth 

observation and astrophysical 

research. External platforms provide 

power, command, thermal control, 

and data-throughput for instruments 

capturing data on Earth’s atmosphere, 

8 
On Earth, hot air rises, making fames long and thin. In microgravity, fames are spherical in shape. Credit: NASA 

oceans, and ecosystems, or collecting 

astrophysical data on cosmic rays 

or observing at wavelengths largely 

masked from ground instruments by 

the atmosphere. 

Due to its unique orbit, the space 

station also provides a vantage point 

that complements Earth observation 

data gathered from other satellites. 

It also offers researchers an opportunity 

to test and refne their instruments 

before committing them to longduration satellite or robotic exploration 

missions where repair or replacement 

are not possible. 

Although not originally designed for 

this purpose, station has also become 

a prolifc deployer of small satellites. 

In 2005, cosmonauts kicked things 

off by manually releasing the State 

Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS 

(ROSCOSMOS) Nanosputnik during 

a spacewalk. This satellite few for 

four months, successfully performing 

a full program of fight experiments. 

The addition of JAXA’s Kibo module and 

its airlock paved the way for many more 

small satellites to be deployed from 

station. Facilities were installed on the 

orbiting laboratory in 2013 by JAXA 

and U.S.-based company Nanoracks 

to automate the deployment process. 

As of November 2020, more than 

250 CubeSats have been deployed from 

the space station into low-Earth orbit. 

As the space station research portfolio 

has expanded, a signifcant number 

of investigations have focused on 

disease. In particular, the station has 

been invaluable in conducting protein 

crystal growth experiments. 

Researchers discovered that they 

could produce higher quality protein 

crystals in microgravity than on Earth 

in experiments conducted on Mir 

and on space shuttle missions. 

The human body contains more than 

100,000 types of proteins. Each protein 

provides information related to our 

health. Studying these proteins by 

crystallizing them helps us learn more 

about our bodies and potential disease 

treatments. Crystals grown aboard 

the station as a part of experiments 

sponsored by JAXA, ROSCOSMOS, 

NASA, and ISS National Lab have 

helped identify the structures of proteins 

relevant to understanding and treating 

diseases ranging from Duchenne 

Muscular Dystrophy to heart disease 

and cancer. 

Plasma research, initiated by the frst 

station crew, continued over the next 

two decades as well. The Plasma 

Kristall-4 (PK-4) study built on this 

work by designing an apparatus to 

study dusty or complex plasma. Dusty 

plasmas are often found in nature—in 

the tails of comets and planetary rings, 

for example. Additionally, dust particles 

can change many technological 

processes in industry, such as 

microchip manufacturing, etching, 

and vapor deposition. 

Over time, capabilities for supporting 

biological and human health research 

have expanded to include facilities for 

studying the impact of microgravity 

on plants, microbes, and animals. 

Species as diverse as tardigrades, 

nematodes, fruit fies, squid, and 

9 
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir confgures the Light Microscopy Module for the Advanced Colloids Experiment-Temperature-4 

(ACE-T-4) study. ACE-T-4 examined the transition of an ordered crystal to a disordered glass to determine how increasing 

disorder affects structural and dynamic properties. Credit: NASA 

rodents have all been studied on the 

station, and investigations that focus 

on the genetic, cellular, and systems 

levels have been supported. 

More than 180 instruments and facilities 

have been employed to conduct space 

station research over its lifetime, steadily 

expanding the scope of research that 

the orbiting laboratory can support. 

The addition of the Combustion 

Integrated Rack (CIR) in 2009 opened 

up unique opportunities to the 

“

Station experiments 

also extend to 

areas that directly 

beneft products 

that consumers 

use every day. 

combustion research community that 

have helped move that feld of science 

forward. Removing the effects of gravity 

from combustion allows for exploration 

of the basic principles of fames and has 

even led to the discovery of a new type 

of combustion known as cool fames. 

Likewise, the additions of ESA’s 

Electromagnetic Levitator (EML) and 

JAXA’s Electrostatic Levitation Furnace 

(ELF) in 2014 and 2015, respectively, 

have beneftted materials science. 

These facilities suspend samples in 

a magnetic or electric feld, eliminating 

the possibility of contamination from 

sample containers as the samples 

are melted by powerful lasers. 

Supported research includes 

investigations into nucleation and 

solidifcation kinetics in undercooled 

melts and the developing microstructure, 

as well as measurement of highly 

accurate thermophysical properties 

of liquid metallic alloys at high 

temperatures. 

Results of one ESA-sponsored study 

published in 2020 documented 

thermophysical property data (liquid 

surface tension, viscosity, mass density, 

and specifc heat capacity) for three 

nickel-based superalloys widely used 

in turbines and other energy 

applications. Scientists had not been 

able to experimentally defne these 

properties accurately enough on 

Earth. A detailed understanding of 

the properties of specifc materials is 

essential for advancing manufacturing 

effciency and product quality. 

Station experiments also extend to 

areas that directly beneft products that 

consumers use every day. Toothpaste, 

3D printing, pharmaceuticals, and 

shampoo all stand to beneft from 

improvements made thanks to years 

of research on colloids aboard the 

space station. Mixtures of tiny particles 

suspended in a liquid, colloids include 

natural mixtures such as milk as 

well as manufactured products from 

shampoo to medicine to salad dressing. 

10 
 

Companies such as Procter & Gamble 

have used station research to study 

how to keep a product liquid enough 

to dispense easily and yet prevent 

ingredients, or particles, from clumping 

together and settling. Space station 

research has contributed to three new 

patents for the company. 

As humanity continues to reach farther 

into the solar system, the International 

Space Station continues to be a testing 

ground for technology and science that 

could beneft deep space missions. 

For example, the Italian Space Agency 

(ASI) and NASA collaborated on 

the Portable On Board Printer 3D 

experiment, which helped pave the way 

for the printing of materials on station. 

Hundreds of samples have been created 

in multiple printing facilities. Astronauts 

on long voyages need to be able to 

make their own spare parts, tools, and 

materials essentially on demand—both 

for routine needs and to adapt quickly to 

the unforeseen. In-space manufacturing 

using 3D printing could be an answer. 

Having a crewed space station in orbit 

for more than 20 years has allowed for 

the collection of crucial data on how 

the human body responds to living 

in space for extended periods. 

For example, Space-Associated 

Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS) was 

identifed in many station astronauts. 

Symptoms include swelling in the 

optic disc, which is where the optic 

nerve enters the retina, and fattening 

of the eye shape, causing changes in 

vision. Station serves as a platform for 

testing ways to prevent or reverse these 

changes and preserve astronaut vision 

throughout future missions and when 

they return to Earth. 

Many other studies are working to 

identify and mitigate other potential 

challenges of long-duration space 

missions. The CSA’s Vascular series 

of studies analyzes the effects of 

weightlessness on astronauts’ blood 

vessels and hearts, including how 

arteries react to changes in blood 

pressure and whether insulin resistance 

occurs during spacefight. The NutrISS 

investigation, a collaboration of ESA 

and ASI, has taken a closer look at ideal 

body composition to avoid an increase 

in the fat-mass-to-lean-mass ratio due 

to inactivity from microgravity. 

In addition to benefting future 

exploration missions, station research 

on human physiology is also generating 

benefts on Earth. ESA’s Airway 

Monitoring research studied the 

occurrence and indicators of airway 

infammation in crew members due 

to dust in spacecraft. The methods 

used to gather those data have 

contributed to the development 

of rapid, non-invasive lung tests 

for an improved quality of life–– 

both on Earth and in space. 

When scientists complete an experiment 

aboard the International Space Station, 

the utility of that work has just begun. 

Space station partners have worked 

to maximize the impact of scientifc 

research being conducted on board. 

Repositories like the JAXA-sponsored 

Integrated Biobank for Space Life 

Science (ibSLS) were established to 

connect space and ground research 

and provide a wealth of historical data. 

NASA’s GeneLab contains decades of 

experimental biological data generated 

by spacefight and corresponding 

ground experiments beginning in 1995. 

It is a one-stop source for all the 

genomic, transcriptomic, and other 

molecular data on cellular-level 

responses of terrestrial biology to 

the space environment. Numerous 

scientists use these data, including 

a research team that published results 

indicating altered gravity caused subtle 

changes in about 1,000 genes involved 

in the nervous system and controlled 

by insulin-related metabolic functions. 

That result suggests changes in the 

nervous system could be important 

in astronaut response to prolonged 

spacefight. 

In total, space station researchers 

have generated over 2,000 peerreviewed publications (as of Sept. 2021) 

representing the work of more than 

4,000 research investigators. With over 

20% of those publications occurring in 

2021, the third decade of continuous 

human presence aboard the station 

is already shaping up to be one of 

multiplying results. 

Russian cosmonaut Elena Serova installs the Plasma Kristall-4 apparatus in the 

Columbus module. The mass of the experimental part of the apparatus is over 

100 kilograms (220 pounds) on Earth. Credits: ROSCOSMOS/ESA 

11 
12 

TS

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, attired in a Russian 

Orlan spacesuit, participates in a session of extravehicular 

activity in support of science and maintenance on the 

International Space Station. Credit: NASA/ROSCOSMOS 
Benefts of an 

Orbiting Laboratory 

Generating benefts from the International Space Station 

Throughout this book, you will fnd 

examples of benefts derived from 

your orbiting laboratory. Examples 

range from the tangible, such as air 

purifcation and water fltration products, 

to the potential, such as cleaner 

combustion engines or medical scans 

that expose patients to lower levels of 

radiation. Some benefts arise from new 

scientifc knowledge while others are 

derived from the specialized equipment 

needed to live in and conduct research 

in space. In communicating the array of 

benefts stemming from the International 

Space Station, it’s useful to sort them 

into four broad categories: scientifc, 

societal, exploration, and economic. 

Scientifc benefts stem from knowledge 

gained through the growing volume of 

research conducted aboard station. 

Entering its third decade of life, the 

International Space Station has evolved 

into a robust scientifc laboratory 

with dozens of research facilities and 

an array of tools and observational 

instruments. The space station has 

served as a platform for testing 

and validating new instruments and 

techniques for use in space. It has also 

served to refne processes for training 

crew and supporting them in real time 

as they act as the surrogate eyes 

and hands of scientists conducting 

research across every discipline 

of science. Additionally, engineers 

have gained experience designing 

hardware that enables experiments 

to run autonomously or with minimal 

crew interaction. As a result, both 

the amount of research that can 

be supported simultaneously and 

the fdelity of results has grown 

dramatically over the station’s frst 

two decades of operation. 

At any one time, this microgravity 

lab hosts hundreds of investigations 

spanning every major scientifc 

discipline. External instruments 

gather data relevant to studies from 

astrophysics to climate change. 

Inside the station, experiments are 

conducted in felds as far ranging 

as microbiology and metallurgy. 

The data collected are forming new 

areas of scientifc research, providing 

novel insights that cannot be obtained 

on Earth, and giving us a better 

understanding of our universe. 

Many examples of new discoveries 

and new scientifc knowledge fll 

the pages of this book. 

Societal benefts range from medical 

advancements already improving 

our lives here on Earth to intangible 

contributions to our global society. 

From neonatal care to robotic surgery, 

research on the station has helped 

create technologies used in hospital 

settings today. Station research 

has generated a more detailed 

understanding of the complex 

structures of proteins involved in 

disease, leading to new medical 

treatments and a greater understanding of many illnesses. 

On the less-tangible side, station 

research has fostered scientifc 

into a robust scientifc 

laboratory with dozens 

of research facilities 

and an array of tools 

and observational 

instruments. 

cooperation around the globe with 

researchers representing more than 

“

Entering its third 

decade of life, the 

International Space 

Station has evolved 

100 countries. The space station also 

has helped inspire the world’s next 

generation of scientists and engineers. 

Station crew, both cosmonauts and 

astronauts, have connected with 

millions of school children through 

amateur radio contacts, live video 

downlinks, and recorded science 

demonstrations. Teachers connect 

their classrooms with the orbiting 

laboratory through story-time 

readings recorded on orbit, detailed 

science lesson plans, citizen science 

opportunities, and even fight 

opportunities for student-developed 

experiments. 

Exploration benefts derived from 

an orbiting platform are clear: it’s the 

ideal test bed for demonstrating and 

improving technologies needed to 

explore farther into space and stay 

there longer. New power generation, 

air and water recycling, carbon 

dioxide removal, communications, 

and computing systems are among the 

exploration-enabling technologies that 

have been tested, proven, and continue 

to be improved using the station. 

Researchers also study how humans 

adapt psychologically to working in 

space, how best to grow plants for longduration space missions, and more. 

Supporting a continuous human 

presence in space has helped develop 

processes for preparing crew for 

long-duration missions in microgravity 

and mitigating any negative physical 

effects such as bone and muscle loss. 

Processes for supporting crew members 

as they conduct spacewalks for routine 

maintenance, replacement of worn-out 

parts, and even unscheduled repair 

of complex systems have benefted 

from lessons learned. They have been 

refned, tested, and refned again over 

more than two decades. 

Economic benefts are derived from the 

new products and services resulting 

13 
Students from Arkansas State University show off a wax moth larvae prior to the launch of their investigation to study how 

effectively the larvae can digest plastic waste materials in microgravity. Credit: Arkansas State University 

from space station activities. Examples 

of products available for purchase today 

range from robotic gloves to medicines 

and medical devices. 

The station also has served as a 

business incubator, supporting 

the growing space economy by 

transferring the operational experience 

of governmental space agencies to 

a growing number of space-focused 

companies. This knowledge transfer 

has contributed to a rapid expansion 

of the space marketplace. New launch 

providers and launch capabilities 

support station supply lines while also 

driving down the cost of accessing 

space. As those costs go down, new 

telecommunication and observation 

services are emerging from focks 

of small satellites in low-Earth orbit. 

Today, more than 30 commercially 

owned and operated facilities on 

station support researchers. A cadre 

of commercial payload developers 

helps scientists translate their research 

ideas into hardware for launch to and 

safe operation on the station. Some of 

these companies now are applying that 

experience to demonstrate technologies 

for manufacturing in space. Fiber optics 

with much greater data transmission 

characteristics and artifcial retinas for 

restoring vision are just some products 

that soon could be made in space. 

Other companies are building the 

business case and generating designs 

for new commercial platforms in 

low-Earth orbit. Such specialized 

stations soon could host dedicated 

manufacturing facilities, future 

research laboratories, and even 

future space tourists. 

As shown throughout this book, the 

International Space Station continues 

to generate numerous benefts that 

improve individual lives on Earth, 

inspire the next generation of scientists 

and engineers, foster international 

collaboration, and enable future 

exploration deeper into the solar 

system. Knowledge is being generated 

in scientifc felds from cell biology 

to cosmology. New technology is 

being developed and demonstrated 

with applications as wide ranging as 

communications, power generation, 

agriculture, and medicine. With two 

decades of operations behind it, the 

orbiting laboratory is producing a legacy 

that will be felt for decades to come. 

14 
Image of a drop of insulin solution 

contained by surface tension in the 

Ring Sheared Drop (RSD) device. 

The RSD investigation studies 

protein aggregates called amyloid 

fbrils that play a role in diseases 

such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, 

prion, and type 2 diabetes. 

Credits: Joe A. Adam and 

Patrick M. McMackin 

Building on Past Success 

Using two decades of operational experience and research 

results to make the third decade even better 

The past 20 years saw the station 

evolve from an outpost on the edge of 

space into a highly capable microgravity 

laboratory. Thanks to the more than 

3,300 investigations conducted to 

date, the station has established a 

frm base of research knowledge and 

operational know-how. Now results 

are compounding, new benefts are 

materializing, and innovative research 

and technology demonstrations are 

building on previous work. 

While new areas of science are still 

being explored, researchers are using 

the experience and knowledge gained 

from past research to propose new 

experiments and design better systems 

to support future space missions. 

New facilities are being installed, often 

based on experience gained from older 

ones, to handle growing interest from 

the scientifc community. Veteran station 

researchers are fying experiments 

based on insights gained from their 

frst fights or other space station 

investigations. Teams of researchers 

are combining their knowledge for 

novel results. 

Recent studies have pushed the 

potential of protein crystal growth 

experiments further with the addition 

of real-time monitoring and adjustments 

to experiments. Launched in Feb. 

2021, the Real-Time Protein Crystal 

Growth 2 experiment gives scientists 

the opportunity to monitor and optimize 

protein crystal growth in microgravity 

through real-time communication 

with space station crew members. 

Astronauts can check the crystals, 

report on their growth, and make 

changes based on initial observations. 

15 
NASA Langley technician Dave Mclain tests hardware for the CLARREO 

Pathfnder mission. Credit: NASA/David C. Bowman. 

New approaches such as the use of 

tissue chips are opening unexplored 

areas of research. Tissue chips are 

small models of human organs 

containing multiple cell types and 

were frst sent to the International Space 

Station in 2018. After several successful 

demonstrations validating their use, 

many are getting their chance at a 

second fight. These chips may make 

it possible to identify safe and effective 

drugs or vaccines much more quickly 

than the standard process. 

Researchers investigating the 

mechanisms of certain diseases on 

Earth must contend with the forces 

of gravity and the interaction between 

liquids and solid containers. 

These forces differ from interfaces 

in the body they are attempting to 

model, such as those in arteries and 

brain tissue, and can affect results. 

The Ring Sheared Drop experiment 

team developed another innovation 

benefting medical research. 

This specialized device uses surface 

tension rather than a solid container to 

hold liquids in microgravity. The device 

pins a drop of liquid between two rings 

and rotates one while keeping the other 

stationary to create shear fow, or a 

difference in velocity between adjacent 

liquid layers. 

Previous research shows that this 

shear fow plays a signifcant role in 

the formation of amyloid fbrils 

associated with neurodegenerative 

diseases such as Alzheimer’s. 

Results could improve scientists’ 

fundamental understanding of how 

amyloid fbrils form and are transported, 

as well as the effects of shear at fuid 

interfaces relevant to conditions in 

the body. 

Earth science research aboard the 

International Space Station will also 

be getting an upgrade with the planned 

launch of CLARREO Pathfnder. 

Researchers behind this project 

previously designed and launched 

the Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance 

Sensor (TSIS-1), an external space 

station instrument tracking solar 

irradiance. Solar irradiance, the total 

energy fowing into Earth from the 

Sun, is a crucial parameter for climate 

modeling and is represented by one of 

the longest climate data records derived 

from space-based observations. 

TSIS-1 has allowed researchers to 

maintain continuity of that record. 

By applying the knowledge gained 

from the design and implementation of 

TSIS-1, the creation of CLARREO was 

much more streamlined. Once installed 

on the station, CLARREO will study 

Earth’s climate by taking measurements 

of sunlight refected by Earth and the 

Moon with fve to ten times lower 

uncertainty than measurements from 

existing sensors. 

The Atmospheric Waves Experiment 

(AWE) will focus on colorful bands 

of light in Earth’s atmosphere called 

airglow to determine what combination 

of forces drive space weather in the 

upper atmosphere. AWE is the frst 

dedicated NASA mission designed 

specifcally to characterize the 

properties of global mesospheric 

gravity waves. 

Fluid physics research has benefted 

greatly from the availability of a 

microgravity research laboratory, 

building signifcantly on the science 

community’s knowledge of the topic 

since April 2004 when the frst Capillary 

Flow Experiment (CFE) was conducted 

onboard the orbiting lab. The work 

began as a series of fundamental 

fuid physics investigations that led 

to patents that involve technology 

applications associated with space 

exploration such as thermal control 

systems and liquid fuel tanks. 

Since the completion of those initial fuid 

physics studies, the International Space 

Station has provided a unique venue for 

exploring the nature and application of 

fuidics, leading to dozens of scientifc 

publications and multiple patents. 

For example, researchers are using 

station as a platform to study 

nanofuidics to create a novel drug 

delivery mechanism—a refllable 

implant, placed just under the skin 

that administers medicines at predetermined dosages for weeks or 

even months between reflls without 

any moving parts. One application of 

this implant is in clinical trials and could 

be approved for use soon. 

ESA has also performed microgravity 

fuids research, contributing greatly 

to our understanding of boiling, heat 

transfer, and fuid fows. Their Multiscale 

Boiling experiment analyzed bubbles 

that form during boiling. Without gravity, 

boiling takes place in slow motion and 

produces larger bubbles. Multiscale 

Boiling allows scientists to observe and 

measure effects that are too fast and 

too small on Earth, thus getting a 

more complete understanding of heat 

transfer during the boiling process. 

This information could be applied 

to help cool electronics like laptops 

more effciently. 

Looking forward, ESA plans to launch 

a new facility to station that will build 

on the results of Multiscale Boiling. 

The new Heat Transfer Host facility 

16 
intended for launch to station in a 

few years will contain a series of 

experiments designed around the 

Multiscale Boiling data. 

ROSCOSMOS launched the frst 

bioprinter, Organ.Aut, to the space 

station, kicking off a new area of 

research that could one day lead 

to the creation of organs for use in 

transplants. The printer was used to 

culture cartilage cells in space using a 

magnetic feld. U.S.-based company 

Redwire Space’s BioFabrication Facility 

(BFF) further explored the possibility of 

printing human tissue in orbit. Redwire 

expects to continue testing the in-orbit 

manufacture of cardiac and orthopedic 

tissue and start a new program aimed at 

testing the manufacturing of vasculature 

in space. 

A JAXA investigation, Space 

Organogenesis, took a different 

approach to trying to solve the organ 

shortage. Researchers tested using 

human stem cells to grow 3D organ 

buds aboard station. Organ buds 

are condensed masses of tissue that 

eventually develop into full organs. 

Researchers plan to observe growth 

of the organ buds and analyze changes 

in gene expression and, ultimately, 

establish the technology for cell 

growth in three dimensions in space. 

New commercial facilities are further 

expanding research capabilities to 

support future efforts in low-Earth 

orbit. The Bigelow Expandable Activity 

Module (BEAM) is an experimental 

expandable space station module 

developed by Bigelow Aerospace 

and attached to the International 

Space Station in 2016. Following its 

successful year-long demonstration 

of this technology, it entered service 

as a storage module on station. 

The Bishop Airlock, constructed by 

Nanoracks, was launched in 2020. 

It is the frst commercially owned and 

operated station airlock. The airlock 

allows movement of larger payloads 

inside and outside the station, 

increasing the station’s capacity 

to deploy small satellites. 

Coming soon, U.S.-based company 

Axiom plans to launch the frst habitable 

commercial module to be attached 

to the space station. This project will 

demonstrate the ability of commercial 

entities to provide products and services 

in space, furthering the transition to a 

sustainable low-Earth orbit economy in 

which NASA is one of many customers. 

In 2022, Axiom launched the frst fully 

private crew of astronauts to the space 

station where they spent more than a 

week conducting their own research 

investigations. 

The space station is preparing for 

extended years of operation through 

additional installations of new ISS 

Roll-out Solar Array (iROSA). Based on 

technology previously demonstrated 

on station, iROSA is made up of 

compact arrays that open like unrolling 

a long rug. The frst pair of arrays were 

installed in 2021 with the next set 

launching in 2022. The combination 

of the eight original, larger station 

arrays, and the smaller, more effcient 

new arrays will provide a 20% to 30% 

increase in power for research and 

operations. The roll-out arrays are also 

a technology demonstration that will 

beneft future missions. For example, 

the same solar array design will be 

used to power elements of the Gateway 

lunar-orbiting outpost. 

The station’s regenerative life support 

hardware provides clean air and water 

for station crews. Planned upgrades to 

the system will demonstrate technology 

that could get spacecraft to the 

level of reusability needed for deep 

space missions. The Universal Waste 

Management System (UWMS), a newly 

designed space toilet, is being tested 

for future use aboard Orion for the 

Artemis II fight test that will send 

astronauts beyond the Moon and 

back. This toilet addresses crew 

feedback about comfort and ease of 

use. Improved integration with other 

components of the space station water 

system will aid in recycling more urine. 

It also features a 65% smaller and 

40% lighter build than the current space 

station toilet, saving valuable mass and 

volume for future exploration missions. 

An upgraded distillation system for 

the space station’s Urine Processor 

Assembly was also tested in 2020. 

The station’s previous system suffered 

an issue common to many machines— 

deteriorating belts. With upgrades 

included in the latest iteration, engineers 

anticipate a service life of more than 

4,300 hours without parts replacement, 

compared to 1,400 hours. 

As the International Space Station 

enters its third decade of use, 

scientists continue lining up to initiate 

new research efforts. Engineers 

are proposing new technology 

demonstrations and upgrading 

existing systems to increase reliability 

and reduce their mass, volume, and 

maintenance needs in preparation for 

missions farther into space. 

With more follow-on experiments 

building on past results, and new 

research facilities entering service 

each year, many more years of 

technological, scientifc, and 

commercial breakthroughs will follow. 

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano installing the MultiScale Boiling Experiment 

Container (EC) in the Fluid Science Laboratory (FSL) in the Columbus Module. 

Credits: NASA/ESA 

17 
18 

AD ASTRA 

View of the International Space Station from 

the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour taken 

on November 8, 2021. Credit: NASA 
Future Plans for the 

International Space Station 

Perspectives from the space station partnership 

Having entered its third decade of 

service, the sponsoring partners of the 

International Space Station are once 

again considering extending operations. 

This time to 2030. Originally scheduled 

for a 15-year mission, the station 

will have doubled its originally 

planned length of service by that time. 

As illustrated by the many examples of 

research accomplishments found in this 

book and the plans discussed by the 

partnering space agencies in this article, 

the third decade of station activities 

will indeed be one characterized by 

increasing research results. 

Canadian Space Agency 

Canada entered the space program 

in 1962 with the launch of the 

Alouette 1 satellite into low-Earth orbit. 

Following the development of the 

original Canadarm for the space shuttle, 

the frst Canadian astronaut launched 

into low-Earth orbit in 1984. In 1988, 

Canada joined the International Space 

Station Program. CSA has supported 

the station’s construction and operation 

through sophisticated robotic systems 

including the Mobile Base, Canadarm2, 

and Dextre. This contribution led to the 

participation of Canadian scientists and 

engineers in 78 station investigations, 

including seven technology 

demonstrations and 12 educational 

and cultural activities between 

2000 and 2019. 

Research and development aboard 

the space station is now an important 

component of the Canadian Space 

Strategy published in 2019. Using 

this experience in space science and 

technology, Canada will continue to use 

the station to pursue the following goals: 

1) advancing human space exploration 

by conducting health research and 

supporting technology development 

leading to socio-economic benefts 

and commercialization of new products; 

and 2) inspiring the next generation 

of Canadians to pursue an interest 

and studies in science, technology, 

engineering, and math (STEM). 

So far, Canada’s space activities have 

benefted space exploration through 

the development and demonstration 

of a wide variety of technologies such 

as robotic manipulators, neutron 

dosimeters, wearable physiologic 

sensors, and biomedical analytical 

instruments. These instruments and 

technologies have been validated in 

the microgravity environment of lowEarth orbit and have demonstrated 

their functionalities and usefulness 

for future space missions. Scientifc 

knowledge generated through 

Canadian investigations are detailed 

in this document. By increasing 

our understanding of the impact of 

the space environment on human 

physiology and psychology, Canadian 

researchers have contributed to 

improving crew safety on future 

missions into deep space. 

Canadian utilization of space station 

resources will continue with this 

momentum to prepare humanity 

for the next steps of space exploration. 

Past activities have brought social 

benefts back to Earth. Important 

examples are advances in health 

sciences and medicine. Canada’s 

involvement in the International Space 

Station Program has led to a better 

understanding of a number of space 

health challenges and advanced the 

development of related biomedical 

devices. As described in this new 

edition, R&D in space robotics 

has led to applications in healthcare 

and industrial manufacturing. 

Future Canadian activities related 

to the program will continue on this 

trend and will generate socio-economic 

2017 Canadian Space Agency astronaut team. Back: Jenni Sidey-Gibbons. 

Front, left to right: David Saint-Jacques, Joshua Kutryk, Jeremy Hansen. 

Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford 

19 
benefts such as knowledge translation, 

industrial applications, training of highly 

qualifed personnel, and development 

of new technologies that beneft the 

Canadian population and humanity. 

In 2016, the Canadian Government 

provided support for Canada’s 

continued participation in the space 

station and secured future Canadian 

astronaut fights to this unique 

international laboratory. Space is the 

most exciting laboratory imaginable 

in which to inspire a new generation 

of Canadians in the pursuit of 

science, discovery, and technological 

advancement. Space capabilities will 

also play a central role in developing 

and supporting emerging technologies. 

Canada is now involved in discussions 

with the space station’s international 

partnership on utilization beyond 

2024 to maximize the benefts of 

space station research and development 

activities and to continue to open the 

way to space for all humanity. 

European Space Agency 

The space station international 

partnership recently celebrated 

20 years of continuous operations. 

Those past 20 years of continuous 

human presence on station have 

resulted in a record of operations and 

utilization that have paved the way for 

many new inventions and opportunities. 

The International Space Station is now 

entering possibly its last, but potentially 

golden, decade of use with increased 

crew time, increased capabilities, and 

upgraded infrastructure. During this 

decade of operations, the station shall 

continue to be an essential and integral 

component of space research and shall 

continue to serve as the world’s leading 

laboratory for cutting-edge research 

and technology development that will 

enable human and robotic exploration 

of the Moon and Mars, advancing 

critical capabilities that will take humans 

farther into space and reduce the cost 

of human spacefight. 

“

The space station 

international partnership 

recently celebrated 

20 years of continuous 

operations. 

While international partners prepare for 

the next chapter of human exploration, 

it is critical that we learn from those 

experiences. But we must also 

recognize the limits of that experience. 

A lot remains to be understood about 

the physiological and performance 

effects related to exposure to 

spacefight hazards such as radiation, 

altered gravity, and hostile environments. 

The same is true when considering the 

unique challenges of providing medical 

and behavioral health support critical 

to successful human exploration of 

deep space. 

To this end, it is important that the 

International Space Station partnership 

continues to maintain and, where 

feasible, upgrade station capabilities 

to ensure effcient operations and 

utilization until the station’s end of 

lifetime. ESA has initiated (and will soon 

complete) “Columbus 2030” activities, 

which aim to enhance and expand onorbit infrastructure, thereby increasing 

space station utilization while reducing 

operational costs. Columbus 2030 will 

modernize the European Columbus 

module’s information technology 

infrastructure (including ground and 

support infrastructure), allowing 

more effcient station operations. 

New infrastructure elements will be 

added, such as the European Drawer 

Rack Mk2, the European Transport 

Container-Replacement, Live Cell 

Imaging, and upgraded Biolab 

capabilities including a 3D bio-printing 

and 3D cell culture facility, to name a 

few. Furthermore, infight technology 

demonstration activities (e.g., advanced 

life support systems like ANITA-2 and 

3DMetalprinting) will continue 

to translate space station research into 

space exploration technology systems 

that enable exploration missions 

to the Moon, Mars, and eventually 

deep space. The station will therefore 

continue to provide unparalleled 

opportunities for scientifc research 

and translation, and technology 

demonstration and validation, and will 

continue to serve as a staging post for 

preparation for long-duration exploration 

missions, advancing critical capabilities 

to take humans further into space (ad 

astra!) and also reducing the cost of 

human spacefight. 

Italian Space Agency 

The Italian Space Agency (ASI) Human 

Space Flight Program has the specifc 

objective of gaining knowledge through 

space research and transferring it 

to biomedical and technological 

applications on Earth, as well as 

to relevant applications for human 

exploration of space. 

The primary goals of this program are: 

• To understand life processes and 

adaptation mechanisms associated 

with long-term stays in the space 

environment. 

• To sustain a human program of 

exploration in the solar system 

and beyond. 

• To foster the integration of multidisciplinary expertise, both scientifc 

and industrial, for programs of 

high-level technology transfer. 

ASI provides access to different space 

platforms, thanks to cooperative 

agreements with ESA (E3P) and 

NASA (MoU ASI/NASA). New national 

initiatives and international collaboration 

perspectives are being nurtured. 

The aim is to defne a path for Italian 

research activities that build upon 

and consolidate previous results and 

contribute to international goals. 

The program focuses on the following 

research areas, which require specifc 

facilities and fight opportunities: 

• Life sciences, and particularly macroareas such as integrated physiology, 

microbiology, plant biology, and bioregenerative life support 

systems, radiation. 

• Physical sciences and especially 

fundamental, material, and 

fuids physics. 

• Technological demonstrations 

and commercial developments. 

Studies in these areas are encouraged 

because of their connection to future 

human exploration scenarios. 

The majority of ASI experiments 

focus on biology and biotechnology, 

human physiology and technology 

demonstration. So far ASI has 

carried 73 experiments aboard the 

International Space Station, 69 of 

which have been implemented thanks 

to the Memorandum of Understanding 

between ASI and NASA, three in the 

frame of the ESA’s National Contribution 

program and one by virtue of a specifc 

agreement with ROSCOSMOS. 

During the last mission of an Italian 

astronaut, Luca Parmitano, ASI 

brought six new experiments on 

20 
board the station, four of which are 

still operational. The next challenge 

for ASI is represented by Samantha 

Cristoforetti’s mission in 2022, for 

which ASI is launching a group of 

new experiments. 

For the purposes of composing the 

new utilization plan, ASI has recently 

selected a list of new experiments, 

mostly of biology, human physiology, 

and technological demonstration. 

These experiments will be gradually 

launched over the next few years. 

In parallel, ASI is among the promoting 

agencies of the ISS4Mars project. 

ISS4Mars is an international proposal 

to use the space station as an analog 

platform to support the next steps for 

human exploration. The International 

Space Station is the only possible 

available integrated analogue for a 

mission to Mars where the impact of all 

space conditions, even if approximately, 

can be simultaneously mimicked. 

The utilization strategy shall focus on 

solving the still-open research questions 

and technology gaps necessary for 

deep space exploration. The feasibility 

study of this project is underway. 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency 

JAXA continues to encourage use of 

the ISS Kibo module for a broad range 

of activities to maximize benefts to 

the Japanese economy and add to the 

signifcant contributions already made 

toward scientifc and technological 

discovery. Kibo’s external platform is 

home to many Earth and deep space 

observation instruments as well as 

space exposure experiments, while the 

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) 

airlock continues to support small 

satellite deployments. As one example, 

HISUI (Hyper-Spectral Imager Suite) 

developed and operated by Japan’s 

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry 

(METI) has been active since 2020. 

It collects Earth observation data that 

are useful for mapping the location of 

mineral deposits for potential extraction, 

identifying plant distribution for 

environmental studies, and tracking 

soil condition for agricultural uses. 

Internal facilities provide one-of-akind opportunities for researchers. 

For example, Mouse Habitat Units allow 

biologists to study physical adaptations 

to partial and microgravity conditions. 

The Electrostatic Levitation Furnace 

provides materials scientists with 

the ability to conduct research on 

materials at very high temperatures 

without concern for contamination 

from containers. 

As many examples in this book 

illustrate, JAXA has focused the 

use of Kibo facilities for drug design, 

aging research, small satellite orbital 

deployment, and space environment 

exposure by academic, commercial, 

and public entities worldwide. JAXA 

aims at consistently achieving 30% to 

50% commercial utilization for these 

purposes by 2024. A growing number 

of collaborations between JAXA and 

user-service providers continues to 

fuel the formation of new organizations 

and groups that independently provide 

high-quality services for users of Kibo 

facilities. As these partnerships deepen, 

operational know-how continues to be 

passed along, expanding new markets 

in low-Earth orbit. 

Commercially, JAXA has partnered 

with companies such as PeptiDream 

Inc., and Sony Computer Science 

Laboratories (Sony CSL) to provide new 

pathways for research and technology 

development. Furthermore, to promote 

diverse partnerships using the space 

station, JAXA has invited Asian and 

Pacifc nations to participate in the 

use of Japanese facilities. For example, 

an agreement with Singapore enabled 

the use of the JEM Small Satellite 

Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) to launch 

a Singaporean satellite that tested 

new thruster technologies for use 

with small satellites. 

JAXA continues to focus on promoting 

strategic partnerships to commercially 

establish the research and development 

testbed aboard the Kibo module, 

building on successful fee-based 

agreements such as that with the 

Japanese drug discovery company, 

PeptiDream Inc. That agreement 

enabled more frequent launching of 

samples, increasing the number of tests 

performed in Kibo, which accelerated 

the development of new drugs while 

reducing overall research costs. 

Furthermore, the company can expand 

Kibo utilization in its collaborative 

research activities with other entities. 

Such benefts strongly appeal to 

potential candidates of commercial 

users who have already participated in 

the Kibo experimental programs since 

2013, including Chugai Pharmaceutical 

Co., Ltd. and Taiho Pharmaceutical 

Co., Ltd. JAXA has selected Space BD 

Inc. as a private business operator and 

has established a system to develop 

customers and operate experiments in 

the private sector by using some of the 

experiment opportunities. 

The Space Exploration Innovation Hub 

program by JAXA created another 

successful partnership with Sony CSL. 

JAXA’s already-existing, IVA-replaceable 

Small Exposed Experiment Platform 

(i-SEEP) on the Kibo Exposed Facility 

will play a key role in establishing a 

mass-data communication system 

between multiple satellites or a satellite 

21 
and a ground operation interface. 

This innovation is also widely open 

for future longer-distance optical fber 

communication on the ground. 

In closing, the sustained use of the 

International Space Station and 

the Japanese Kibo module to their 

full extent through 2030 shows 

signifcant promise for continued 

scientifc, innovative, and economic 

developments. 

International Space Station 

National Laboratory 

Moving into its third decade of 

continuous crewed presence, the 

space station is now transitioning from 

an era of utilization to one that builds 

on past outcomes to establish the 

robust low-Earth orbit economy of the 

future. Results from the last 20 years of 

research and technology development 

on the space station have shown the 

unique, tangible benefts that such 

development in the low-Earth orbit 

environment offers. Now, the ISS 

National Lab plays a crucial role in 

demonstrating the economic value 

of space-based research and 

development, and in driving a 

sustainable market in low-Earth orbit. 

To achieve this, the ISS National Lab 

works to increase demand among 

industry users. It fosters supply-side 

growth by supporting a growing number 

of companies and organizations that 

provide services related to payload 

development. Finally, it works to attract 

private-sector investment into the 

low-Earth orbit economy. 

For the past 10 years, the ISS National 

Lab has been managed by the Center 

for the Advancement of Science in 

Space, Inc. (CASIS). In this time, more 

than 500 ISS National Lab-sponsored 

payloads, representing more than 600 

investigations, have launched to the 

space station. Almost 70% of these 

payloads represents research and 

development from the private sector 

to advance commercial products and 

spur economic development. Fortune 

500 companies that have leveraged 

the ISS National Lab include Procter & 

Gamble, Merck & Co., Adidas, ColgatePalmolive, Target Corp., Lockheed 

Martin Corp., and Hewlett Packard 

Enterprise, among many others. To date, 

more than $240 million in external, nonNASA funding has been committed in 

support of ISS National Lab-sponsored 

investigations. Additionally, through a 

multiyear partnership with Boeing, the 

ISS National Lab supports innovative 

startups through the MassChallenge 

Technology in Space Prize. Since its 

inception in 2013, the prize has provided 

$8.8 million in funding to 27 start-ups for 

ISS National Lab-sponsored research 

and development. 

Through knowledge gained in the last 

decade, the ISS National Lab has 

identifed key areas of research and 

development with the most potential 

to provide economic value and lead 

to the production of commercially 

relevant products. ISS National Lab 

Research Announcements now target 

these strategic areas of focus, which 

include technology development and 

demonstration and in-space production 

applications in advanced manufacturing 

and materials as well as tissue 

engineering and biomanufacturing. 

The ISS National Lab has also 

established multiyear partnerships with 

other government agencies, including 

the National Institutes of Health 

(NIH) and the U.S. National Science 

Foundation (NSF), which together 

have provided more than $35 million 

in funding to support nearly 50 ISS 

National Lab-sponsored investigations. 

In the last 10 years, more than 150 peerreviewed articles have resulted from ISS 

National Lab-sponsored research and 

development, lending credibility and 

prestige to research conducted on the 

space station. 

On the supply side, the ISS National 

Lab provides funding and support 

to a diverse group of more than 

35 Implementation Partners that 

offer services to aid investigators 

The International Space Station pictured on Nov. 8, 2021. Credit: NASA 

in translating ground-based concepts 

into fight-ready payloads. To facilitate 

business-to-business relationships, 

the ISS National Lab uses an online 

portal to connect Implementation 

Partners with investigators that can 

use their services. The ISS National 

Lab also provides access to and creates 

demand for an increasing number of 

commercially operated facilities on the 

station that serve to expand the in-orbit 

capabilities available to investigators. 

Currently, 18 space station facilities are 

owned and operated by 10 Commercial 

Service Providers (a subset of 

Implementation Partners). 

Utilization of the ISS National Lab is 

also generating substantial investment. 

Both the awarding of, and subsequent 

fight of, ISS National Lab-sponsored 

investigations are key indicators of 

economic value creation for start-up 

companies. Since 2014, start-ups that 

have completed projects sponsored by 

the ISS National Lab have collectively 

raised more than $1.1 billion post-fight. 

These funds were raised from public 

equity markets and venture/private 

capital, and via public and private 

grants. Additionally, the ISS National 

Lab has established an Investor 

Network that currently includes close 

to 250 members. Through this network, 

the ISS National Lab has facilitated 

nearly 1,000 introductions to date in 

support of capital-raising efforts in the 

ISS National Lab ecosystem. 

Advancing science literacy in the future 

workforce is also central to the mission 

of the ISS National Lab. Leveraging the 

space station as a powerful platform 

for education, the ISS National Lab is 

22 
helping to shape the next generation 

of innovators and leaders that will play 

a key role in ensuring the success of 

the future low-Earth orbit economy. 

The ISS National Lab partners with 

25 educational programs that are 

part of the Space Station Explorers 

community, and in fscal year 2021 

alone, nearly 3.8 million people 

engaged with these programs. 

Building on the strong foundation 

established over the past decade, 

the ISS National Lab will continue 

to work with NASA and International 

Partners to accelerate growth and 

investment in the low-Earth orbit 

marketplace. The successes achieved 

so far have paved the way for a 

sustainable and robust low-Earth 

orbit economy of the future, where 

multiple platforms and a space-based 

national laboratory will support both 

government and commercial research 

and development that provides valuable 

benefts to our nation and the world. 

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration 

On November 2, 2020, NASA marked 

20 years of continuous United States 

human presence in low-Earth orbit 

onboard the International Space 

Station. Research and technology 

demonstrations aboard the space 

station have provided the foundation 

for extending human presence beyond 

low-Earth orbit into deep space, 

while two decades of continuous 

24/7/365 operations have generated 

expertise and insights that can only 

come with experience. 

As the world’s frst truly international 

orbiting laboratory, the space station 

continues to represent an unparalleled 

capability in human spacefight. 

Scientifc investigations from the 

quantum realm to the cosmological 

nature of our universe, and at every 

scale in between, have pushed the 

frontiers of knowledge in every major 

discipline of science. Earth-observing 

instruments mounted externally have 

generated unique datasets, helping 

scientists improve climate and ocean 

modeling. All this knowledge has the 

potential to beneft life here on Earth 

while enhancing the competitiveness 

of U.S. private industry. 

The international partnership created 

through the ISS Program and its 

accomplishments exemplify how 

countries can work together to 

overcome complex challenges and 

achieve collaborative goals. Indeed, 

more than 100 countries have used, 

or are currently using, the orbiting 

laboratory. However, the experience 

gained in more than two decades 

of collaborative operations of fve 

space agencies, representing 

15 ISS Intergovernmental Agreement 

signatory nations will be a lasting legacy, 

providing a framework for collaborative 

exploration efforts for decades to come. 

The International Space Station is a 

stepping-stone for NASA’s Artemis 

program that will land the frst woman 

and person of color on the Moon. 

As the only place for conducting longduration research on how living in 

microgravity affects living organisms, 

especially humans, as well as testing 

technologies to allow humans to work 

at the Moon, the space station serves 

as a unique asset in the effort to 

establish a sustainable presence at 

the Moon. We have tested important 

technologies for the Artemis program 

on station ranging from life support 

systems to radiation sensors. 

Looking forward, NASA’s vision for lowEarth orbit is a sustained commercial 

space marketplace where NASA is one 

of many customers. The development 

of a healthy commercial supplier base 

for low-Earth orbit activities is critical to 

achieving that vision. Today, the space 

station is already enabling commercial 

cargo and crew transportation that 

industry is working to make more 

cost-effective. More than a dozen 

commercial research facilities are in 

active operation onboard the station 

while more than 20 companies provide 

payload development and integration 

services in support of the International 

Space Station research community. 

NASA has also initiated the Commercial 

LEO Development program to further 

the development of private on-orbit 

capabilities beyond what is available 

today through the space station. 

As we prepare for human exploration 

missions into deep space, it is important 

to refect on the critical value of the 

proven partnership that has made the 

International Space Station possible, 

and to consider how to build on these 

relationships as humanity proceeds 

into cislunar space. It is necessary to 

maximize the value and impact of the 

space station today to allow users to 

explore new microgravity applications, 

test new markets, and communicate 

those success stories to stimulate 

broader interest in low-Earth orbit 

from non-traditional space users. 

ROSCOSMOS State Corporation 

for Space Activities 

ROSCOSMOS State Corporation 

for Space Activities supports the 

implementation of the Russian 

Federation space program. 

ROSCOSMOS responsibilities also 

include developing international 

cooperation in the space sector and 

creating conditions for using the results 

of space activities in Russia’s social 

and economic development. 

With more than 20 years of successful 

use, the development of the Russian 

Segment of the International Space 

Station (ISS RS) continues. In 2021, 

two new Russian modules, the multipurpose laboratory module Nauka and 

the node module Prichal, launched and 

successfully docked to the ISS RS. 

The Multi-zone Electric Vacuum Furnace 

science hardware, which was included 

in the module, supports research 

activities to grow semiconductor 

crystals using replaceable heaters 

and processes for zone melting, 

bulk crystallization, and directional 

crystallization. The integration of the 

Nauka module enables an estimated 

increase of more than 17% in the 

quantity of research activities carried 

out on the ISS RS. 

Processes to expand use of the 

ISS RS also continue to evolve. 

An organization formed under the 

auspices of ROSCOSMOS functions 

as an operator in providing commercial 

services to use the Russian Segment 

and enables interested organizations 

to fund such activities. 

In cooperation with academic and 

commercial organizations from 

different countries such as Kazakhstan, 

United Arab Emirates, and Hungary, 

ROSCOSMOS continues to devote 

special attention to studying the 

infuence of low-Earth orbit on human 

life support, plants, materials, and 

combustion processes, as well as 

the orbital deployment of satellites. 

All these actions are directed at 

increasing research in various areas to 

generate signifcant results in scientifc 

and applied research activities while 

maximizing the investment return and 

economic impact. 

23 
24 25 

 

 

Seeing Our Home 

IN A 

Whole New Light 

Earth observation taken by Expedition 59 crew. 

Credits: David Saint-Jacques/CSA -CSA astronaut David Saint-Jacques 

It was a very sobering perspective to get how fragile, 

unique, and sacred our spaceship Earth is, and the 

“

responsibility we have to be good shepherds of her. 
26 

Expedition 60 crew members take turns capturing 

images of rapidly intensifying Hurricane Dorian 

from the cupola inside the International Space 

Station on August 30, 2019, as it churned over 

the Atlantic Ocean. Credit: NASA 
An Unmatched Eye 

on Earth 

Helping farmers, cities, forests, disaster response, climate science, 

and more from orbit 

On Earth, we often look toward the 

sky, longing to know what resides in 

the rest of the universe. Meanwhile, 

402 kilometers (250 miles) above our 

planet, the International Space Station 

is looking back. That Earthward gaze 

is feeding data and imagery back to 

scientists, farmers, foresters, and others 

around the world, making a difference 

for humanity right now. 

Multiple Earth-observing instruments 

ride on the exterior of the station above 

us, including a limb full of cameras, 

boxes, and tools that hangs off the 

station’s Japanese Experiment Module. 

Earth-observing CubeSats regularly 

deploy from the station’s airlock as 

well as some of its resupply vehicles. 

Inside the station, astronauts and 

cosmonauts take photos of the planet 

from the windows of the orbiting lab 

and conduct Earth science experiments. 

All this work provides insight into our 

planetary home and how we might 

prepare for coming changes. 

“If you don’t have a good understanding 

of how things might change, you are in 

a very poor position to be able to handle 

it when they do,” says William Stefanov, 

manager of the Exploration Science 

Offce at NASA’s Johnson Space Center 

in Houston. 

The factors infuencing our climate must 

be tracked over long periods. With more 

than 20 years in orbit, and counting, the 

space station is a great place to collect 

such long-term data. The combined 

information creates a unique data set 

that helps us make informed decisions 

on Earth, and potentially develop 

solutions to environmental issues. 

The space station affords a unique 

planetary perspective with an orbital 

path covering 90% of the Earth’s 

population. Its position in orbit allows 

astronauts to see the Sun rise and set 

16 times each day across the world. 

“That orbit allows the space station 

to pass over different spots of Earth 

at different times of day or night and 

collect data. It is a fundamentally 

different data set than most other 

remote sensing instruments collect 

on free-fying satellites,” says Stefanov. 

International payloads on the outside 

of the orbiting laboratory, such as 

ECOSTRESS, GEDI, OCO-3, DESIS, 

TSIS (also known as TSIS-1), and HISUI, 

individually collect climate-related data. 

The MUSES Earth imaging facility 

even offers commercial access to a 

number of Earth observation tools. 

In combination, all these tools provide 

a unique set of measurements that 

could push the leading edge of 

environmental research. 

Although some station experiments 

are focused on a specifc application, 

many of these Earth-observing 

payloads provide data for a wide 

range of applications. 

Analysis of the frst six months of data 

from the State Space Corporation 

ROSCOSMOS (ROSCOSMOS)-Italian 

Space Agency (ASI) investigation UV 

Atmosphere - Mini-EUSO indicated 

that the multipurpose telescope was 

able to do everything from measuring 

variations in airglow and ultraviolet 

emissions from Earth to tracking space 

debris and cosmic rays. It has now 

completed more than 40 successful 

sessions. Part of JEM-EUSO, a larger 

program involving about 300 scientists 

from 16 countries who are working to 

enhance the observation of cosmic rays, 

the experiment is expected to measure 

artifcial lights above land and oceans, 

study the impact of energetic cosmic 

radiation on the Earth’s atmosphere, 

and register and track space debris 

in near-Earth orbits. Mini-EUSO has 

already measured several thousand 

faint meteor arrivals, allowing scientists 

to study these events and obtain 

data on arrival direction, velocity, 

and brightness. 

Data from NASA’s ECOSTRESS 

payload have also already had many 

applications. They have been employed 

in efforts to reduce heat absorbed by 

city surfaces, better allocate water, 

reduce fre risk, measure plant stress, 

search for geothermal energy sources, 

track mosquitos, help farmers effciently 

water their felds, and more. 

“ECOSTRESS measures small and 

subtle changes in temperature to 

identify plant stress, but those same 

measurements can also be used to 

identify extreme heat, such as that 

produced by fres or lava fows. We can 

also study movement of warm water 

currents and heatwaves in cities,” says 

ECOSTRESS principal investigator 

Simon Hook. “With data that are 

valuable across so many science focus 

areas, researchers around the world 

are using ECOSTRESS data to produce 

really exciting results.” 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

thousands of farmers around the world, 

and numerous water agencies now 

rely on these data for determining how 

much water their crops need, which 

ones are most water-effcient, and 

which ones are not getting enough 

water, even before they show visible 

signs of dehydration. A Los Angeles 

City pavement project has used the 

data to monitor the effectiveness of new 

refective pavements installed to reduce 

heat. Forest managers can thin areas of 

stressed trees to reduce fre risk or at 

least mobilize fre crews in those areas 

during high-risk times. 

“ECOSTRESS is a small, low-cost 

mission that has brought together so 

many scientists with different areas 

of expertise,” says Hook. “But the 

core team is very small and has done 

incredible work.” 

27 
Annmarie Eldering, project scientist for OCO-3, speaks during a What’s On 

Board science briefng at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 29, 

2019. The briefng was held for SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services 

(CRS-17) mission to the International Space Station, which launched OCO-3 

into orbit. Credit: NASA/Kennedy Space Center 

The ECOSTRESS team is even looking 

at collaborating with the research 

teams of other space station research 

payloads to provide additional benefts. 

“The OCO-3 team wants to understand 

plants and their role in the carbon 

cycle,” says OCO-3 project scientist 

Annmarie Eldering of NASA’s Jet 

Propulsion Laboratory in Southern 

California. “It turns out our space 

station neighbor ECOSTRESS is 

looking at how plants respond to stress. 

And then there is GEDI, which is looking 

at how much plant material is on the 

ground. Scientists who are thinking 

about plants and their role in the carbon 

cycle are super excited. We have heard 

lots of discussion about how we can 

use all the data together to better 

understand plants.” 

NASA’s OCO-3 sensor uses sunlight 

refections through the atmosphere 

to measure variations in atmospheric 

carbon dioxide, observing changes 

of less than a single part per million. 

“Most gases like ozone, carbon 

monoxide, or water vapor double or 

triple in atmospheric concentration 

when they are polluted, so it is pretty 

easy to detect. But for carbon dioxide, 

it is uniquely diffcult to see the 

changes,” says Eldering. 

Measuring those small changes 

could be key to answering 

long-standing questions about 

atmospheric carbon dioxide. 

“Fortunately for us, the plants and 

ocean absorb about half of humangenerated carbon dioxide emissions 

every year. But there are still mysteries 

around how they do that, why the 

amount is different each year, and 

how absorption is going to happen in 

the future,” says Eldering. “Our data 

are meant to help answer those kinds 

of questions.” 

In 2021, using data from OCO-3, 

researchers released one of the 

most accurate maps ever made 

from space of the human infuence 

on carbon dioxide in the Los Angeles 

metropolitan area. These types of data 

help decision makers choose the most 

effective policies to reach goals for 

cutting emissions and measuring 

the effectiveness of new regulations. 

“Now we’re looking at a lot of other 

cities,” said Eldering. “And when 

you look at our data as well as other 

gases that are measured by other 

instruments, we are really starting 

tobe able to put together a detailed 

picture of emissions.” 

Carbon storage and removal also has 

been investigated both inside and 

outside station. The ESA (European 

Space Agency) Photobioreactor study 

cultivated algae to examine whether 

microalgae could help close the carbon 

loop in future life support systems, and 

Kuwait’s Experiment: E. coli C5

 studied 

the effect of microgravity on E. coli 

bacteria that were modifed to consume 

carbon dioxide as food. Images taken 

by former space station payload HICO 

even helped develop an algorithm to 

detect harmful algal blooms, which 

The suite of Earth-observing payloads attached to the Japanese Experiment 

Module is shown as the International Space Station orbits over the southern 

Pacifc Ocean east of New Zealand in March 2018. Credit: NASA 

28 
The night lights of Tokyo, Japan, are pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 420 kilometers (261 miles) 

above the island nation. Credit: NASA 

can play a major role in the global 

carbon cycle. 

With other devices such as SAGE-III 

tracking the recovery of ozone, NASA’s 

ISS-LIS and ESA’s ASIM monitoring 

lightning, and TSIS tracking the total 

energy fowing into Earth from the 

Sun, station experiments advance 

numerous climate records and models. 

Solar irradiance represents one of the 

longest climate data records derived 

from space-based observations. 

Researchers have been able to maintain 

continuity of that record with TSIS. 

“Climate change presents what 

is perhaps humankind’s greatest 

environmental challenge,” says 

former TSIS principal investigator 

and University of Colorado Boulder 

professor Peter Pilewskie. “Monitoring 

the energy that fows into, within, and 

out of the system underpins our ability 

to understand how the climate system 

works, recognize that it is changing, and 

identify those mechanisms responsible 

for climate change.” 

The space station offers a standardized, 

capable platform to house Earth 

observation experiments such as 

TSIS. The size of a football feld and 

equipped with numerous attachment 

points, plenty of data capacity, and a 

large power supply, the space station 

can host a wide variety of instruments 

simultaneously. The availability of these 

resources made the space station a 

great last-minute option for the TSIS 

team to quickly get its payload into 

orbit. After some delays, the team 

was facing potential failure of previous 

tracking instruments before TSIS 

could launch. 

“It started to get pretty dire, because 

accuracy of the climate record is 

maintained at its highest possible level 

when the data record is continuous,” 

says Pilewskie. “Because of space 

station, we were able to continue 

this record.” 

After researchers learn the basics 

of creating a payload for the space 

station, they can apply that knowledge 

to future station projects. Pilewskie is 

already working on his next experiment, 

CLARREO Pathfnder. 

“The value that we gained from 

operating an instrument on station 

that needed to point very precisely 

cannot be understated,” says Pilewskie. 

“We have to do the same thing with 

CLARREO Pathfnder, so we are using 

some of the same motors that we use 

to drive the TSIS instruments.” 

Scheduled to launch in the next few 

years, CLARREO plans to study Earth’s 

climate by taking measurements of 

sunlight refected by Earth and the 

Moon with fve to ten times lower 

uncertainty than measurements from 

existing sensors. 

Additionally, the Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s integrated 

Standard Imager for Microsatellites 

(iSIM), a high-resolution optical 

binocular telescope developed by 

Spanish company SATLANTIS, takes 

images of Earth at less than 1 meter 

(39 inches) of resolution. 

It is not only sensors monitoring 

our planet from above. People do 

so as well. 

The windows of the space station 

provide an opportunity for astronaut 

photography and manual collection 

of climate data. Astronauts have taken 

more than 4 million images of Earth 

29 
NASA’s ECOSTRESS sensor measured the stress levels of plants when it passed 

over the Peruvian Amazon rainforest on Aug. 7, 2019. The map reveals that the 

fres were concentrated in areas of water-stressed plants (brown). The pattern 

points to how plant health can impact the spread of fres. Credits: NASA/JPLCaltech/Earth Observatory 

Prefight side view of the JAXA iSIM-IOD fight unit. Developed by SATLANTIS, iSIM 

is a new-generation, high-resolution optical payload binocular telescope for Earth 

observation. The design combines class-leading performance via the utilization 

of cutting-edge technologies, signifcantly reduced build times, and a new level 

of affordability. Credit: SATLANTIS 

from space (over 3.5 million from the 

space station), contributing to one 

of the longest-running records of 

how Earth has changed over time. 

Crew Earth Observations currently 

support urban night lighting studies, 

glacier and volcano monitoring, and 

studies of atmospheric processes 

affected by volcanic eruptions. 

The ROSCOSMOS Hurricane-Visual 

study also contributes imagery 

that assists with Earth monitoring, 

providing an additional source of data. 

These images also support relief 

efforts for disasters such as hurricanes 

and wildfres. 

Station even extends its climate 

science impact by deploying CubeSats 

into low-Earth orbit. These shoeboxsized devices contain technology 

demonstrations or test new types 

of climate science. Astronauts unload 

and prep them on station and then 

deploy the devices out of the space 

station airlock. 

“That has been a great resource for 

small programs, especially universities 

or NASA centers trying to get some 

small projects going. CubeSats might 

be their frst stepping-stone to larger 

things,” says TSIS and NanoRacksMinXSS principal investigator Tom 

Woods. “Space station offers a lot 

of opportunities to get these smaller 

things into space.” 

Climate CubeSats deployed from station 

include the following: 

• The student-designed NanoRacksMinXSS CubeSat targeted a better 

understanding of solar X-ray energy 

and how it affects the layers of Earth’s 

upper atmosphere. 

• JAXA’s DIWATA-1 satellite provides 

remote sensing information to 

the Philippines by observing 

meteorological disasters such as 

typhoons and localized heavy rains. 

• NASA’s HARP CubeSat helps us 

better understand how clouds and 

aerosols impact weather, climate, 

and air quality. 

As Earth’s climate changes, the 

International Space Station will be 

watching from above, helping provide 

unique insights needed to keep our 

planet safe. 

30 
Russian cosmonaut Dmitry 

Kondratyev (left) and ESA 

(European Space Agency) 

astronaut Paolo Nespoli use 

still cameras to photograph 

the topography of points on 

Earth from windows in the 

cupola of the International 

Space Station. Credit: NASA 

Observing Our Planet 

from Low-Earth Orbit 

The phrase “a picture is worth a 

thousand words” has never been 

truer than when it comes to the 

photographs and imagery produced 

by crew aboard the International 

Space Station. Orbiting around Earth 

every 90 minutes at an altitude of 

approximately 402 kilometers 

(250 miles), the station provides a 

spectacular vantage point to take 

pictures of our planet. From this 

setting, crew members aboard the 

space station have taken more than 

3.5 million photographs of Earth. 

These photos have added to 

long-running image-capture 

programs reaching back to the 

1960s for both the Russian and 

U.S. space programs. The State 

Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS 

(ROSCOSMOS) Uragan-Vizual 

(Hurricane-Visual) and Crew Earth 

Observations investigations task 

crews aboard the station with 

capturing photographs of signifcant 

features on Earth’s surface. 

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy uses a 400-mm lens on a digital still camera 

to photograph a target of opportunity on Earth some 250 miles below him 

and the International Space Station. Credit: NASA 

31 
After completing scientifc observation bodies of water, and meteorological 

training provided by specialists, crew phenomena. The information gathered 

members use hand-held cameras to by crew photographs supports globalregularly take photographs of features scale investigations related to the 

such as volcanic eruptions, urban areas, composition, health, and future of Earth. 

Flooding in Colombia 

The mighty Orinoco River serves as a boundary between the countries of Colombia and Venezuela. Four major rivers in 

Colombia’s Oroniquia region drain into the Orinoco. Signifcant fooding in this region in early July 2020 affected more than 

1,200 families and destroyed an estimated 1,600 hectares (almost 4,000 acres) of crops. 

The Colombia Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies asked NASA’s Earth Applied Sciences Disasters 

Program to help determine the extent and impacts of the fooding. The program’s tools include Crew Earth Observations, 

consisting of photographs taken by astronauts on the space station. Later in the month, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy was 

able to capture images of the fooding as the space station passed over Colombia. NASA’s Earth Science and Remote Sensing 

Unit at Johnson Space Center matched the photos with locations on the ground, and the Disasters Program then sent them to 

Colombian authorities. 

“The information was essential in supporting quick and remote analysis of food zones,” said Johan Naranjo, a Geographic 

Information System expert with Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management. Offcials used the images to carry 

out an analysis of fooded areas over multiple days, which helped them identify those sites most critical for direct emergency 

response by national, departmental, and municipal authorities. The photograph helped fulfll the purpose of the International 

Disaster Charter, which states that it strives to provide Earth observation data to aid in rapid disaster response efforts. 

32 
Volcano Spotting 

When NASA astronaut Jeff Williams looked out the space station window in 2006, he saw something unexpected: 

a volcanic eruption. What he did not realize is that he was the frst person to witness this eruption of the Cleveland 

Volcano in Alaska. Cleveland Volcano, situated on the western half of Chuginadak Island, is one of the most active 

volcanos in the Aleutian Islands, which extend west-southwest from the Alaska mainland. His unique vantage point 

allowed him to be the frst human to alert the Alaska Volcano Observatory that the volcano had produced a plume 

of ash. Shortly after the activity began, he took this photograph. 

33 
Gazing Through the Darkness 

From their unique setting in low-Earth orbit, station crew members regularly generate nighttime imagery that captures 

twinkling light sources on the surface. This photo of the Iberian Peninsula taken by ESA (European Space Agency) 

astronaut Alexander Gerst and composite image taken by NASA astronaut Christina Koch as station traveled from 

Namibia toward the Red Sea show just how bright nighttime lights can be. This type of imagery can help researchers 

track light pollution and conduct studies of urbanization. 

34 
The View from the Cupola 

The space station’s cupola is a research module with seven 

viewing windows, making it a great location to take pictures of 

Earth. Gazing outside one of the cupola’s side windows, NASA 

astronaut Andrew Morgan captured this image of the Caribbean 

Sea. The largest land mass featured in this photograph is Cuba, 

and to the right of it is the Bahamas. The Bahama Banks, 

submerged hills comprised of limestone and sediments formed 

from the biological processes of ancient and current sea life, 

can also be seen just below the surface of the blue waters. 

Numerous images like this make up NASA’s Gateway to 

Astronaut Photography database that scientists can pull 

from for their studies. 

35 
NASA astronaut Leland Melvin 

prepares to use a still camera 

at a window in the Zvezda 

Service Module of the 

International Space Station 

to take pictures of the Earth. 

Credit: NASA 

NASA astronaut Christina Koch takes 

photographs of Earth landmarks as 

the orbiting lab fies 417 kilometers 

(259 miles) above the Pacifc Ocean 

off the coast of South America. 

Credit: NASA 

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst peers 

out the International Space Station’s 

“window to the world,” the sevenwindowed cupola. Credit: NASA 

36 
Student Space 

Photos 

Can you spot the rivers in this photograph 

of the Arabian Desert’s Deerat Valley? 

Near the southwestern edge of the Red 

Sea lies a collection of rivers that frequently 

vanish due to the severe dryness of the region. 

The darker surfaces are comprised of ancient 

Precambrian rocks that are more than 

540 million years old, while the lighter 

expanse is a mixture of younger sediments 

forming sand dunes. In 2017, the Sally Ride 

EarthKAM captured this scene in which eroded 

sediments from the Precambrian rock exposures 

highlight the peaks of the silicate sand dunes. 

The Sally Ride EarthKAM is an educational 

outreach program that has enabled more 

than 1 million students to participate in taking 

photographs from space by requesting images 

from a designated camera. “It is an elegantly 

elaborate, yet very practical program, that 

allows school children access to real time 

science on the space station,” said Vice 

President of Education at the U.S. Space 

and Rocket Center, Dr. Kay Taylor. 

A Higher-thanbirds-eye View 

The AMASS investigation is a collaborative 

effort between NASA, the Canadian Space 

Agency (CSA), and the Bondar Foundation. 

The AMASS investigation began in 2016 with a 

focus on photographing migratory locations of 

the whooping crane, highlighting along those 

routes habitat changes caused mainly by human 

activities. It expanded its breadth when CSA 

astronaut David Saint-Jacques boarded the 

space station in 2018. The project’s expansion 

included surveying the migratory locations of six 

additional avian species. “One of the challenges 

of taking photos of Earth from the space station 

is that we are going pretty fast. You know, we 

are going around the world in about an hour in 

a half,” Saint-Jacques says. “Chasing the right 

frame is a bit of an art because you only have 

one chance.” 

This image contributed to the AMASS 

investigation by photographing a signifcant 

habitat for lesser famingos near Africa’s 

Lake Victoria to the left and Lake Natron 

in the upper right. 

37 
A Swirling Storm 

Cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky photographed Hurricane Irma as the space station few over the storm in 2017. Growing to 

a Category 5 storm, Hurricane Irma is among the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever observed. Images like this can support 

disaster response on the ground. After receiving notifcation that a natural disaster is occurring or has occurred, scientists 

on the ground determine whether the crew will be able to see the affected area while orbiting overhead. If so, the crew 

captures and sends imagery back to Earth. The pictures are then georeferenced for use by hazard teams on the ground. 

Astronaut imagery has been useful for wildfre events, for example, showing responders where the smoke plume is going. 

A Glimpse of 

the Milky Way 

Over the 

Pacifc Ocean 

In this 2015 image taken by NASA 

astronaut Kjell Lindgren aboard 

the space station, the scene is 

illuminated by multiple light sources. 

Countless stars within our galaxy, 

the Milky Way, stand out among the 

encroaching dust clouds. Orange, 

green, and red airglow layers can be 

seen, highlighting Earth’s curvature. 

In the lower right of the foreground, 

a lightning fash illuminates a large 

cloud mass over the Pacifc Ocean. 

With dense cloud cover over a 

majority of this scene, the light 

sources make for a stunning sight. 

38 
This photo taken from the International Space Station helped identify 

distinct land features on Tenerife Island in Spain’s Canary Islands. 

Artifcial intelligence has assessed images like this to identify lava fows 

and volcano types in photographs captured worldwide. Credit: NASA 

AI-Spy 

with My Little Eye 

Spotting Topographic Changes from 250 Miles Above 

Crew members aboard the International 

Space Station capture imagery during 

studies like Crew Earth Observations 

and Hurricane-Visual, pointing cameras 

at interesting features on our planet. 

Once a picture is taken, it often needs 

further processing to enhance its 

scientifc usefulness. Historically, this 

step has been a manual task, but now 

researchers are assigning it to artifcial 

intelligence (AI). 

The Earth Science and Remote Sensing 

Unit at NASA’s Johnson Space Center 

in Houston, Texas, is using machine 

learning to sort through and identify 

photos taken from the orbital laboratory, 

making them more searchable and 

useful to scientists. The Gateway to 

Astronaut Photography of Earth service 

contains nearly 4 million astronautcaptured images. Using AI, researchers 

have categorized over 2 million photos 

of Earth’s geographic features, 250,000 

images of auroras, 37,000 lightning 

photos, and 18,000 images of 

64 different cities around the world. 

While the technology to capture imagery 

of Earth from satellites has existed 

since the 1960s, use of AI in image 

processing is a recent development. 

After training the AI model on satellite 

imagery of Earth, NASA scientists began 

using it to process signifcant quantities 

of imagery at a rate far faster than any 

human cataloger. 

“Crew Earth Observations serves as a 

longitudinal record of what the Earth 

looks like at specifc times,” said data 

scientist Alex Stoken, who works on 

the team responsible for managing 

the operation. “For example, NASA 

has a 20-year photographic record of 

the Toshka Lakes in Egypt that can be 

studied to understand the changes to 

water levels in the lakes. With AI, we 

can identify more of these change areas 

and study them in greater detail.” 

39 
“

Analyzing modern 

astronaut imagery 

helps researchers to 

better understand 

Earth and its changing 

landscapes... 

Scientists also request images of Earth 

sites that have comparable features to 

structures on other planets, such as 

impact craters. For example, Tenerife 

Island, the largest of the Canary Islands, 

has formations over 30 million years old 

that are reminiscent of features found on 

other planetary surfaces. 

“When we use machine learning to 

identify mountainous photos or photos 

with large boulders, we are also 

searching for potential sites that 

are analogous to places on the Moon 

and Mars,” said Stoken. “If we can 

better understand how those processes 

happened on Earth, maybe it will teach 

us something about other potential 

future space destinations.” 

Analyzing modern astronaut imagery 

helps researchers to better understand 

Earth and its changing landscapes and 

to refne and validate algorithms to 

support future exploration missions 

and aid planetary scientists in studying 

our solar system. 

Mosaics created from astronaut imagery of the Toshka Lakes in Egypt. 

The top image, taken in 2002, and the bottom image, taken in 2015, 

show how these bodies of water have changed over time. Credit: NASA 

40 
 

Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev positioned at a port hole 

on the Zvezda service module of the International Space Station 

during Expedition 1 as Space Shuttle Atlantis approaches for 

a link-up, leading to several days of joint activities between 

the two crews. Scattered clouds over the Western Pacifc 

are visible in the window scene. Credit: NASA 

Down to Earth: 

Q AND A WITH 

Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev 

No matter how many pictures of Earth 

you see, nothing can match gazing out 

the windows of the International Space 

Station at our planet rotating below. 

For the few hundred people who have 

had that privilege, it can be life changing. 

To come as close as possible to 

experiencing this perspective, view 

Earth through the eyes of Russian 

cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, who ranks 

third to cosmonauts Gennady Padalka 

and Yuri Malenchenko for time spent in 

space, logging over 800 days aboard 

the International Space Station, Mir 

space station, Soyuz spacecraft, and 

the space shuttle. He kicked off more 

than 20 years of continuous human 

habitation aboard station in November 

2000 as one of three members of 

Expedition 1. Krikalev shared his 

unique perspective on the power 

of collaboration in space and looking 

down on Earth. 

41 
Backdropped against heavy cloud cover, the International Space Station is photographed with a 35-mm camera 

by one of the astronauts onboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in February 2001. Credit: NASA 

What was it like seeing the Earth from 

space for the frst time? 

I was amazed to see the horizon. 

Before that, when on the globe, I few 

“

When you see some 

unusual structure of 

clouds, you take a 

picture, knowing that 

people are studying 

some effects in the 

atmosphere. Then we 

have a very interesting 

discussion with 

scientists to explain 

what we see. 

very high on different airplanes and still 

saw a fat horizon. But from orbit, you 

can already see a curvature of Earth. 

The second surprise was to see with 

your own eyes that we have a pretty 

thin layer of atmosphere protecting us. 

How would you describe the colors 

of the planet below? 

I remember discussing with scientists 

before the fight that everyone reports 

seeing bright colors, but from a 

scientifc point of view, when you look 

down, you have a blue flter. This blue 

flter makes all colors actually not so 

distinct. The same way, when we look 

up at the sky and we see blue sky, we 

actually see a thick layer of atmosphere 

between us and Earth’s surface. 

So really, green is not so green. It is 

more like bluish green. Blue is bluer 

because we have more blue from 

the atmosphere. Where we have 

really bright colors is on the horizon, 

especially during sunrise and sunset. 

How did the pictures you took 

contribute to science? 

We actually not only had specifc 

directions from scientists, but they also 

educated us generally on what they may 

be interested in. So if I see something, 

even if I do not have direct guidance 

from scientists, I know that, for example, 

this bloom of water from a river into the 

ocean and see how spreads different 

colors in the ocean can be interesting. 

And it can be interesting, actually, for 

several scientists. For oceanographers, 

for people who study living creatures in 

fresh water and salt water, to know how 

this water spreads. And sometimes 

you can really see what is happening 

when two different waters mix. 

When you see some unusual structure 

of clouds, you take a picture, knowing 

that people are studying some effects 

in the atmosphere. Then we have a very 

interesting discussion with scientists to 

explain what we see. 

42 
“

When you see a forest 

fre, you see that smoke 

is going sometimes for 

hundreds of kilometers. 

They cross all borders. 

There is no wall on 

this border. If you have 

disaster on one side, 

it can easily spread on 

another side. 

Did you have any big takeaways from 

your frst time in orbit? 

I remember from my frst fight, when 

you look down, it is a little more diffcult 

to fnd things on the surface. When you 

do it on the map, you have borders and 

start to use borders as a landmark. 

But in space, you have no borders. 

You have only the natural rivers, 

mountains, beaches, forests, or 

something like that. You start to 

understand that in many cases, our 

separation on Earth is more artifcial. 

We are living on the same surface. 

When you see a forest fre, you see that 

smoke is going sometimes for hundreds 

of kilometers. They cross all borders. 

There is no wall on this border. If you 

have disaster on one side, it can easily 

spread on another side. If you have 

fooding, it foods an area not looking 

at the border between different regions 

or different countries. You start to see 

that we are more united. 

This feeling of being united, how 

do you think it can be brought back 

down to Earth? 

I think what we do in space together is 

a good example of how people need to 

live on the ground. I know that people 

sometimes start to argue with no good 

reason; but especially when you are in 

a harsh environment, you rely on each 

other and try to help each other. That is 

how we live in space, and that probably 

can be a good example for people on 

the ground. We try to keep this area 

protected and keep this good example 

to politicians and maybe other people 

in my country and your country, showing 

that is really how we need to live. 

The Expedition 11 crew aboard the space station, including cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, fexes the Canadarm2 

while fying approximately 362 kilometers (225 miles) above Cape Horn. Credit: NASA 

43 
44 45 

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins conducts microbiology research 

in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) of the space station. 

The experiment studied the relationship between humans and 

microbes in space habitation environments. Credit: NASA 

Microbiology in 

Microgravity -NASA astronaut Kate Rubins 

It’s a world-class laboratory and it’s an absolutely 

packed one. I think it’s like taking an entire university 

campus, a world-class university, and shrinking it 

“

down to the size of the space station. 
46 

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut David Saint-Jacques 

conducts the Genes in Space-6 experiment that explored how 

space radiation damages DNA and how the cell repair mechanism 

works in microgravity. Credit: NASA 
Our Relationship to 

Microbes on the 

International Space Station 

Anything launched to space is 

meticulously tested, monitored, and 

often sanitized. However, our control 

over spacecraft and the items aboard is 

not total, especially at the microscopic 

level. Microbial hitchhikers still have the 

capability to catch a ride to space, with 

either the cargo or the crew. 

While people literally could not live 

without these tiny organisms, many 

of which are benign or benefcial, there 

is still a possibility that the assortment 

of bacterial hitchhikers could include 

disease-causing pathogens that 

might make the crew sick. That is why 

scientists use the International Space 

Station as a testing ground to study 

how to keep astronauts safe and 

healthy on long-duration missions. 

These studies also beneft humans 

on Earth by providing a better 

understanding of how microbes 

behave in a sanitized, isolated, 

and confned environment. 

This work is also forming a new area of 

scientifc research. Many microbes can 

be stressed by the conditions of space, 

and some respond with genes encoding 

resistance to antimicrobial agents. 

It is therefore important to understand 

what types of space-residing microbes 

are present in the environment and 

whether they can become impervious 

to sanitation techniques. 

“The goal is to enable near-real-time 

microbial diagnostics of the space 

station environment,” said Sarah 

Wallace, a microbiologist in the 

Biomedical Research and Environmental

Sciences division at NASA’s Johnson of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA As the studies continue taking Space Center in Houston. “We are is made up of four base molecules that measurements, the data can expose looking at what is in the air, on surfaces, link together to encode instructions for patterns that exist in microbial and in the water that the crew is cell growth and behavior. Identifying the composition on the space station.

surrounded by all day, every day.” order of the bases using the process of “It is kind of like taking a census,” 

Known, worrisome bacteria can be DNA sequencing clues researchers in to said David J. Smith, acting chief of the 

identifed by their unique biological the identity of the organisms and how Space Biosciences Division at NASA’s 

blueprint, contained within molecules they might behave. Ames Research Center in California’s 

A researcher at Johnson Space Center performs DNA and RNA sequencing on 

microbes as part of the Biomolecule Extraction and Sequencing Technology (BEST) 

experiment. The same sequencing procedure was performed in orbit aboard the 

International Space Station, and the results were compared to those on the ground. 

This capability provides better insight into the effects of the spacefight environment 

on microbial life. Credit: Johnson Space Center 

47 
Members of the Biomolecule Sequencer team pose together with their experiment. 

Credits: NASA/Bill Stafford 

Silicon Valley. “The demographics data 

collected can be used years down the 

road for planning decisions about how 

we coexist with microbes in spacecraft.” 

However, taking the census can be 

complex. The equipment required for 

DNA sequencing has historically been 

expensive and time intensive and 

has required specialized expertise 

to operate, limiting its use in space. 

For example, a series of NASA microbial 

tracking experiments and the 3D 

Microbial Monitoring study had to rely 

on astronauts collecting hundreds 

of samples by wiping down selected 

surfaces with swabs, packing the 

samples in plastic bags, and sending 

them back to Earth for identifcation 

with DNA sequencing facilities. 

Sending samples from the orbiting 

lab back to Earth is complicated and 

adds signifcant time between the initial 

sampling and identifying the microbes 

present. The quicker we can identify 

unknown microbes on the International 

Space Station, the more prepared the 

crew will be to respond. 

The key is fnding a way to do complex 

microbial ecology surveys in space. 

Microgravity and the restrictions on 

size and chemicals that can be safely 

used in the enclosed environment of the 

space station add to the challenge of 

designing a DNA experiment for space. 

“We broke it apart at every angle 

and looked at how we can use the 

least amount of and safest tools and 

substances and get the best science,” 

said Wallace. “That is where we go 

outside of the box and come up with 

a different solution.” 

Thanks to the work of Wallace 

and her team, sample return could 

soon be a thing of the past for 

microbiology studies. 

In 2016, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins 

successfully conducted the frst 

DNA sequencing in space, while 

researchers on the ground performed 

the same experiment, opening the 

door to molecular biology research 

in spacefight conditions. The team 

used a MinION (pronounced “min 

ion”) sequencing platform, a device no 

bigger than a cell phone, to read the 

NASA astronaut Joe Acaba with one of 

the Microbial Air Samplers, devices that 

monitor microbes in the air of the space 

station. Credit: NASA 

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins prepares for a run of the Biomolecule Sequencer 

experiment. It seeks to demonstrate, for the frst time, that DNA sequencing is feasible 

in an orbiting spacecraft. A space-based DNA sequencer could identify microbes, 

diagnose diseases, help researchers understand crew member health, and has the 

potential to help detect DNA-based life elsewhere in the solar system. Credit: NASA 

48 
nucleic acid bases in samples sent to 

the station for study. This technology 

can enable scientists to quickly identify 

pathogens on the space station or 

on future exploration missions, and 

even potentially identify life on other 

planets in the solar system if it shares 

a common biochemistry with life as we 

know it on Earth. 

“Our frst sequencing demonstration in 

space was a big deal because the work 

was done from concept to fight in less 

than a year. Traditionally, it takes a much 

longer time to get a new instrument on 

station,” said Smith. “We showed it is 

possible to be nimble in our science 

as we go beyond low-Earth orbit with 

future experiments.” 

The initial work of DNA sequencing 

opened the door to using other 

molecular biology methods in space. 

“Having an entire molecular laboratory 

in space is just going to explode what 

we can do there,” said Wallace. 

And explode it has. Astronauts 

used a genome editing technique 

called CRISPR (Clustered Regularly 

Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) 

for the frst time in space, signifcantly 

expanding the space station’s molecular 

biology toolkit once again by enabling 

studies of DNA repair. Numerous 

students have sent DNA research 

to space through the Genes in Space 

program. Scientists have even used 

MinION to fully identify unknown 

microbes on the orbiting laboratory 

without returning samples to Earth. 

The ability to identify microbes in space 

could aid in the diagnosis and treatment 

of astronaut ailments in real time. NASA 

astronaut Ricky Arnold even deployed 

the Biomolecule Sequencer with a swab 

method that did not require growing the 

bacteria prior to sequencing. With this 

direct “swab to sequencer” method, the 

“

The initial work of 

DNA sequencing 

opened the door 

to using other 

molecular biology 

methods in space. 

DNA Sequencing in Space Timeline 

February 1953 - Francis Crick, James Watson, and Rosalind 

Franklin discover the double helix structure that makes up DNA. 

December 1977 - Frederick Sanger develops the frst DNA 

sequencing method to read the genome of a virus. 

July 1995 - First full bacterial genome sequenced (H. infuenzae) 

with shotgun sequencing, which breaks the genome into small 

fragments that are sequenced individually using the chain 

termination method, then reassembled. 

February 2012 - Oxford Nanopore Technologies debuts the frst 

nanopore sequencer that uses next-generation sequencing (NGS) 

with the MinION. 

April 2016 - As a part of the NASA WetLab-2 study, NASA astronaut 

Jeff Williams performs the frst RNA isolation in space from E.coli 

and collects data on the RNA expression levels in the microbe. 

April 2016 - DNA is amplifed for the frst time aboard station by 

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Tim Peake using the frst 

PCR machine sent to station by company miniPCR. 

August 2016- NASA astronaut Kate Rubin sequences DNA in space 

for the frst time. 

August 2017 - NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson combines the 

miniPCR and MinION, sequencing and identifying the frst unknown 

microbe from the station. 

August 2018 - NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold demonstrates 

Biomolecule Extraction and Sequencing Technology (BEST) by 

using culture-independent methods to sequence DNA on station 

for the frst time with a “swab to sequencer” method. This process 

speeds up the rate of sequencing, no longer requiring the time and 

resources needed to grow the bacteria prior to analysis. 

May 2019 - NASA astronaut Christina Koch performs the frst 

CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing on station, using yeast to mimic the 

effects of space radiation on human DNA. 

February 2021 - The crew performed more than 800 microbial 

sample collections throughout station for the 3DMM experiment. 

Scientists used DNA sequencing and other analyses to construct 

the frst comprehensive 3D map of bacteria and bacterial products 

throughout the station. 

NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold swabbed 

surfaces in the International Space Station 

to collect microbe samples. He then 

processed the microbial DNA using the 

Biomolecule Sequencer, a device that 

enables DNA sequencing in microgravity, 

to identify microbes able to survive in 

microgravity. Credit: NASA 

49 
“

While optimized 

microbiology 

procedures will 

help enable deep 

space exploration, 

developing an 

autonomous molecular 

laboratory is expected 

to beneft humanity on 

Earth as well. 

process becomes faster and simpler 

for crew members to identify microbes 

onboard the station. This method is 

now being evaluated to replace 

culture-based microbial monitoring 

that is currently conducted aboard 

the space station. 

While optimized microbiology 

procedures will help enable deep 

space exploration, developing an 

autonomous molecular laboratory 

is expected to beneft humanity on Earth 

as well. This could be especially true 

for remote communities and hospitals 

without a lot of technology or funding. 

“The ability to generate near-real-time 

molecular microbial data could provide 

a huge beneft toward understanding 

and responding to the antimicrobial 

resistance crisis and in resource-limited 

environments,” said Wallace. “It is great 

to see the parallels between our work 

and the work by other researchers that 

are implementing these tools in other 

diverse places. If you can do these 

types of investigations on the ocean 

foor, on the space station, or on a 

table in a remote village, you can do 

them anywhere.” 

Designing simple procedures that 

can be performed by crew members 

who may not be microbiologists and 

by workers anywhere who may not 

have genetics expertise broadens 

the capacity for disease testing in 

underdeveloped countries or remote 

settings on Earth. 

The NASA research team has gone 

on to collaborate with the Centers 

for Disease Control, looking into how 

streamlined procedures developed for 

the space station can be implemented 

to determine the cleanliness of hospital 

rooms. Using these microbial tracking 

methods in hospitals could provide a 

much faster turnaround time, even when 

implemented by untrained individuals. 

This capability might give hospitals the 

tools to detect microbes that may be 

resistant to antibiotics that could be 

present even after cleaning. 

“Surprises are embedded in basic 

research and exploration,” said Smith. 

“It could be establishing a more effcient 

workfow for microbial identifcation, 

or a useful pattern revealed in space 

that would otherwise be hidden on 

Earth. We never fully know what we are 

going to discover in spacefight and the 

potential benefts to humanity – and that 

is why it is worth doing.” 

A view at the cupola window of sample collection tubes containing swab samples of microbes for the 3DMM (Three-dimensional 

Microbial Monitoring of ISS Environment) investigation. The study analyzed and sequenced the DNA from bacteria swabbed from 

station surfaces to understand how microbes respond at a molecular level to specifc stress conditions, including altered gravity 

and atmospheric composition. Credit: NASA 

50 
Prefight fuorescence microscopy image 

of microbial bioflm, Sphingomonas 

desiccabilis, growing on a slide of basalt 

rock as part of the Biorock experiment. 

Organisms are stained with a DNA 

binding dye. Image Courtesy of ESA 

Harnessing the Power of 

Microbes for Mining 

From the creation of traditional tools 

like pickaxes and hammers to modern 

miniaturized electronics, civilization 

has always been dependent on 

mining, or extracting, metals from 

the Earth. Conventional mining methods 

relied on heavy machinery, fre, and 

human labor. However, scientists have 

learned to harness the natural power 

of microbes to help. This process, 

called biomining, is used on Earth as 

a more environmentally friendly and 

cost-effcient way of obtaining these 

necessary metals. The same process 

could make it possible to extract 

valuable elements from asteroids and 

allow astronauts to biomine materials 

they need on missions to the Moon 

and Mars. 

“Chemical methods of remediation 

can be very damaging, whereas 

bioremediation and bioleaching is 

environmentally friendly, and produces 

fewer toxins,” said Charles Cockell, 

Biorock principal investigator and 

professor at the UK Centre for 

Astrobiology at the University of 

Edinburgh. “It is low energy demand: 

you give the microbes some food, and 

they go about their business of mining.” 

While biomining has been used on Earth 

to address problems of pollution such 

as acid mine drainage, metal extraction 

in space may be more complicated, as 

microgravity could alter basic physical 

properties such as convection and liquid 

mixing, and potentially could change 

how microbes attach to surfaces or form 

the bioflms necessary for the extraction 

process. In 2019, the ESA (European 

Space Agency) Biorock investigation 

conducted onboard the space station 

demonstrated that microbes can extract 

elements from basalt, a common rock 

on the Moon and Mars. A follow-on ESA 

investigation, BioAsteroid, took it a step 

further and tested biomining on actual 

asteroid material. The team showed 

that not only is it possible for microbes 

to mine elements in space, but some 

microbes may even perform their task 

better under microgravity conditions. 

According to Cockell, this shows that it 

may be possible to perform biomining 

in space, including collecting rare 

elements from asteroids. The next 

step involves biomining in space on 

a larger scale 

“Right now, the bioreactors are very 

small. When we are using these 

bioreactors on a larger industrial 

scale, what would the effectiveness 

be on the surface of an asteroid?” 

said Cockell. “These results will help 

us better understand the mechanisms 

behind biomining and develop useful 

technology for Earth.” . 

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano installs 

the Biorock experiment KUBIK reactor in 

the space station’s Columbus module. 

The Biorock investigation is one in a 

series of experiments to gain insight into 

the physical interactions of liquid, rocks, 

and microorganisms under microgravity 

conditions for novel acquisition of 

materials in space. Credit: NASA 

51 
52 

ESA (European Space Agency) 

astronaut and Expedition 66 Flight 

Engineer Matthias Maurer shows off 

the Touch Array used for the Touching 

Surfaces experiment. The microbiology 

study investigates a suitable design for 

antimicrobial surfaces for future human 

space missions and space habitats, 

including a variety of applications on 

Earth. Credit: NASA 
Using Microgravity to Combat 

COVID-19 

Through isolation, astronauts are 

well protected from infection while 

aboard the International Space Station. 

However, COVID-19 still affected 

station research activities. In addition 

to conducting studies aimed at ensuring 

the safety of the crew, researchers used 

the microgravity lab to contribute to the 

fght against the virus. 

One experiment launched to the 

space station in December 2020 

examined the effciency of remdesivir, 

an intravenous antiviral drug currently 

approved by the Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) for the treatment 

of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. 

Using a commercially owned and 

operated research facility, Europe’s 

International Commercial Experiment 

Cubes (ICE Cubes), researchers from 

ESA (European Space Agency) tested 

the drug’s behavior in microgravity with 

the goal of increasing its effciency. 

Scientists studied the physical and 

chemical behaviors of the drug 

and how it interacts with a delivery 

substance, cyclodextrin, that makes 

remdesivir soluble in water. Soluble 

drugs can be dissolved into a solution 

and administered via IV and, once 

administered, move more easily 

through the patient’s bloodstream. 

Studying the interactions between 

remdesivir and cyclodextrin in 

microgravity could allow researchers 

to enhance the ratio of the drug to 

cyclodextrin. Decreasing the amount 

of cyclodextrin in the IV bag reduces 

the risk to coronavirus-infected patients 

with pre-existing kidney problems. 

Scientists leading another experiment 

already scheduled to be conducted 

aboard the station as the COVID-19 

pandemic began expanded their 

analysis to contribute to COVID-19 

research. Antimicrobial Coatings studied 

how effectively certain antimicrobial 

coatings could limit the growth and 

spread of pathogenic microbes on 

frequently touched surfaces. The study 

tested the coating on several materials 

representing high-touch surfaces in 

aircraft and spacecraft, such as tray 

tables, seat fabric, and belt buckles. 

During a 6-month period, crew 

members touched the samples every 

few days to encourage microbial 

growth. At the end of the experiment, 

the samples returned to a lab on Earth 

for analysis. This research was originally 

intended for use on space missions, but 

as the COVID-19 virus spread, scientists 

adapted the research to also test 

effectiveness in preventing the spread 

of viruses on surfaces as well. 

Additionally, several companies have 

demonstrated that their air-quality 

technologies developed for the space 

station could reduce the spread of 

COVID-19. A technology tested for 

detecting contaminants on the space 

station went on to be included in an air 

sensor used on Earth to generate a virus 

propagation risk index in shared spaces, 

letting people know to reduce crowding 

or take other steps to limit risk. 

The ESA ICE Cubes facility in the Columbus European Physiology Module where an 

experiment to improve the ratio of the antiviral drug remdesivir to a solubility agent 

could make it safer to administer to patients with pre-existing health issues such as 

kidney failure. Credit: NASA 

Airgloss’ air quality sensors work in 

conjunction with a thermostat to regulate 

ventilation and manage indoor air, 

sending alerts and reports. During the 

pandemic, the company learned how the 

sensors could calculate the risk of 

COVID-19 spread in certain spaces. 

Credit: Airgloss 

53 
54 55 

Advancing 

Human Health 

JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide working on Real-time Protein Crystal 

Growth Microscopy Plate S/N C1 Row B, Day 7. Credit: NASA -JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide 

On board the International Space Station, we help with 

development of medicine. Without gravity, we get larger 

chunks of pure protein crystals, which could accelerate 

“

the analysis and development process for new medicine. 
56 

NASA astronaut Christina Koch performs operations for Ring Sheared 

Drop, an investigation examining the formation and fow of amyloids in 

microgravity using surface tension rather than a solid container to hold 

liquids. Credit: NASA 
Space Station Leads to 

Breakthroughs in 

Human Health on Earth 

As a cup of water sits on the corner 

of a desk, gravity pulls the liquid down. 

The walls of the cup push back, keeping 

the water in place. Those of us living on 

Earth hardly give a second thought to 

these forces, but for scientists working 

to unravel the mysteries of disease, 

the effects of gravity and the forces 

of containers on scientifc samples 

may alter experimental results and 

hinder breakthrough discoveries. 

NASA’s Ring Sheared Drop experiment 

is helping overcome this hurdle. 

Researchers developed a device for 

use aboard the International Space 

Station that uses surface tension to 

contain the liquid rather than a solid 

container, something possible only 

in microgravity. 

The aim of this research was to create 

protein aggregations called amyloid 

fbrils. These fbrils form a waxy 

plaque in the brain believed to destroy 

neurons, a possible cause of Alzheimer’s 

disease. The study confrmed that the 

surface tension concept worked. 

This ability to process materials without 

containers in microgravity benefts other 

experiments, including those that grow 

protein crystals and microorganisms 

as well as studies of pharmaceutical 

manufacturing. 

Ring Sheared Drop is one of many 

investigations on the space station that 

have examined the causes, progression, 

and treatment of a variety of diseases, 

and explored basic mechanisms of 

human physiology. 

A new way to look at Alzheimer’s 

Researchers from around the world 

use the space station to address 

complex human health problems on 

Earth. Studies examining the formation 

of amyloids started after evidence 

suggested similarities between their 

formation and protein crystallization, 

a process already extensively studied 

in space. 

In preparation for the station 

experiment, Ring Sheared Drop 

hardware also was tested on parabolic 

fights in a collaboration between 

the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 

in New York and researchers from 

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center 

in Huntsville. These experiments 

tested and verifed novel concepts 

to accommodate fuid attachment to 

the metal rings for the space station 

experiment. In addition, the team 

plans to use results from these tests 

in designing additional investigations 

on the space station. In a ground-based 

lab, similar results were achieved using 

a drop of silicone oil in water (rather 

than a drop of liquid surrounded by 

air) to account for the effects of gravity. 

This approach does, however, introduce 

instabilities probably not present 

in microgravity. 

“So, we were able to simulate 

microgravity in one respect and 

make a ring sheared drop at the same 

scale in the lab as in space,” says 

principal investigator Amir Hirsa of 

the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

“But the protein solution we sent to 

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst exhales into an analyzer for the Airway Monitoring 

experiment, which studies airway infammation in crew members. The investigation 

could help keep crews safe on long-term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, 

and improve treatments for patients on Earth with asthma or other airway 

infammatory diseases. Credit: NASA 

57 
space is many orders of magnitude 

more viscous. So, you can match 

some but not all aspects of the space 

experiment. No surprise, heaven and 

Earth are not interchangeable: there is 

just no replacement for microgravity.” 

The Ring Sheared Drop device pins 

a drop of liquid between two rings 

and rotates one while keeping the 

other stationary to create shear fow, 

or a difference in velocity between 

adjacent liquid layers. Previous research 

shows that this shear fow plays a 

signifcant role in the early stages 

of amyloid formation. Creating the 

phenomenon is, therefore, an essential 

feature of the device, Hirsa explains. 

Other researchers already are using 

the method to examine actual transport 

of amyloid plaque in the brain, and it 

could ultimately beneft development 

of pharmaceuticals. “Our study may 

inform drug development, looking at 

how plaque can be transported out, 

and whether its transport causes 

more harm than good.” 

Hirsa notes that drugs for removing 

amyloid plaque from the brain have 

already been developed. “The idea of 

transport or fow of amyloid fbrils from 

a diseased brain is not a pipe dream, 

it is a focus of pharmaceutical 

research,” he says. “Our work is 

one brick in a very large wall.” 

The Japan Aerospace Exploration 

Agency (JAXA) Amyloid study and 

the Amyloid Aggregation study, a 

collaboration between the Italian 

Space Agency (ASI) and ESA (European 

Space Agency), also analyzed amyloid 

fbrils formed in microgravity. Amyloid 

results published in 2020 reveal that 

fbrils form distinct structures and grow 

more slowly in microgravity, making the 

space station an ideal environment for 

detailed analysis of the mechanisms 

of how they form. Such analysis also 

“

Research aimed 

at protecting the 

lungs and airways of 

astronauts is helping 

people with asthma 

and other breathing 

issues on Earth. 

could contribute to the development of 

new pharmaceuticals aimed at inhibiting 

amyloid fbril formation. 

Breathing easier in space and 

on Earth 

Research aimed at protecting the 

lungs and airways of astronauts is 

helping people with asthma and other 

breathing issues on Earth. For ESA’s 

Airway Monitoring study, which builds 

on results from earlier NOA-1 and NOA-2 

experiments conducted aboard the 

International Space Station, researchers 

at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute 

collaborated with medical technologists 

and developed an instrument that 

measures exhaled air for nitric oxide. 

Clinics and hospitals already use the 

device as a quick, low-cost tool to help 

diagnose infamed lungs and asthma, 

and testing the technique in space adds 

data for improving its use on Earth. 

Astronauts breathed into the device in 

the reduced pressure of an airlock to 

simulate conditions in future habitats 

on the Moon or Mars. Lead investigator 

Lars Karlsson of Sweden’s Karolinska 

Institute hopes that the experiment 

opens new felds of research in reduced 

pressure in space. Exhaled nitric oxide 

measurements also could be used to 

identify the most effective molecules for 

use in drugs to treat infamed airways 

and lungs. 

NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor works on AngieX Cancer Therapy, a study 

testing a safer, more effective treatment that targets tumor cells and blood vessels. 

Credit: NASA 

“One group of experiments that I enjoy 

most are those where we investigate our 

own human systems to help people with 

illnesses on Earth,” says ESA astronaut 

Alex Gerst, who participated in the 

Airway Monitoring investigation. 

“It’s another example of how we need to 

fy to space to help people down here.” 

Toward better cancer treatments 

Cancer is a leading cause of death 

in the United States, accounting for 

hundreds of thousands of deaths each 

year. The International Space Station 

National Laboratory is advancing cancer 

research through studies that cultivate 

stem cells for possible therapeutic 

applications, crystallize proteins for 

improved drug discovery and delivery, 

and test therapies to fnd those that 

work better or have fewer side effects. 

Other projects seek to improve 3D cell 

culturing for more accurate drug testing 

that could reduce the failure rate of 

current drug discovery efforts. 

Angiex, Inc. of Cambridge, 

Massachusetts, developed a treatment 

targeting the blood supply of tumor 

cells, which kills cancer cells by 

depriving them of oxygen and nutrients. 

The company’s AngieX Cancer 

Therapy investigation took advantage 

of the space station’s microgravity 

environment to culture endothelial cells, 

which line the walls of blood vessels, to 

58 
see whether they might provide a valid 

model to help develop safer and more 

cost-effective cancer treatments. 

“When scientists try to grow endothelial 

cells on the ground, they don’t live for 

very long. One of the things we tested 

on orbit is whether the cells grow better 

in space,” says NASA astronaut Serena 

Auñón-Chancellor. “Endothelial cells 

help provide blood supply, and tumors 

need blood supply to get bigger. If we 

can stop that tumor blood supply from 

growing, then we can help beat that 

cancer. All of us have had someone 

affected by cancer, whether a family 

member or friend, and we’re always 

thinking of how we can fght it. 

One way is if we can grow these 

cells on orbit and use them to test 

new drugs that can prevent that blood 

supply from growing.” 

AngieX is only one of many 

investigations on the space station 

seeking better treatments for cancer. 

Endothelial Cells, an ESA experiment 

that examined how cultured endothelial 

cells react to spacefight, made 

modifcations to the culturing hardware 

that can be put to use by these types 

of biomedical experiments in space. 

Insight into the immune system 

Astronauts experience impaired 

immune function in space. Impaired 

immune response also happens with 

aging on Earth. Space offers a unique 

advantage to studying this aging-related 

immune suppression since conditions 

that normally develop over decades 

happen quickly there. A growing body 

of research takes advantage of this fact. 

ESA’s Leukin-2 experiment 

demonstrated that microgravity has 

a fundamental effect on activation 

of T-cells, which are involved in 

turning on and off the immune system. 

Control samples also few to the space 

station and were cultured in a centrifuge 

to simulate normal gravity to eliminate 

the effects of factors such as the stress 

of launch and increased radiation 

exposure in space. 

“We were able to look specifcally at 

what microgravity is doing to the cells,” 

says Tammy T. Chang, a researcher 

at the University of California, San 

Francisco, and an author on several 

papers related to Leukin-2. “This study 

added an important piece of information 

to immune dysregulation seen in 

astronauts, that the cells themselves 

are sensitive to the presence or absence 

of gravity on a molecular level.” 

The same mechanisms may be 

behind immune dysregulation on 

Earth. “Researchers may be able to 

use microgravity to enhance selfassembly of complex tissues to study 

various human diseases,” Chang says. 

Ultimately, this type of research could 

lead to drugs that turn up the immune 

response for immunosuppressed 

patients or turn it down to treat 

autoimmune or infammatory disease. 

Another ESA investigation, Immuno, 

also observed T-cell changes in space. 

Increased understanding of how stress 

affects the immune system could help 

people on Earth as well as support 

development of drugs to counter 

immune system changes for longduration spacefight. 

Protecting muscles and bones 

The ISS National Lab sponsored Mighty 

Mice in Space investigation showed that 

blocking a specifc molecular signaling 

pathway involved in maintaining muscle 

and bone protected astronauts against 

bone and muscle loss in microgravity, 

and even stimulated growth. Results 

suggest that this strategy could prevent 

and treat such loss in people on Earth 

as well. 

“A key take home is that blocking this 

pathway, which we knew would be 

effective in stimulating increased bone 

and muscle mass on Earth, is just as 

effective in microgravity,” says principal 

investigator Se-Jin Lee at The Jackson 

Laboratory for Genomic Medicine in 

Connecticut. He explains that a number 

of drug candidates targeting this 

pathway already have been developed 

and tested in clinical trials, with mixed 

results. “One trial showed promising 

results, but the drug needs to be 

tweaked to avoid side effects. There is 

still a fair amount of work to be done 

to pursue this strategy for treating 

muscle loss. We have some amazing 

data on the magnitude of the effect 

on the ground and in space and 

hope it will stimulate a lot of drug 

development activity.” 

Increasingly, researchers from 

companies small and large, institutions, 

government agencies, and other 

organizations leverage microgravity to 

address complex human health issues 

on Earth. By providing a platform for 

long-term microgravity research, the 

space station fosters breakthroughs 

that yield direct benefts to people on 

Earth. Remove gravity from the equation 

and we can see out-of-this-world 

breakthroughs. 

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir installs the Bone Densitometer that enables the 

imaging of rodent bones for Mighty Mice in Space. The investigation studies two 

proteins that may prevent muscle and bone loss in space. Credit: NASA 

59 
 

Additional space station research contributing to improved human health on the ground: 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION BENEFITS 

ESA Brain-DTI 

ESA EDOS-2 

ESA ETD 

IGAR 

ESA MARES 

ESA MUSCLE 

BIOPSY 

Tests the theory that the human brain uses Results show signifcant differences in upper-brain 

previously untapped neural connections structures pre- and post-fight that could affect 

to adapt to space, examining changes in long-term health and vision. A better understanding 

brain structure before and after spacefight. of neuroplasticity, or the ability of the brain to adapt, 

could advance other areas of neurological research. 

Used a noninvasive technique tested Monitoring bone loss can inform diet and exercise 

in the EDOS investigation to examine programs used to counteract this loss in space and 

whether astronauts continue to lose provide early detection of osteoporosis on Earth. 

bone when they return to Earth and The scanner used has already been successfully 

when recovery occurs. commercialized by Scanco Medical in Switzerland. 

The unique qualities of the scanner have led to its use 

in non-biomedical research applications, including 

nondestructive imaging of ancient Egyptian mummies. 

Examined how microgravity affects the The investigation used a special headset to track eye 

ability to keep the eyes on a fxed point movement that proved ideal for tracking eye position 

while tilting or shaking the head. This ability in laser eye surgery without interfering with the 

relies on the vestibular system, or inner surgeon, and is now being used in corrective 

ear and nerves that maintain balance laser surgeries throughout the world. 

and orientation. 

Developed by the Canadian Space A Phase I clinical trial showed IGAR is safe, 

Agency and Centre for Surgical Innovation accurate, and effective and CSii is working on 

and Invention (CSii), this surgical fnal U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

robot acts autonomously after being approval. The technology could be applied to 

programmed by a physician to perform imaging and treatment for a variety of cancers, 

highly accurate and minimally invasive including prostate and liver, and eventually enable 

procedures such as a biopsy. remote emergency surgery in isolated environments 

or during natural disasters. 

A device that monitors muscle speed and The next generation of space exercise machines 

force as astronauts exercise in an effort is likely to include variable counterforce capability, 

to determine muscle strength decreases and MARES can be used for preliminary testing of 

during spacefight. the technique. 

Analyzes expression of nitric oxide, Improved understanding of loss of muscle mass in 

a signaling molecule linked to muscle space could support development of more effective 

activity, in human skeletal muscle countermeasures for astronauts and provide insight 

before and after spacefight. into certain muscular conditions on Earth. 

60 
NASA astronaut Victor Glover reviews 

procedures for a PCG study of therapeutic 

monoclonal antibodies. Widely used for 

disease diagnosis and treatment, many 

monoclonal antibody formulations have a 

short shelf life, increasing cost and limiting 

where these pharmaceuticals can be 

provided to patients. Credit: NASA 

Crystallizing Proteins in Space 

Helping to Identify Potential 

Treatments for Diseases 

Crystals could make possible new and better versions of existing 

drugs to treat conditions from muscular dystrophy to cancer 

Our bodies contain thousands of types effective medicine with fewer side experiments as of 2021 – by far the 

of proteins. Proteins are involved in effects. To achieve that ft, scientists largest single category of experiments 

every aspect of our lives, including as need detailed knowledge of the conducted on the station. 

essential components of our immune structure of both proteins, and one Determining the protein structure by system and as part of viruses that of the best ways to analyze a protein X-ray diffraction requires the diffraction 

can make us sick. When we take a structure is to grow it in crystalline form. pattern from a protein crystal. The better medication, it binds to a specifc protein During the Space Shuttle and Mir a crystal diffracts X-rays, the more 

in the body. This process changes programs, researchers discovered accurately this method can determine the protein’s function – and if it works that they could produce higher quality the structure of the protein. Since 2005, 

properly, makes us well. protein crystals in microgravity than the Kristallizator program from the State 

In many diseases, the proteins that on Earth. For more than two decades Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS 

can trigger the disease state ft into now, the International Space Station (ROSCOSMOS) has created single 

very specifc locations, like a biological has continued to serve as a platform for protein crystals especially suited for 

keyhole, and the protein of a potential growing crystals for research purposes. this analysis. Growing the crystals in 

drug for treating that disease must be Drug companies and academic microgravity signifcantly improves their 

designed to ft that keyhole. A good ft researchers alike have conducted more quality and allows for greater threeof key and keyhole results in a more than 500 protein crystal growth (PCG) dimensional resolution during analysis. 

61 
One outcome of the Kristallizator 

studies has been the growth of crystals 

that helped determine the structure 

of a target for anti-tuberculosis drugs. 

According to the U.S. Centers for 

Disease Control, more than 1 million 

people die from tuberculosis annually. 

It is diffcult to treat because tuberculosis 

bacteria quickly adapt to medications. 

This ROSCOSMOS study revealed 

that the channel in the center of the 

molecule where the components of the 

reaction are bound changes its diameter 

during the reaction. Understanding this 

process could help scientists develop 

a treatment. 

PCG research from many countries 

is showing promise for creating 

medications and treatments for a 

variety of diseases, including Duchenne 

Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a currently 

incurable genetic disorder. A Japan 

Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) 

study of the crystal structure of the 

protein associated with DMD provided 

hints for compounds that could inhibit it. 

Yoshihiro Urade, professor at the 

University of Tsukuba in Tsukuba, 

Japan, used those hints to design 

several promising compounds, including 

TAS-205. A 2015 study verifed the 

safety of TAS-205 for use in humans, 

and a clinical trial in human patients 

was completed in 2017. The research 

team estimates the drug may slow the 

progression of DMD by half, potentially 

doubling the lifespan of many patients. 

Co-investigator Mitsugu Yamada of 

JAXA says a larger Phase 3 trial to 

examine the effectiveness of TAS-205 

in situations similar to actual clinical 

use began in December 2020 and will 

continue until 2027. 

Overall, the JAXA PCG investigation 

has studied protein crystal growth in 

microgravity for more than 20 years, 

providing precise structures of many 

“

The research team 

estimates the 

drug may slow the 

progression of DMD 

by half, potentially 

doubling the lifespan 

of many patients. 

protein types and leading to the 

discovery of potential drugs for breast 

cancer and periodontal or gum disease 

in addition to muscular dystrophy. 

While details are yet to be disclosed, 

Yamada says development of those 

drugs is going well, with some in 

preclinical trials. 

In addition to creating completely 

new treatments, PCG research on 

station can lead to the formulation of 

drugs that are easier to store and last 

longer. For example, formulas that are 

stable at room temperature for long 

periods of time eliminate the need 

for refrigeration, lowering cost and 

simplifying distribution. Refrigerated 

drugs degrade over time and sometimes 

must be discarded, also increasing 

cost and limiting access for patients. 

An investigation sponsored by the 

International Space Station National 

Laboratory, CASIS PCG 19, examined 

the stability of monoclonal antibody 

formulations. Monoclonal antibodies 

are drugs made from large, complex 

molecules taken from living organisms 

such as microbes or human or animal 

cells. CASIS PCG 19 could reveal the 

processes that lead to their degradation 

and, ultimately, help identify ways to 

slow it down. 

Also sponsored by the ISS National 

Laboratory, PCG-5 focused on another 

aspect of drug formulation: how a drug 

is given to the patient. The study worked 

to grow a more uniform crystalline form 

of the monoclonal antibody Keytruda®, 

which is used to treat several types of 

cancers, including melanoma and lung 

cancer. Monoclonal antibodies do not 

dissolve easily in liquid. That makes 

it diffcult to create a drug that can be 

given via an injection in a doctor’s offce 

rather than having the patient spend 

hours in a clinic setting to receive the 

drug intravenously. PCG-5 produced 

high-quality crystalline suspensions 

that could make possible delivery of 

Keytruda® by injection, not only making 

treatment more convenient for patients 

and caregivers, but also signifcantly 

reducing cost. 

Based on the success of PCG-5, 

Reichert and his team conducted 

a follow-up experiment, PCG 20, 

on the space station in 2022. 

PCG 20 investigated other variables 

in microgravity with additional methods 

targeted at understanding how to create 

higher order, purer, and more uniform 

crystalline suspensions of Keytruda® 

JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi works in 

the JAXA Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) 

Glove Bag to mix a sample for the JAXA 

Moderate Temperature Protein 

Crystallization Growth experiment. 

Credit: NASA 

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet removes 

canisters from the Protein Crystallization 

Research Facility (PCRF) for handover to 

ROSCOSMOS cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy. 

Image was taken during JAXA-PCG and 

Kristallizator experiment operations. 

Credit: NASA 

62 
on Earth. This work is ongoing, as is 

research on other potential therapeutics, 

according to principal investigator 

Paul Reichert of Merck Research 

Laboratories. 

Reichert has been involved in 

microgravity research for more than 

25 years, frst aboard the space shuttle 

and then more advanced research 

aboard station. He says he uncovers 

something new with every experiment. 

“It is the unexpected that keeps me 

coming back.” 

He focuses on using his experiences 

and results to promote use of the 

space station for research by others. 

“The Merck team developed simple 

research hardware and processes 

for our own research and to entice 

a broader group of scientists from 

other disciplines into microgravity 

research,” Reichert said. “We also 

design experiments such that we can 

publish our results to the research 

community and general public. I think 

there are a lot of microgravity research 

opportunities and I am going to continue 

to try to encourage people in diverse 

scientifc areas to think about how they 

could beneft and learn from doing 

microgravity research.” 

JAXA also has worked to increase 

interest in PCG research. 

“In recent years, we have been 

developing membrane protein 

crystallization technology and are 

preparing to provide it as a standard 

service to many researchers,” Yamada 

says. “We believe that this will lead to 

further results from space experiments.” 

A crystal structure of E. coli thymidine 

phosphorylase is shown. 

Credit: ROSCOSMOS 

In addition to showing promise in 

drug development, the JAXA work on 

crystallizing proteins in microgravity 

inspired development of an artifcial 

albumin. Albumin is the most abundant 

protein in blood, but it is diffcult to 

crystallize on Earth. Researchers used 

the space station to crystalize albumin 

from cats and dogs to better understand 

the structures of these proteins and how 

they are made. The work has potential 

applications in veterinary medicine. 

“Human serum albumin preparation is 

manufactured from donated blood and 

is widely used in clinical practice,” says 

Teruyuki Komatsu, a professor at Chuo 

University in Japan and co-author on 

a paper reporting the results. “There 

is no Red Cross Society for dogs and 

cats, though, and veterinarians in animal 

hospitals have trouble providing blood 

transfusion treatments. This could help 

solve the shortage of animal blood.” 

The artifcial albumin must be 

manufactured in large quantities 

with high purity, and so far, cost 

has prohibited large-scale testing 

in animals, Komatsu explains. 

Other studies aboard the space 

station advance the feld of protein 

crystallization itself. The LMM 

Biophysics-2 experiment team found 

a new, faster process for growing 

high-quality crystals of an antipsychotic 

drug aboard the space station. 

This process could provide a better 

understanding of the underlying 

chemistry of the drug and lead 

Protein crystals formed in microgravity in the space station’s Kibo Module. 

Credit: JAXA 

STS-61C payload specialist and thenU.S. Representative Bill Nelson 

(D-Florida) prepares to photograph 

samples of the Handheld Protein Crystal 

Growth (HPCG) Experiment on space 

shuttle Columbia. Credit: NASA 

to improved medications to treat 

psychiatric disorders. 

Availability of the space station as 

a platform for growing high-quality 

protein crystals continues to be key to 

bringing people on Earth new and better 

treatments for diseases. 

63 
64 

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins works 

on the Cardinal Heart study, which 

seeks to help scientists understand 

the aging and weakening of heart 

muscles in the search for new 

treatments for astronauts and 

people on Earth. Credit: NASA 
Tissue Chips Investigate 

Diseases, Test Drugs 

on the Space Station 

Small devices that mimic functions 

of human organs help researchers 

understand the progression of various 

diseases and provide a faster and safer 

alternative to preparing drugs for 

clinical trials. 

Tiny canisters of beating human heart 

cells that few on the International 

Space Station could help scientists 

understand abnormalities in heart cells 

and tissues that can lead to disease on 

Earth. The Cardinal Heart investigation 

used these engineered heart tissues 

(EHTs), a type of tissue chip, to examine 

how microgravity affects heart cells. 

Tissue chips are small devices 

containing living cells that mimic 

complex functions of specifc human 

tissues and organs. In microgravity, 

cells assemble differently than they do 

in laboratories on Earth and behave 

more like they do when inside the body. 

That makes the space station a unique 

platform for studies using these devices. 

Tissue chips also make up an important 

aspect of tissue engineering, which uses 

a combination of living cells and other 

materials to restore, maintain, improve, 

or replace biological tissues. 

Cardinal Heart confrmed that 

microgravity caused changes to 

the EHTs. The next step, explains 

principal investigator Joseph Wu, 

director of Stanford Cardiovascular 

Institute, is testing whether certain 

drugs can prevent these altered effects 

during spacefight and, eventually, help 

people with problems such as cardiac 

atrophy on Earth. 

Using tissue chips to test the effect of 

drugs could help reduce the need for 

the animal studies that precede clinical 

trials in humans, currently the standard 

for approval of new drugs. Despite 

favorable results in pre-clinical animal 

studies, about 30% of medications 

are found to be toxic in human clinical 

trials and some 60% do not have the 

intended effect on humans. 

“Tissue chips test potential drug 

candidates for human response 

and toxicity in a way that is more 

predictable,” says Siobhan Malany, 

principal investigator for Human Muscle 

on a Chip, which tested the feasibility 

of using accelerated muscle weakness 

in space to study age-related muscle 

decline on Earth. “So many drugs fail 

because of a lack of human effcacy 

or because of toxicity. Tissue chip 

technology is really flling that gap 

from early discovery to the clinic. 

Because tissue chips are robust, 

three-dimensional, and micro-scale, 

we can send many of these experiments 

up for longer periods of time to observe 

long-term and chronic effects.” 

ESA (European Space Agency) 

developed its own experiment unit 

(EU) to culture cells in space. The 

SPHEROIDS investigation used EUs 

to examine the effects of microgravity 

on the function of endothelial cells. 

Endothelial cells line the inner surface 

of blood vessels and play a key role 

in vessel structure and regulation of 

blood pressure. Results published in 

the journal Biomaterials showed that 

endothelial cells formed 3D structures 

in the EUs with good viability for the 

14-day test. The investigation also 

confrmed the functionality of the 

automatic medium exchange and 

fxation procedures. EUs could play 

a role like that of tissue chips in drug 

testing and research in pharmacology, 

toxicology, and radiation biology. 

Malany plans a follow-up space station 

investigation to test whether a steroid 

NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor sets up for Culturing of Human Myocytes 

in Microgravity, an experiment aiming to better understand muscle growth and 

repair in microgravity. Credit: NASA 

65 
derived from tomato plants, Tomatidine, 

improves muscle mass. “Basically, the 

same set of tissue chips will go back 

up to space. One gets the treatment 

and one does not, and we can look at 

specifc responses and any toxicity,” 

she says. 

A type of tissue chip with human knee 

cartilage developed for a study of 

post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is 

helping advance development of drugs 

to treat the condition. PTOA can occur 

when traumatic joint injury leads to loss 

of cartilage and bone. It affects millions 

of people of all ages and is believed to 

be initiated by a “cytokine storm,” an 

over-response of the immune system 

following an impact injury such as a fall. 

International Space Station National 

Laboratory sponsored experiment 

MVP Cell-01 showed that low doses 

of dexamethasone, a potent antiinfammatory, dramatically suppressed 

levels of cytokine in the knee following 

injury. A follow-up investigation 

combined the drug with a growth 

factor, and researchers plan to propose 

a clinical trial for the combination. 

“Half of the drug development battle 

is discovery,” says principal investigator 

Alan Grodzinsky, a professor in the 

Department of Biological Engineering 

at Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology. “The other half is drug 

delivery: in this case, a technique 

to get a low dose of the drug into 

the cartilage. We can use this chip 

system to test delivering the drugs 

with nanoparticles. Using a real human 

system has many advantages over 

using animal ones for these studies. 

In the not-too-distant future, this work 

should lead to treatments for PTOA.” 

Tissue chips provide faster results 

as well. “When you use a tissue chip 

platform, fabrication takes a few days,” 

says Dilip Thomas, a post-doctoral 

researcher in Wu’s lab at Stanford 

University. “Then, after you start treating 

it with drugs, depending on what 

measure you are looking at, you can 

have an entire set of data in one month.” 

Tissue chip studies on the space station 

take advantage of the fact that many of 

the changes that microgravity causes in 

the human body resemble aging-related 

diseases on Earth but happen much 

faster. Researchers can model changes 

in days or weeks rather than months 

or years. 

“Microgravity accelerates disease 

processes and also uncovers potential 

new targets for drugs. We can look at 

disease pathologies in a way that we 

can’t do here on Earth,” says Lucie 

Low, scientifc program manager at the 

National Institutes of Health’s National 

Center for Advancing Translational 

Sciences (NCATS). NCATS partners 

with the ISS National Lab on the Tissue 

Chips in Space program, which funds 

these tissue chip studies. The program 

NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan services heart cell samples for the MVP Cell-03 

experiment, which induces stem cells to generate heart precursor cells and cultures 

those cells on the space station. Credit: NASA 

Canadian Space Agency astronaut 

David Saint-Jacques processes samples 

for MVP Cell-01, which studies the 

effects of spacefight on musculoskeletal 

disease as part of efforts to develop 

drugs to prevent Post-traumatic 

Osteoarthritis, a loss of cartilage and 

bone cause by a traumatic joint injury. 

Credit: NASA 

seeks to understand how microgravity 

affects human health and disease 

and to translate that understanding to 

improved human health on Earth. 

STaARS BioScience-7 sent tissue chips 

to space to imitate aging of immune 

cells and confrmed that the cells age 

in microgravity and so provide a model 

for studying the process. 

“We know the pathways involved, 

now we want to know whether we can 

prevent or even reverse the aging of 

immune system stem cells, which play a 

role in repairing our bodies and healing 

wounds,” says principal investigator 

Sonja Schrepfer, a professor at the 

University of California San Francisco. 

Even young people can have aged 

immune systems, for example if a latent 

virus continuously activates the immune 

system. Schrepfer plans a follow-up 

experiment that will bring tissue chips 

back from space without freezing them. 

“We know they will be aged, and we 

will look at whether we can reverse 

that back in the lab so that stem cells 

behave normally and repair a wound or 

blood vessels at normal speed. The goal 

is to fully understand a molecule that we 

can eliminate or a pathway to block to 

prevent aging effects,” she says. 

From the heart to the immune system, 

muscles, bones and more, these tiny 

stand-ins for human tissues are bringing 

about big results. 

66 
Astronaut Karen Nyberg, Expedition 37 fight engineer, 

performs an Ocular Health (OH) Ultrasound 2 scan in 

the Destiny laboratory of the International Space 

Station. Astronaut Chris Cassidy is visible in the 

background, assisting with the exam. 

Credit: NASA 

Ultrasound Scans in Space 

Transform Medicine on Earth 

For people who live in major cities with 

fully equipped hospitals, access to 

quick and accurate medical imaging 

technology is not usually a problem. 

However, for those without medical 

facilities within easy reach, getting 

access to this technology can mean 

the difference between life and death. 

For astronauts in orbit aboard the 

International Space Station, that 

problem was addressed through the 

Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in 

Microgravity (ADUM) study. Astronauts 

were trained to use a small ultrasound 

unit to examine fellow crew members. 

In the event of a health concern, 

astronauts can use this unit to 

diagnose many injuries and illnesses 

with the help of doctors on Earth. 

In partnership with the World Interactive 

Network Focused on Critical Ultrasound 

(WINFOCUS), ADUM principal 

investigator Scott Dulchavsky took 

techniques developed for station 

International Space Station Crew Surgeon Dr. James Pattarini and NASA astronaut 

Serena Auñón-Chancellor test the Butterfy IQ ultrasound in the medical tent at the 

landing site in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA 

67 
WINFOCUS and Henry Ford Innovation 

Institute members, Dr. Luca Neri and 

Alberta Spreafco, work with Kathleen 

Garcia from Wyle Engineering to help 

train Dr. Chamorro from the rural 

community of Las Salinas, Nicaragua, 

using the ADUM and tele-ultrasound 

applications. Credits: WINFOCUS/ 

Missions of Grace 

astronauts and adapted them for use 

in remote areas on Earth by developing 

protocols for rapidly performing 

complex procedures with remote 

expert guidance and training. 

WINFOCUS has evolved the 

telemedicine and remote guidance 

techniques developed for use on the 

space station to allow use in large-scale 

healthcare systems on Earth through 

low-cost applications. Using the ADUM 

methods, WINFOCUS has trained more 

than 45,000 physicians and physician 

extenders in over 60 countries. 

As local healthcare providers are 

empowered, more patients can access 

quality and timely diagnostic care, 

and the healthcare system is made 

more effcient. 

Sports medicine is also using these 

processes. Initially, ADUM-based 

ultrasound and remote guidance training 

were provided to non-physician athletic 

trainers for the Detroit Red Wings, 

Tigers, and Lions. These diagnostic 

capabilities were extended for use in 

the Olympic Games. An athletic trainer 

was remotely guided to perform a scan 

on a skier with an injured leg. The scan 

confrmed that she could continue to 

compete, and she won a gold medal 

three days later. 

The impact of ADUM is even felt 

in emergency rooms by proving 

the effectiveness of ultrasound in 

diagnosing conditions previously 

considered beyond its technical 

capabilities, such as a collapsed lung. 

ADUM protocols have proven so 

Using ADUM protocols, NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao performs an ultrasound 

examination of the eye on cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov. Credit: NASA 

effective that they are now part of the 

standard medical school curriculum: 

The American College of Surgeons, 

which requires ultrasound training for 

all surgical interns and residents, is 

using the ADUM program. 

Building on this success, the upgraded 

Butterfy IQ Ultrasound is now being 

tested aboard station in preparation 

for deep space missions and in the 

feld for taking data when astronauts 

return to Earth. Higher ultrasound image 

quality has historically been dependent 

on multiple probes and hardware too 

cumbersome for typical feld conditions. 

Unlike past generations of ultrasound 

machines, Butterfy IQ has a single 

universal probe that works well on 

all organs, tissues, and blood vessels. 

The technology demonstration on 

the space station tests the use of this 

portable ultrasound in conjunction 

with a mobile computing device in 

microgravity. The investigation also 

collects crew feedback on ease of 

handling and quality of the ultrasound 

images, including image acquisition, 

display, and storage. 

The combination of ADUM and new 

ultrasound technologies like Butterfy IQ 

will be a force multiplier for expanding 

access to diagnostic healthcare to areas 

previously left unattended, including 

deep space. 

68 
Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev uses the Eye 

Tracking Device (ETD), an ESA (European 

Space Agency) payload in the Zvezda 

Service Module of the International Space 

Station. The ETD is used to measure eye 

and head movements in space with great 

accuracy and precision. Credit: NASA 

Improving Eye Surgery 

with Space Technology 

ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter conducts 

the Eye Tracking Device experiment on 

the space station in 2006. Credit: ESA 

Laser surgery to improve eyesight is 

widespread, and technology developed 

for use in space is now commonly used 

on Earth to track the patient’s eye and 

precisely direct the laser scalpel during 

the procedure. 

The human eye can hold steady so a 

person can see a fxed point clearly, 

even while tilting or shaking his or 

her head. This refex requires the brain 

to constantly interpret information from 

the inner ear to maintain balance and 

stable vision. An essential feature of this 

sensory system is the use of gravity as 

a reference. 

The ESA (European Space Agency) Eye 

Tracking Device experiment researched 

mechanisms involved in this process 

and how the brain’s frames of reference 

are altered in space. The experiment 

used a specially designed headset ftted 

with image-processing chips that track 

the eyes without interfering with the 

wearer’s normal work. Results showed 

that balance and the overall control of 

eye movements are indeed affected 

by microgravity. These two systems 

work closely together under typical 

gravity conditions, but microgravity 

can cause them to become somewhat 

disassociated. 

The engineers realized that in parallel 

with its use on the space station, the 

device had potential for applications 

on Earth, including tracking eye position 

without interfering with the surgeon’s 

work in laser surgery. The Eye Tracking 

Device equipment is now used in many 

corrective laser surgeries throughout 

the world. 

69 
70 71 

View of Kayla Barron during pre-extravehicular 

activity operations during Expedition 66. 

Matthias Maurer and Mark Vande Hei are Space 24/7/365 in the background. Credit: NASA 

I think there is no better possible training for 

Artemis and for our return to the Moon than 

being aboard the International Space Station. 

“

-NASA astronaut Kayla Barron 
72 

NASA astronaut Victor Glover works 

with Honey, one of the free-fying 

Astrobee robots on the space station. 

The Astrobees support a variety of 

technology tests and demonstrations, 

including Astrobatics, which develops 

a new method of robotic propulsion. 

Credit: NASA
Technology Tested in Space 

is Preparing Us for the Moon 

and Mars 

Robots, computers, health monitors, life support systems among 

the technologies advancing in space and on the ground 

NASA astronaut Victor Glover spent 

six months aboard the International 

Space Station in 2020 and 2021. 

While there, he worked on technology 

demonstrations that could play a big 

role in future lunar exploration. As a 

member of the Artemis team, NASA’s 

group of astronauts selected for 

missions to the Moon, Glover could 

directly beneft from those tests. 

“I enjoyed looking at the design of 

experiments from an engineering 

standpoint,” Glover says. “There is 

always the chance to do something 

more effciently or use a tool differently, 

some little puzzle to be solved every 

day. I really enjoyed knowing that, 

as crew members, we help advance 

technology to take us farther into 

space and improve life on Earth.” 

The space station offers a unique 

platform for trying out new technology 

in space. Expertise and hands-on 

experience gained by astronauts and 

cosmonauts working and living in space 

long-term provide an added beneft for 

future missions beyond low Earth-orbit. 

One investigation on which Glover 

worked, Astrobatics, uses the 

space station’s Astrobee robots to 

demonstrate robotic propulsion via 

hopping or self-toss maneuvers. 

Robotics have a wide range of 

applications inside and outside a 

spacecraft. Currently, these automated 

helpers use fan-based propulsion, 

ducted fans, or zero-g climbing, which 

involves grasping handrails with robotic 

manipulators. Hopping requires less 

maneuvering, can be faster, and allows 

a robot to avoid areas that cannot be 

traversed using microgravity climbing, 

such as those without suffcient holds 

or with obstacles. 

“People all over the world worked 

on Astrobatics,” Glover says. “We all 

approached it as, ‘We are going to 

learn something.’ The Astrobees are 

great. They are modular, so we can put 

different systems and parts on them. 

That technology and that team are a 

pleasure to work with.” 

Human astronauts have somewhat 

different needs from their robotic 

assistants, and researchers have tested 

a number of technologies to monitor the 

health of crew members and keep them 

safe on long spacefights. Canadian 

Space Agency (CSA) astronaut David 

Saint-Jacques was the frst to test the 

CSA’s Bio-Monitor, a system using 

wearable sensors to monitor crew health 

without interfering with daily activities or 

taking up a lot of time. The technology 

includes a smart shirt and dedicated 

tablet application. 

Bio-Monitor records the wearer’s 

physical activity, heart rate, and 

respiration; takes regular blood 

pressure readings; and estimates 

arterial stiffness. Researchers can use 

these data to assess an individual’s 

metabolism and vascular health, and 

perhaps identify and detect biomarkers 

that may predict early signs of 

cardiovascular aging. 

Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques testing the Bio-Monitor, 

wearable technology designed to measure and record astronauts’ vital signs. 

Credits: CSA/NASA 

73 
“The Bio Monitor is a one-stop shop 

for tracking what is going on with our 

bodies,” says Saint-Jacques. “Similar 

technology could eventually be used to 

monitor athletes, workers in dangerous 

environments, or patients in remote 

localities on Earth.” 

A primary hazard of spacefight – for 

people and equipment – is radiation. 

The AstroRad Vest investigation tests 

a vest designed to protect astronauts 

from radiation, gathering feedback 

from astronauts about how easy the 

garment is to put on, its ft and feel, and 

the range of motion it allows. AstroRad 

complements MARE, a partnership 

involving NASA, the Israel Space 

Agency, and the German Aerospace 

Center (DLR), to characterize the 

radiation environment astronauts are 

expected to experience on Artemis-1. 

A variety of other technologies add to 

radiation protection, including a study 

called A-HoSS that evaluates the 

performance of a radiation detection 

system in space. Another space station 

study converts radiation measurements 

into risk levels for specifc places and 

times aboard the space station. 

As important as addressing hazards 

to humans in space is providing them 

with essentials such as air and water. 

Life support systems, including ways 

to provide adequate water, are another 

critical part of space travel being tested 

and tried on the space station. 

AquaMembrane, an ESA (European 

Space Agency) investigation, tests 

replacing the station’s current water 

recovery system with an apparatus 

called the Aquaporin Inside Membrane 

(AIM). More-effcient water reclamation 

systems could reduce launch mass and 

associated costs for space travel. 

UWMS demonstrates new and improved 

toilet technology on the station. 

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur with Spaceborne Computer-2, which explores 

how commercial off-the-shelf computer systems can advance exploration by 

processing data signifcantly faster in space with edge computing and artifcial 

intelligence capabilities. Credit: NASA 

A full Moon as seen from the International Space Station, visible in the foreground. 

Credit: NASA 

The central design concept can 

be easily integrated into different 

spacecraft, such as for future missions 

to the Moon and Mars. Another UWMS 

unit will be installed in Orion for the 

Artemis II fight test that will send 

astronauts on a mission beyond the 

Moon and back. A smaller, morecomfortable, and more-reliable wastedisposal method frees up time for the 

crew to focus on other activities. 

Melding waste disposal and providing 

water, the Exploration ECLSS: Brine 

Processor System demonstrates a way 

to recover more water from urine. 

A urine processor assembly that is 

currently part of the station’s water 

recovery system recovers about 

93.5% of water from crew urine and 

condensate in the cabin. Crews on 

long-duration exploration missions 

will need to recover closer to 98% of 

the water they bring along on their 

journeys. Current urine water recovery 

systems use distillation, which produces 

brine. The Brine Processor extracts the 

remaining water from the brine, bringing 

overall water recovery closer to the 

98% requirement. 

In 2018, crew members also installed 

ESA’s Life Support Rack to test 

technology for recycling carbon dioxide 

into oxygen. It features a slightly 

different design than NASA’s existing 

system, which is based on ongoing tech 

74 
demonstrations that react collected 

carbon dioxide with hydrogen to 

make water. Prior to development of 

these systems, the station relied on 

water shipped from Earth to generate 

breathing oxygen. The technology 

therefore represents a huge step toward 

developing sustainable life-support 

systems needed for longer missions. 

With robot performance tested and 

people protected, a next step is 

ensuring that both can do their jobs 

as quickly and effciently as possible. 

The ISS National Laboratory and 

Hewlett Packard are testing a highperformance commercial off-the-shelf 

system to move computing power 

into space. 

“Many experiments that run on the 

space station primarily collect data 

and send it back to Earth,” says 

Mark Fernandez of Hewlett Packard, 

principal investigator for Spaceborne 

Computer-2. “We want to move 

computing to where data are generated 

or collected, whether that is in space, 

or on your oil rig or aircraft, to turn a 

sample into insight as fast as possible. 

You process at the edge and get the 

go or no-go or safe-unsafe answers 

you need.” 

This study builds on previous space 

station research, ensuring this type of 

computer system can operate without 

extensive protections against radiation. 

“The purpose of exploration is not 

data collection, it is insight, and I want 

to get brilliant minds throughout the 

world working on the insight rather 

than crunching numbers,” Fernandez 

says. “This capability does not change 

anything that a scientist already does, 

it just moves it nearer where the 

data are generated. The depth of the 

potential is pretty deep – things like 

image and signal processing, health 

care, DNA analysis.” 

Deep space missions do not all 

take place inside carefully closedoff habitats, of course. Sometimes 

astronauts must work outside 

spacecraft and habitats and their 

carefully planned life support systems 

– work that relies on spacesuits. 

SERFE conducts a new technology 

demonstration using water evaporation 

to remove heat from spacesuits, 

investigating the effect of contamination 

and corrosion on the thermal control 

system and examining how microgravity 

affects the system’s ability to regulate 

Bringing Space Technology Benefts 

Down to Earth 

For NASA astronaut Victor Glover, potential benefts for people 

on Earth are one of the most important aspects of research and 

technology demonstrations conducted on station. 

“We astronauts give constant feedback to investigators and 

developers,” he says. “It is not just a piece of technology; it is a 

piece of technology that will be used by someone. How we humans 

interact with it is a valuable part of the learning. Everything we do 

has applications on Earth.” 

For example, Glover’s work on advanced mobility for robots on 

the space station could enable reconnaissance drones to reach 

places they previously could not. Technologies developed to 

protect astronauts from radiation in space also could protect 

people in medical settings, frst response to disasters, and the 

nuclear industry on the ground. 

Cardiovector, a State Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS 

(ROSCOSMOS) investigation of cardiovascular system adaptations 

in microgravity, employs a unique device to capture central pressure 

and blood fow velocities in cosmonaut aorta. The device has been 

employed on the station for several years and may have wide 

applications in assessing cardiovascular health on Earth. 

A Canadian company called Hexoskin, which helped develop a 

material used for the CSA Bio-Monitor investigation, is working 

on using the technology for remote monitoring on Earth as well. 

“Health monitoring in real-life contexts is essential for improving 

the quality of care, and remote monitoring should be a fundamental 

component, considering the geography and demography of 

Canada, the United States, and other countries,” says Hexoskin 

co-founder Jean-François Roy. 

“One of our goals is to help patients go home from the hospital as 

soon as possible while still monitoring them adequately,” he adds. 

“Our model provides a continuum of care where every patient 

is monitored and supervised at home as if they were still in the 

hospital. Health care systems are adapting to managing health long 

term and increasing patient involvement in their own care. 

A wearable monitoring technology helps enable this transition.” 

ESA’s AquaMembrane investigation also has the potential to beneft 

people on Earth. Facing a growing scarcity of fresh water around 

the planet, scientists are turning to a process called desalination, 

which removes salt from seawater and brackish water. The AIM 

technology used for AquaMembrane is especially suited to a 

desalination process called forward osmosis that has shown 

promise in ground testing. Technology used to recover water from 

urine brine for space crews also could help provide water for people 

in harsh and remote settings with limited access to water on Earth. 

75 
NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor operating a sextant in the space station’s cupola for the Sextant Navigation 

investigation. Credit: NASA 

astronaut body temperature under 

various conditions, such as physical 

activity and changing temperatures. 

The fnal step of a successful mission – 

coming home – relies on navigation 

systems and their back-ups. 

Sextant Navigation successfully 

demonstrated that a hand-held sextant 

could provide emergency navigation on 

future exploration missions. Much like 

Glover, NASA astronauts Serena 

Auñón-Chancellor and Anne McClain 

and ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst 

each brought their expertise to using 

the tool aboard the space station. 

They added additional reference points 

to account for the speed at which the 

space station moves, found comfortable 

ways to steady themselves while using 

the instrument, tested red-text versions 

of star charts on a tablet, and made 

other adjustments. 

“As a test pilot, I know how important 

it is to test systems in the environment 

where they will be used,” Glover says. 

“Taking something up to the station and 

showing it can survive there helps us 

make things that last longer here. It is 

vital to have this capability.” 

A view of Earth airglow showing NASA astronaut Don Pettit gazing out through the 

Cupola module windows with the Moon visible in the background. Credit: NASA 

76 
ROSCOSMOS cosmonaut 

Oleg Novitskiy uses the 

Fundoscope during an 

eye examination for the 

Fluid Shifts experiment. 

Credit: NASA 

Human Research: 

Astronaut Physiology 

NASA astronaut Michael Barratt 

few a 6-month mission aboard the 

International Space Station in 2009. 

As the days went by, Barratt and 

fellow crew member Canadian Space 

Agency (CSA) astronaut Robert “Bob” 

Thirsk began having trouble reading 

the procedures for scientifc research 

conducted on the orbiting lab. Slightly 

stronger pairs of glasses solved their 

problem, but the two, both physicians, 

decided to look deeper. 

NASA astronaut Michael Barratt reads 

a checklist while performing a check of 

the SPHERES Beacon Tester aboard the 

International Space Station. Barratt wore 

slightly stronger pairs of glasses while in 

orbit to counteract vision changes he 

experienced during his time in orbit. 

Credit: NASA 

They found symptoms of what is 

now known as Spacefight Associated 

Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS). Classic 

symptoms include swelling in the optic 

disc, which is where the optic nerve 

enters the retina, and fattening of the 

eye shape. When researchers looked 

back, they found certain aspects of 

SANS in even the earliest spacefights. 

More than 500 people have gone to 

space, but far fewer have stayed for 

long-duration missions. That makes 

data on astronauts like Barratt and 

Thirsk, and the changes their bodies 

go through, precious information. 

An astronaut’s body goes through 

a variety of adaptations to adjust to 

the unique environment of space. 

“As soon as you get into the weightlessness, everything starts lifting up 

and you just feel this sensation. It is 

77 
Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Bob Thirsk gives his crewmate ESA 

astronaut Frank De Winne a helping hand with the ESA experiment Neurospat. 

The investigation recorded astronaut brain activity to assess how three-dimensional 

navigation and visual perception skills are affected by long-duration stays in 

microgravity. Credit: CSA 

such an extraordinary feeling, and 

physiologically it feels like when you are 

hanging upside down on the monkey 

bars at the playground,” says NASA 

astronaut and physiologist Jessica Meir. 

Monitoring SANS across station 

crew members has revealed that 

nearly 70% of them experience at 

least one of the hallmark signs, but 

with signifcant individual variability. 

Some crew members only experience 

these changes while in space, while 

some changes may be permanent for 

other astronauts. 

Researchers now are studying the 

underlying causes and long-term health 

consequences of SANS and other 

neurological impacts to prepare for 

longer-duration missions. NASA’s Fluid 

Shifts investigation evaluated a lowerbody negative pressure countermeasure 

system and measured the impact of 

headward fuid shifts in microgravity, a 

suspected contributing cause of SANS. 

“The idea of embarking on a longduration fight to Mars without having 

made this discovery is mind-boggling,” 

says Barratt. 

Other studies, such as the ESA 

(European Space Agency) Neurospat 

and Circadian Rhythms studies, and 

the Italian Space Agency (ASI) Acoustic 

Diagnostics experiment, have explored 

other neurological effects of spacefight. 

Neurospat recorded brain waves while 

astronauts completed tasks in a virtual 

reality environment to see if collected 

data backed up anecdotal astronaut 

reports of “space fog,” a generalized 

cognitive slowing during their initial 

time in space. Researchers report that 

relative to before fight, astronauts made 

more errors and were slower to respond 

infight and post fight and can now 

work to develop countermeasures and 

strategies to mitigate these changes. 

The Circadian Rhythms investigation 

examined whether long-term spacefight 

throws off circadian or daily rhythm 

in astronauts and studied the role of 

factors such as irregular light and dark 

cycles, microgravity-induced changes 

in body composition, and reduced 

physical activity. Acoustic Diagnostics 

monitors astronauts’ hearing health to 

determine whether there are adverse 

effects from noise and the microgravity 

environment of the space station. 

The State Space Corporation 

ROSCOSMOS (ROSCOSMOS) 

study Algometry explored how pain 

thresholds in astronauts change in 

space. Preliminary data suggest a 

possible increase in the threshold during 

spacefight. These data contribute to the 

understanding of fundamental aspects 

of the occurrence of pain and could 

support the optimization of methods 

for providing pain relief in space and 

on Earth. 

Many unknowns remain concerning 

how future crews will adapt on 

upcoming missions to the Moon 

and Mars. Some challenges of living 

on the space station for six months 

will be different from those experienced 

for three years on a Mars mission. 

NASA’s Human Research Program 

(HRP) has classifed fve major hazards 

to crew health summarized with the 

acronym RIDGE, short for Space 

Radiation, Isolation and Confnement, 

Distance from Earth, Gravity felds, 

and Hostile/Closed Environments. 

“One of the biggest areas that we still 

need to understand more before we 

go further is how radiation affects the 

human body,” said Meir. “We undergo 

and receive more cosmic radiation even 

when we’re in the low-Earth orbit of the 

space station. When we go further, back 

to the Moon and to Mars, those levels 

will be even higher.” 

One landmark human research project 

aboard the space station, NASA’s 

Twins Study, touched on numerous 

areas of astronaut health from cognition 

to fuid shifts to gene expression. 

78 
Understanding the Psychological Hazards of Spacefight 

on the Space Station 

In addition to research into the physical health 

of astronauts, scientists also use the International 

Space Station and low-Earth orbit to investigate 

the psychological and behavioral impacts of longduration missions in space. 

Isolation and distance from Earth present unique 

challenges when choosing a crew for missions to 

the Moon and Mars. The farther and longer we travel 

in these restricted environments, the more care must 

go into crew selection and preparation. The dynamics 

associated with mission length and distance are 

crucial to mission success, with communication, 

morale, and understanding among crew members 

vital to this achievement. NASA’s Human Research 

Program (HRP) is investigating how a standardized 

assessment of behavioral health for space station 

crew can also help predict performance capabilities 

for future exploration crews once they land on the 

Moon or Mars. 

Other examples of research into the behavioral health 

of crew members includes the following areas: 

• Engaging in relevant, meaningful activities, 

including learning a language or learning new 

medical skills, have been found to help ward 

off depression and boost morale. 

• HRP is examining the effects of tending to a 

space garden on the space station, which could 

have positive behavioral health benefts in addition 

to providing a fresh source of food and helping to 

purify the air. 

• A collaborative CNES (French Space Agency) 

and ESA (European Space Agency) study, 

Immersive Exercise, tested whether a virtual reality 

environment for the station’s exercise bicycle 

increases motivation to exercise and provides 

astronauts and cosmonauts a better experience 

for their daily multi-hour training sessions. 

• Researchers are using Earth-based analogs to 

investigate how much privacy and living space 

will be needed on longer missions where crew 

members will be restricted in a relatively small 

spacecraft together. 

Using this space station research, scientists aim 

to ensure that future space explorers will not only 

survive but thrive on their spacefaring missions. 

However, the same research and experience can be 

applied to informing how we address social isolation 

on Earth. For example, when 33 Chilean miners were 

trapped underground for more than two months, 

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet tests out the equipment 

for the Immersive Exercise experiment on the ground 

before launch. Credit: ESA 

NASA psychologists were part of a team deployed 

to help. Their experience in keeping crew mentally 

healthy in small, isolated spaces like the International 

Space Station helped rescuers support the miners 

in coping with their isolation, anticipate group 

dynamics, and manage any tensions that arose. 

The psychologists made recommendations for 

regular communications between the trapped minors 

and their families and provided counseling support 

for the families during the crisis and through the 

adjustment period as their loved ones returned home. 

NASA Engineering and Safety Center principal engineer 

Clint Cragg (right) consults with Rene Aguilar (left), 

deputy chief of rescue operations for the Chilean mine 

disaster. Credits: Cecilia Penafel, U.S. Embassy in Chile 

79 
The study brought together 10 research 

teams from around the United States 

to observe what changes could happen 

to a human from a year of exposure to 

spacefight hazards. 

Results published in 2019 compared 

a wide range of samples and 

measurements from astronaut Scott 

Kelly (now retired), who spent nearly 

a year in orbit from 2015 to 2016, to 

those of his identical twin brother, retired 

astronaut Mark Kelly, who remained 

on Earth. Some of the results included: 

• The observation of the lengthening of 

Scott’s telomeres, special features on 

the ends of each strand of DNA that 

typically shorten with age. 

• Confrmation that Scott’s body 

reacted appropriately to a fu vaccine 

administered in space. This allows 

NASA to have greater confdence 

that the immune system responds 

appropriately in space should a 

vaccine be needed during longduration missions. 

• Data supporting minor changes 

in gene expression. Most of these 

changes reverted after Scott returned 

to Earth, but a small subset persisted 

after six months. These fndings help 

demonstrate how a human body 

adapted to space. 

Overall, the Twins Study demonstrated 

the resilience and robustness of how a 

human body can adapt to a multitude 

of changes created by the spacefight 

environment. 

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano participates in a hearing test aboard the International 

Space Station. The Acoustic Diagnostics investigation tests the hearing of station 

crew members before, during, and after fight. Credit: NASA 

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly dons the Lower Body Negative Pressure device with 

assistance from Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and ground support in 

Moscow and performs ophthalmic measurements. Such data collection provided 

crucial information supporting the Twins Study as well as many other human 

research studies during Kelly’s year in space. Credit: NASA 

Findings from the Twins Study may be 

used to develop new treatments and 

preventative measures for stress-related 

health risks on Earth. For example, 

telomere research may improve efforts 

to mitigate the effects of aging and 

disease, and protein research could 

have implications for studies on 

traumatic brain injury. 

The microgravity environment also 

alters blood pressure control and 

vascular structures, which can have 

serious consequences for maintaining 

oxygenated blood fow to the brain 

and throughout the body. CSA has 

sponsored the Vascular, Vascular Echo, 

and Vascular Aging experiments to 

study vascular changes in astronauts 

with hopes of developing effective 

countermeasures to maintain astronaut 

health on future long-duration missions. 

Data indicate that aging-like changes, 

including arterial thickening and 

stiffening, accelerate in many space 

station crew members. The most recent 

fndings from advanced ultrasound 

studies of crew members also have 

shown increased wall thickness in 

the arteries. 

“On Earth, people with type II diabetes 

have stiffer arteries because glucose 

stays elevated for a period of time after 

a meal, and that glucose then starts 

80 
binding to proteins inside the artery 

wall and that causes an increase in 

stiffness,” said Richard Hughson from 

the University of Waterloo, Ontario. 

Similar impacts of insulin resistance 

may contribute to the signs of vascular 

aging observed in otherwise healthy 

and ft crew members. Other potential 

explanations may involve calcium 

deposits associated with bone loss 

or even oxidative stress from radiation. 

Effects from both hazards were well 

documented in the Twins Study as well 

and the Vascular Aging investigation 

continues to assess them. Uncovering 

the mechanisms behind these vascular 

changes may provide insights for 

developing interventions to slow aging 

and cardiovascular disease in older 

populations on Earth. 

Results from another CSA study, 

MARROW, indicate that microgravity 

is a primary contributor to reduced red 

blood cell (RBC) count in astronauts, 

known as space anemia. The researchers 

found higher numbers of RBCs were 

eliminated in space than on Earth, 

and this change persisted throughout 

the duration of the space mission. 

Longer exposure to spacefight 

appeared to worsen the condition. 

Elimination of RBCs sharply decreased 

upon astronauts’ return to Earth. 

These fndings may improve the 

health monitoring of astronauts and 

development of countermeasures to 

ensure safer space exploration. 

Cardiovector, ROSCOSMOS’ 

investigation, focused on blood pressure 

and propagation of the pressure waves 

within the aorta as another aspect of 

cardiovascular health in station crew. 

The data show consistent pulse wave 

propagation both in microgravity and 

in pre- and post-fight testing. 

“

“We are not only 

studying low-Earth orbit 

to understand it. We 

are studying low-Earth 

orbit as an analog for 

the Moon and Mars,” 

said HRP chief scientist 

Steven Platts. 

Continuing to study and understand 

how these stressors affect the human 

body is necessary to ensure astronaut 

health and performance for missions 

beyond low-Earth orbit. 

“We are not only studying low-Earth 

orbit to understand it. We are studying 

low-Earth orbit as an analog for the 

Moon and Mars,” said HRP chief 

scientist Steven Platts. 

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir conducts an ultrasound for the CSA’s Vascular Echo 

investigation, which examines changes in blood vessels and the heart while crew 

members are in space and after return to Earth. Credit: NASA 

These human research efforts and many 

other future-facing projects all enhance 

life on Earth and beyond. Understanding 

the human component of human space 

exploration is paving the way forward to 

push to new limits and venture farther 

into space than ever before. 

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut David Saint-Jacques collecting 

breath, ambient air, and blood samples in support of the MARROW 

investigation. Credit: NASA 

81 
82 

Japan Aerospace Exploration 

Agency (JAXA) astronaut 

Koichi Wakata wears a 

sensor connected to the 

Heat Safety in Space Keeps Infants and Patients 

Thermolab Control Unit 

during Expedition 38. 

Credit: NASA Safe on Earth 

Technology that measures body space station than it does on Earth, 

temperature, developed for the ESA and the experiment has investigated 

(European Space Agency) Thermolab body temperature regulation and 

study, has begun to make a difference cardiovascular adaptations in crew 

on Earth. Core body temperature members since 2009. 

rises faster during exercise on the 

NASA astronaut Dan Burbank exercises on the Cycle Ergometer with Vibration 

Isolation and Stabilization (CEVIS) during a session of VO2max while Thermolab 

data are taken. Credit: NASA 

The original investigation goal was to 

examine how body temperature patterns 

fuctuate in response to weightlessness. 

The specialized sensors, developed 

for the study by German company 

Dräger, have since been commercialized 

on Earth. The devices are deployed 

in many clinics to monitor infant 

incubators and patients during surgery. 

They have even been used to study how 

extreme heat affects farmers in Kenya 

and Burkina Faso. Other potential Earthbased applications include monitoring 

for signs of fatigue in people working in 

extreme conditions, such as frefghters 

and fghter pilots. 

And, of course, this device also has 

contributed to our understanding of 

astronaut health. Compounding the 

problem of heat removal in space is a 

surprising fnding from Thermolab that 

principal investigator Hanns-Christian 

Gunga described as “space fever.” 

“In the frst two months, the astronaut’s 

body temperature rises by one degree 

to 38°C (100.4°F), even in some cases 

a little bit higher,” said Gunga. 

Paired with infammation, this increase 

in temperature can be dangerous. 

Fortunately, space station research 

is helping us understand and monitor 

these changes to keep future crew 

members safe. 

Tcore, a self-adhesive disposable sensor 

based on technology developed for 

space station research, is simply applied 

to the patient’s forehead. Credit: Dräger 

83 
84 

SO YOUWANT TO BE 

NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins 

transplants pak choi in the agency’s 

Vegetable Production System (Veggie) 

aboard the International Space Station 

on Jan. 14, 2021. Hopkins executed 

the frst plant transplant within Veggie. 

Credit: NASA 

a Space Farmer... 

Researchers are learning to grow plants in orbit to prepare us 

for living on other planets 

While tending to a plant experiment 

inside the International Space Station, 

NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins noticed 

some of the plants were not doing 

so well. Although the mustard greens 

were growing fne in their special 

“pillows” containing clay-based growth 

media and fertilizer, some of the lettuces 

were not. “Outredgeous” Red Romaine 

and “Dragoon” lettuce seeds were 

germinating slowly, growing well behind 

the other plants. They would not catch 

up by harvest time. 

With input from scientists at Kennedy 

Space Center in Florida, Hopkins 

executed the frst plant transplant 

within NASA’s Biological and Physical 

Sciences (BPS)-sponsored Vegetable 

Production System (Veggie). 

He moved extra sprouts from the 

thriving plant pillows into two of 

the struggling pillows. 

On Earth, this transplant technique 

is risky for plants in this delicate state, 

and NASA had never attempted it in 

a space experiment. But it worked. 

The transplants survived and grew 

along with the donor kale and pak choi. 

As humanity plans long-duration 

missions to the Moon and Mars, a key 

factor is fguring out how to feed crews 

during their weeks, months, and even 

years in space. What if astronauts could 

grow some of their own food in space? 

Plants can provide crucial nutrients to 

supplement the prepackaged foods 

that can degrade in quality and nutrition 

after long-term storage. Researchers 

on Earth and crews aboard the space 

station are exploring the idea by testing 

various crops and equipment. By testing 

the plants in Earth orbit, we get to learn 

from unexpected surprises, like how 

to perform plant transplants, when 

the stakes are much lower. 

“This little accidental transplant 

success is going to be pretty important; 

it opens up a lot of areas for future 

development,” said Matt Romeyn, a 

space crop production project scientist 

and VEG-03I science lead. 

There are many challenges to growing 

plants in space, from watering to 

providing plants adequate light and 

room to grow. Even a simple thing 

such as planting a seed in space was 

a technical challenge that required a 

new application of a well-understood 

technology. Using strips that dissolved 

in water like a breath freshener strip, 

Hopkins was able to easily plant lettuce 

seeds. Researchers like Anna-Lisa Paul, 

horticultural sciences professor and 

director of the Interdisciplinary Center 

for Biotechnology and Research at the 

University of Florida, have been working 

to overcome the many challenges 

presented to plants by space since 

the early days of station. 

“In order to run an experiment on 

the ground, it might take you 10 tries, 

half a dozen graduate students, and 

who knows what else to get it exactly 

perfect. But if you send an experiment 

to the space station, not only does 

NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins smells Extra Dwarf Pak Choi plants growing aboard 

the International Space Station. The plants were grown for the Veggie study, which is 

exploring space agriculture to sustain astronauts on future missions to the Moon and 

Mars. Credit: NASA 

your experiment have to work the frst 

time, you also must make it such that 

an astronaut with no gravity can do the 

maintenance, the harvest, and the data 

collection,” said Paul. 

Multiple space agencies have 

conducted station plant studies 

for decades. The Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency (JAXA) study, 

Bag Culture Experiment in the 

Japanese Experiment Module, helped 

demonstrate an engineering verifcation 

of a cultivation method using an aseptic 

bag culture. A series of 17 Russian 

space agency ROSCOSMOS 

(ROSCOSMOS) Rasteniya experiments 

studied how plants grow, develop, 

and reproduce in space in the Russian 

segment of station. NASA has 

successfully grown plants including 

lettuces and radishes and studied 

their response to space by analyzing 

everything from gene expression to 

spiciness. NASA’s Plant Habitat-04 

85 
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson observes the Advanced Astroculture soybean plant growth experiment. Credit: NASA 

experiment built on previous 

experiments to grow peppers in 

the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH). 

This became the longest plant 

experiment in space to date, growing 

for 137 days aboard the space station. 

Seed studies have even gone outside 

of station as part of the Materials 

International Space Station Experiment 

(MISSE) project. The MISSE-SEED 

experiment exposed seeds from 

11 different crops and model plants to 

the space environment for eight months. 

This was done to determine the effects 

from long-duration space exposure 

on seed quality and storage. This 

knowledge not only contributes to the 

ability for humans to one day explore 

Mars, but it can also have benefts to 

agriculture on Earth, since researchers 

are better able to understand specifc 

plant responses to their environment. 

Changes in gravity and the spacefight 

environment can also affect how plants 

grow and how much produce they yield. 

One of the mechanisms plants use 

to sense gravity involves changes to 

calcium within their cells. JAXA recently 

ran experiments aboard the space 

station to measure how microgravity 

affects these calcium levels, which 

could offer clues for designing improved 

ways of growing crops for food in 

space. During a series of experiments 

using Biological Research in Canisters 

(BRIC), scientists performed studies 

on everything from plant organelles 

to better understand how plants 

sense gravity to studying genes 

that control responses to physical 

stresses like gravity. 

Microgravity also presents a challenge 

when it comes to providing enough 

water to plant roots to keep them 

healthy without drowning them. 

Numerous experiments have tested 

a variety of methods to achieve this 

goal, including NASA’s Veggie studies. 

The Veggie facility where Hopkins 

performed the plant transplant is a 

simple, low-power gardening chamber 

that can hold six crop plants. Crews 

then look after and water the plants by 

hand using syringes to inject water into 

the plant pillows. Plants ranging from 

Chinese cabbage to kale to zinnias 

have been grown in Veggie. 

The NASA Plant Water Management 

studies hope to push plant 

growth facilities to the next level. 

The investigation demonstrates 

methods to take advantage of passive 

measures to control fuid delivery and 

uptake in plant systems. These methods 

include using surface tension, wetting, 

and system geometry to replace the role 

of gravity as a fuid delivery mechanism. 

Using the Advanced Astroculture 

(ADVASC) system, station crews also 

successfully grew two generations of 

Arabidopsis plants, a model organism 

that is well understood and often used 

in fundamental biology experiments. 

The system provided precise control 

of environmental parameters for plant 

growth, including temperature, relative 

humidity, light, fuid nutrient delivery, 

and carbon dioxide and ethylene 

concentrations. The experiment showed 

the change in gravity caused seeds to 

be smaller and secondary branches 

and seed pods to grow differently. 

86 
Recognizing its potential for use 

in confned spaces on the ground, 

scientists adapted the ADVASC system 

for use in air purifcation on Earth. 

Initially used to prolong the shelf life 

of fruits and vegetables in the grocery 

store, the technology soon drew the 

attention of winemakers, who employ 

it in their storage cellars. According to 

one winemaker, the ADVASC-derived air 

purifcation system enhances storage 

conditions, resulting in even better wine. 

“It is amazing when you think about 

all the innovations that are going on 

up in space, how they can come into 

a place as unexpected as a winery, 

which translates to benefts on your 

dinner table,” said Andrew Schweiger, 

winemaker at Schweiger Vineyards in 

St. Helena, California. 

Multiple companies also now use this 

technology in air purifers, which were 

shown to be effective in eliminating the 

SARS-CoV-2 virus. The companies have 

produced and distributed numerous 

purifers during the pandemic. 

Gardens need tending, which means 

growing veggies is about a lot more 

than the facility and plants themselves. 

Having humans aboard is a huge beneft 

to plants, especially when it comes 

to dealing with the unexpected. 

From Hopkins performing the plant 

transplant to NASA astronaut Megan 

McArthur hand pollinating chile fowers 

to former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly 

taking charge of the care of station’s 

zinnias when they began having 

diffculty growing, human tending and 

care has been crucial to plant success. 

In addition to astronauts being a beneft 

to the plants, the greenery can also 

positively contribute to the behavioral 

health and well-being of astronauts. 

Many crew members report they fnd 

caring for the plants a fun and relaxing 

activity. NASA’s space crop production 

group is looking to gather data on 

this aspect by asking astronauts who 

currently cultivate vegetables on the 

station to each complete a survey about 

their space gardening experiences. 

For example, crew members who grow 

mizuna mustards take the survey two 

to three times for the month-long 

growth cycle of the plant. 

“Crews really seem to enjoy growing the 

food themselves,” said Howard Levine, 

chief scientist for NASA’s International 

Space Station Research Offce at 

Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

Left to right: NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Shane Kimbrough, JAXA 

astronaut Aki Hoshide, and NASA astronaut Megan McArthur pose with chiles 

they grew aboard the space station. Credit: NASA 

“It’s a nice reprieve from typical 

activities on the station, and astronauts 

often volunteer their free time to do it.” 

What’s more, astronauts say the time 

spent gardening makes them excited 

to eat the fresh produce once it’s ready. 

The excitement motivates astronauts 

to use the produce creatively as 

ingredients in their meals, increasing 

their quality of life in space and boosting 

their morale. McArthur even created 

some tacos using fajita beef, rehydrated 

tomatoes and artichokes, and the 

fresh grown space station chiles. 

Other astronauts followed McArthur’s 

example, also making space tacos 

NASA astronaut Victor Glover works on the Plant Water Management experiment 

that explored hydroponics as a future means to sustain plants in microgravity from 

germination through harvest. Credit: NASA 

87 
Plant scientist Lashelle Spencer (left) and research scientist Jason Fischer remove the stems from peppers that were grown 

inside the Space Station Processing Facility before weighing them in preparation for sending them to space. Credit: NASA 

with chile peppers, and they expressed 

the same excitement at having 

fresh produce. 

“Even though astronauts cannot run 

to the supermarket for fresh produce 

during a 2-year mission to Mars, they 

could foat into a module that has the 

same smell and feel of the produce 

section,” Hopkins said. “And that will 

put a smile on any astronaut’s face.” 

While humanity is just now growing 

small crops in space, our understanding 

of these organisms has increased 

signifcantly thanks to station research. 

This understanding of plants is a crucial 

tool for pushing the boundaries of 

space travel. 

“Plants are what allow us humans to be 

explorers, and venture past the limits of 

a picnic basket, regardless of whether 

you are transiting an ocean or a solar 

system,” says Paul. “Learning about 

how plants respond to extreme and 

novel environments and how they grow 

under the challenges we will face when 

we take our biology off planet is one 

of the things that absolutely drives me. 

Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev, Expedition 22 fight engineer, holds Mizuna lettuce This is why I do this kind of work.” 

plants from the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (Plants-2) experiment in the Service Module. 

Credit: NASA 

88 
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst foats beside packets containing wildfower 

seeds as part of the Space Seeds project. After the seeds returned to 

Earth, more than 12,500 German students registered to participate in the 

project by planting and observing the wildfowers. The project aimed to 

encourage students to appreciate biodiversity and inspire interest in 

space exploration and space technologies. Credits: ESA/DLR 

Space Station Seed Studies 

Cultivate Student Scientists 

Growing adequate food supplies during 

future missions to the Moon and Mars 

will put crew members’ green thumbs 

to the test. But before going to these 

distant destinations, many questions 

remain unanswered in understanding 

how space affects plant growth. 

Scientists working on these challenges 

have recruited student investigators 

to engage the next generation of 

explorers and scientists. 

A recent Space Seeds project invited 

schoolchildren across Germany to grow 

and observe wildfower seeds fown to 

the International Space Station. Through 

cooperation between ESA (European 

Space Agency) and the German Space 

Agency at DLR, the project attracted 

over 400 primary schools, transforming 

more than 12,500 third- and fourthgrade students into budding scientists. 

“They will remember this for life,” says 

Alexandra Herzog, the project’s principal 

investigator from the German Space 

Agency at DLR, based in Bonn. 

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst also 

sent video messages along with the 

seeds to teach young students about 

the importance of biodiversity and 

preserving the planet. When Gerst 

and the seeds returned to Earth, each 

school received two seed packets to 

grow for a blind study: one set of seeds 

was exposed to space and the other 

remained on the ground. Unaware 

of which packet had been on the 

space station, students then recorded 

observations of both samples and 

sent an assortment of posters, videos, 

and letters directly to the German 

Space Agency. 

“Most schools reported that the seeds 

that were on the space station, the 

‘space seeds’, grew a lot faster and 

were bigger. The scientists at DLR 

believe that space travel stimulated 

the seeds,” said Herzog. 

Plans to repeat this experiment will 

explore these differences further. 

Accompanying research examining seed 

genetic differences will take place at 

the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental 

Research during the next iteration. 

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) 

has also inspired young students with 

89 
JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi poses with bags for the Tomatosphere investigation. Students grow the tomato seeds fown in 

space and measure germination rates. The project motivates students to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math 

(STEM) disciplines. Credit: NASA 

a similar TomatosphereTM project. 

Over the many fights of the project, 

thousands of students growing tomato 

seeds and measuring germination 

rates in their classrooms have 

provided valuable scientifc data 

for scientists studying horticulture 

and environmental biology. 

Additionally, NASA’s Kennedy 

Space Center in Florida, in partnership 

with the Fairchild Tropical Botanic 

Garden, has provided students the 

opportunity to evaluate edible plant 

options for future space exploration. 

Called Growing Beyond Earth, the 

program has recruited more than 

300 middle and high school classes 

across the United States to grow 

different crop types using special 

growth chambers to mimic the Veggie 

plant growth chamber aboard station. 

Students are testing the viability of 

multiple crops and provided data 

to NASA life scientists. The data 

continue to help NASA determine 

which plants to grow in space. 

German third- and fourth-grade students work together to plant seeds returned from 

space at the kickoff event for the Space Seeds investigation. Participating schools 

received two separate packets of wildfower seeds—one sent to the space station and 

the other as a control. Students learned to think scientifcally by recording observations 

of the gardens and reporting their observations to the German Space Agency at DLR. 

Credit: experimenta gGmbH 

90 
ESA (European Space 

Agency) astronaut Luca 

Parmitano, attached to the 

Canadarm2 robotic arm, 

carries the new thermal pump 

system that was installed 

on the Alpha Magnetic 

Spectrometer (AMS) during 

the third spacewalk to 

upgrade the cosmic particle 

detector. Credit: NASA 

Learning by Living 

and Working in Space 

In 2019, ESA (European Space Agency) to avoid potential contamination from precision tools. The process of creating 

astronaut Luca Parmitano was humans landing on the surface before the tools and procedures for these 

challenged to do something any kid we can answer questions about existing spacewalks prepares teams for the 

(and most adults) would love to try: or previous life on Mars.” types of spacewalks that may be 

drive a remote-controlled rover from required on Moon and Mars missions. For more than 20 years, space station space. At the time, Parmitano was experiments like this one have honed “These are the kind of skills that are aboard the International Space Station our ability to live in and explore space. going to feed into going to a planetary and his task, dubbed ANALOG-1, was To help crews thrive on the station, surface,” said AMS spacewalk to see how well he could remotely we have created new technologies, repair project manager Tara Jochim. command a robotic vehicle that was improved communications, conducted “Cutting stainless steel tubing and rolling around a course inside a building hundreds of spacewalks, studied then connecting new tubes on a on Earth. This feat helps to prepare us astronaut health and well-being, and thermal system during a spacewalk with for the day an astronaut could do the expanded the ability of many countries the user-friendly mechanisms we have same type of task to explore the Moon, to support and collaborate on mission developed, all the while keeping it safe Mars, or other planets while orbiting operations. for the crew member, are the types of above them. activities that will help create processes During Parmitano’s expedition, he also “A number of space agencies have for tomorrow’s spacewalkers.” worked alongside NASA astronaut looked at such a scenario for the Andrew Morgan to save a scientifcally To date, NASA has completed more exploration of planetary bodies – valuable but failing piece of equipment than 200 spacewalks outside the space particularly for Mars,” said William outside the station, the Alpha Magnetic station. A key to completing many of Carey, ESA scientist and principal Spectrometer-02 (AMS-02). The project them has been the Canadian Space investigator for the ANALOG-1 involved a series of spacewalks that Agency’s (CSA’s) iconic Canadarm2, experiment. “The approach could took four years to plan and required a 17.6-meter (57.7-foot) robotic arm 

greatly increase the scientifc return on developing more than 20 new high- used extensively during assembly of those missions, as well as offer a way 

91 
The ANALOG-1 Interact rover located 

near the European Space Research and 

Technology Centre in the Netherlands is 

controlled by a surrogate astronaut 

based at the European Astronaut Center 

in Germany. The cones mark out a route 

for the rover to follow to get to the 

sample site. Credit: ESA 

the orbiting laboratory and to capture 

and move equipment and astronauts 

around the outside of the orbiting lab. 

Parmitano rode the robot arm to 

the location of AMS-02 during the 

repair mission. 

The CSA will provide Canadarm3 to 

NASA’s upcoming Lunar Gateway 

station, an outpost orbiting the Moon 

that will provide vital support for a longterm human return to the lunar surface, 

as well as a staging point for deep 

space exploration. Canadarm3 and 

Gateway are critical components 

of NASA’s Artemis program. 

The Canadarm technology is also 

the basis for a revolutionary medical 

procedure robot called IGAR. IGAR 

is designed to be paired with MRI 

scanners for breast cancer surgeries 

to remove small lesions before they 

become large tumors. 

If Canadarm2 is the brawn of many 

station activities, the astronauts and 

teams on the ground are the brains. 

Together, they expertly collaborate to 

make repairs, conduct experiments, and 

ensure station operations go smoothly. 

A signifcant part of successful 

collaboration, of course, is good 

communication. 

NASA’s Johnson Space Center in 

Houston works closely with international 

partners and Marshall Space Flight 

Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the site 

of the station’s Payload Operations 

Integration Center, to execute research. 

Engineers and technicians at Marshall 

develop and test life support systems 

and conduct new studies of the space 

environment to make living aboard the 

space station sustainable. Johnson and 

Marshall communicate and coordinate 

24/7 with the station and international 

partners to ensure missions are safe 

and successful. 

The importance of this type of teamwork 

was on display in 2017, when crews 

aboard the station conducted an 

experiment to sample bacteria inside the 

orbital outpost and then sequence its 

DNA on the station – all while Hurricane 

Harvey raged over Houston. Technicians 

at Marshall connected scientists who 

were hunkered down in their homes in 

Houston with astronaut Peggy Whitson 

as she ran the experiment in orbit. 

“Science aboard the station wasn’t 

stopping because of Hurricane Harvey,” 

said NASA microbiologist Sarah 

Wallace. “I thought ‘Oh my gosh, 

I am watching the frst sequence 

of an unknown from space.’” 

Working together under adverse 

circumstances, the scientists coached 

Whitson through the frst-of-its-kind 

process of sampling and identifying a 

microbe found in space without needing 

to send it back to Earth. 

Supporting crew members has 

produced research that helps us 

understand how to protect and 

strengthen their mental health and 

teamwork on long-term missions. 

Researchers have learned about 

the effects of isolation, plants, food 

variety, and more on crew mental health. 

Crew experiences on station have even 

led to the development of the C-O-N-NE-C-T concept to ensure crew members 

stay in good spirits and perform at 

their best by ensuring they take time 

to care for themselves and maintain 

a healthy mindset. 

This work is done using a system 

of ground- and space-based 

communications networks and the 

combined knowledge of partner space 

agencies in dealing with challenges, 

such as those posed by interference 

from cosmic radiation, and delays in 

the time it takes for messages to be 

sent and received. 

The technology of the communications 

system aboard the station was recently 

upgraded to double the rate with which 

information is transmitted to Earth, 

paving the way for similar capability 

on Gateway. This new rate enables 

the space station to send back more 

science data faster than ever before. 

Communications also have been 

enhanced on the station using other 

spacecraft. The Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency (JAXA) HTV 

Wireless LAN Demonstration (HTV 

WLAN Demo) conducted real-time, 

wireless video transfer between the 

space station and a visiting spacecraft. 

Autonomous docking technology is 

important for future missions that will 

be unable to rely on human assistance. 

The experiment involved taking 

videos from a vehicle near the space 

Left to right: NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan and ESA (European Space Agency) 

Commander Luca Parmitano work inside the Quest airlock checking U.S. spacesuits 

and spacewalking tools. The duo conducted several spacewalks to upgrade the 

Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer’s (AMS’s) thermal control system. Credit: NASA 

92 
Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency (JAXA) works in the 

Kibo laboratory module setting up a 

cinematic virtual reality (VR) camera to 

flm station activities. The immersive 

ISS Experience VR series documents 

a variety of crew activities aboard the 

International Space Station for 

audiences on Earth. Credit: NASA 

station and transmitting them to make 

astronauts aboard the station aware 

of the spacecraft’s current position. 

The wireless link was established at 

approximately 548 meters (1,800 feet). 

New types of video also are put to 

the test in space and could potentially 

capture future deep space missions. 

NASA, Canadian company Felix & Paul 

Studios, and TIME Studios developed 

Space Explorers: The ISS Experience, 

an immersive cinematic experience 

flmed by astronauts aboard station. 

The team designed special cameras 

to capture science and life inside the 

station, as well as a spacewalk outside. 

Testing the virtual reality (VR) camera 

technology used in the production 

on station prepares flmmakers for 

potentially capturing and transmitting 

high-quality footage from future 

missions to the Moon and other deepspace destinations. CSA has provided 

Felix & Paul Studios an investment to 

further develop this camera technology 

for lunar use. 

“I think it is inevitable that VR is going 

to be the default way to document 

space exploration moving forward. 

It is a perfect match between medium 

and story,” said Felix & Paul Studios 

co-founder and creative director 

Félix Lajeunesse. “Space exploration 

The Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center 

in Huntsville, Alabama. Credit: NASA 

is something that you want to live. 

You want to be there. You want to 

experience it. Everything we’re doing 

on station right now is a demonstration 

for the spacefight industry and the 

entertainment industry of how we can 

use this medium moving forward in 

the space world.” 

By conducting missions aboard the 

space station, we are forging the ability 

to successfully send crews on fights 

that will take them farther into the solar 

system than they have ever been before. 

“The International Space Station is one 

of the most ambitious international 

collaborations ever attempted,” said 

Jim Morhard, former NASA Deputy 

Administrator, during an event 

commemorating the space station’s 

20th anniversary in orbit. “[It] is a 

convergence of science, technology, 

and human innovation that provides 

humanity with a one-of-a kind proving 

ground for Artemis as we go forward to 

the Moon and then on to Mars.” 

(Clockwise from bottom) Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei, Megan 

McArthur, Shane Kimbrough, and Thomas Pesquet work together as a part of 

robotics training in preparation to support two spacewalks. Credit: NASA 

93 
94 95 

 

Flight Engineer Victor Glover, wearing a white 

fight suit, poses for a photo in front of the 

windows in the Cupola module. Credit: NASA BRINGING Humanity 

ALONG FOR THE RIDE 

We develop technologies and ways of using those technologies 

that are ways to improve life on Earth. But even more important 

than that I believe, space has a way of universally inspiring 

people. Making folks want to do very challenging things to 

the best of their ability is what I think human space exploration 

does most for humankind. 

“

-NASA astronaut Victor Glover 
96 

’

A student stands at the microphone as he asks NASA astronaut 

Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor a question during the downlink event 

with NASA s Armstrong Flight Research Center. Credit: NASA 
A Direct Link to Space 

Inspiring the next generation through conversations with space 

On Nov. 28, 1983, space shuttle 

Columbia launched, carrying former 

NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, amateur 

radio call sign W5LFL, and his ham 

radio into orbit for 10 days. For seven 

of those days, ham radio operators 

around the world, from classrooms to 

world leaders, heard Garriott’s voice 

calling Earthbound ham radio stations. 

Thanks to a ham radio aboard the 

International Space Station, the 

conversations continue. 

Amateur Radio on the International 

Space Station (ARISS) provides 

students from around the world the 

chance to ask questions directly to 

an astronaut in orbit, while learning 

the technical basics of ham radio 

operations. The program has now 

connected more than 250,000 

participants with the space station 

and over 100 crew members. 

“One of the primary purposes for the 

space station is to improve life here on 

Earth. That’s not just from a biomedical 

standpoint or from a science standpoint. 

It’s from an educational standpoint,” 

said Courtney Black, education project 

manager for the ISS National Laboratory. 

Before Black arrived at the ISS National 

Lab, she worked as a teacher for 

14 years, bringing space education to 

her classroom. In the fall of 2018, she 

coordinated her district’s frst-ever 

contact, where 21 students from across 

Lee County, Florida, spoke with NASA 

astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor live 

from the space station. 

Before the big day, the students spent 

many hours preparing. Every student 

learned the proper call signs and how 

to annunciate in addition to scientifc 

lessons about energy and soundwaves. 

“It was cool for me as an educator to 

see them grow and be confdent, and 

the community rally around the group 

of ham radio operators who were 

taking their time to invest in a group 

of students and the impact it has had,” 

Black said. 

On the day of the event, the entire 

community gathered to cheer on these 

students for their eight minutes in the 

spotlight alongside Auñón-Chancellor. 

All 21 students got their direct 

connection to space. 

“I can’t explain the impact that it has 

when an astronaut takes the time out 

of their schedule for my students, to say 

you are important enough for me to 

answer your questions,” Black said. 

“It means so much.” 

One of those students was then-high 

school senior, Emily Gunger. 

On the day she spoke with station, 

she told her local news station, “This is 

the start of my career to become an 

astronaut. This is where I’m setting my 

foot down and saying, hey, this is what 

I want to do, and this is how I want to 

do it. This is it, let’s do this.” 

A few years later, Gunger remains on 

that path, as she is now a student at 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 

in Florida. 

“Participating in this program motivated 

me to get a degree in Astronomy and 

ISS National Laboratory education project manager Courtney Black stands in front 

of student Emily Gunger during an ISS ham radio contact between Lee County, 

Florida, students and space station NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor. 

Credit: Andrew West/The News-Press 

Astrophysics,” Gunger said. “It is 

so important to involve students in 

STEM felds and encourage them 

to ask questions.” 

This type of tangible connection to 

the orbiting laboratory has served as a 

spark for thousands of students around 

the world. Questions have been asked 

in more than a dozen languages. 

This all is possible thanks to the many 

international partners that sponsor the 

program in collaboration with NASA: the 

State Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS 

(ROSCOSMOS), Canadian Space 

Agency (CSA), Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency (JAXA), and ESA 

(European Space Agency). ARISS 

worked with CSA on Communications 

and Outreach 2 – ARISS, which 

connected CSA astronaut Chris Hadfeld 

with a Canadian school. 

ARISS also worked with ROSCOSMOS 

on the O Gagarine iz kosmosa 

(About Gagarin from Space) program, 

which involved transmitting photos 

dedicated to the life and work of the 

97 
frst cosmonaut. Over 20,000 images 

were transmitted during the experiment. 

More than 160 communication sessions 

were held with students from Russia 

as well as with amateur radio operators 

in countries including France, Ecuador, 

Brazil, Japan, Tunisia, Australia, India, 

and Greece. 

The ROSCOSMOS Shadow-Beacon 

study even used the international 

network of amateur radio operators for 

an educational and scientifc purpose. 

Participants did meaningful work, 

analyzing the quality of radio signals 

and effects of disturbances such as 

shading and elevation of the station. 

This provides a new tool to increase 

the timeliness and effectiveness of 

managing ground measuring networks. 

Other programs have provided similar 

moments of connection with astronauts. 

Students record messages and images 

to send out to space with ROSCOSMOS’s 

RadioSkaf program. Spot the Station 

email and phone alerts send families 

outside at night to watch the station 

pass overhead. More than 6,000 students 

accessed space station videos through 

the ROSCOSMOS outreach flming 

project, Velikoye Nachalo. A Raspberry 

Pi computer aboard station is used for 

an ESA livestreaming project called ICE 

Cubes Hydra-3 Pulse that transmits 

heartbeat data from museum visitors to 

the space station, where it moves a 

Kaleidoscope containing small beads. 

“The most important part of our job is 

inspiring the next generation,” said 

Alana Bartolini, ISS and international 

education operations coordinator at 

Telespazio Belgium SRL for ESA. 

“What we want to do in this program is 

provide that access, that interest, and 

that inspiration for students at a young 

age and encourage them to take on 

more challenges as they get older.” 

Educational downlinks from the space 

station have directly reached hundreds 

A social media-submitted image is displayed next to a view out the space station 

window of Earth during the Studio Kibo 2021 New Year’s Eve broadcast. Credit: JAXA 

Illustration of future AVATAR X robots aboard the space station. Credit: avatarin Inc. 

of thousands of students, connecting 

classrooms and station astronauts for 

live conversations. JAXA’s Space Studio 

Kibo is innovating on the downlink 

concept, bringing the accessibility of 

livestreaming from space to the ground 

through terminals in the Japanese 

Experiment Module (JEM). 

“Anyone who has a smartphone can 

now connect with the space station,” 

says Rumiko Nango, producer and 

project director at Bascule Inc., the 

developer of Studio Kibo. 

One of the largest Studio Kibo projects 

to date livestreamed the frst space 

sunrise of the 2021 New Year to more 

than 5.5 million people. The broadcast 

also included videos from citizens and a 

conversation with JAXA astronaut Soichi 

Noguchi. The organization plans to 

continue this event annually, reaching 

millions more people with its 2022 New 

Year broadcast. 

The project also helped connect people 

around the world, including the elderly, 

students, and families, during the 

isolation of COVID-19 lockdowns. 

“This project not only created the 

opportunity to look up at the sky, but 

also provided a space to be together 

and see they share the same situation,” 

said JAXA Space Innovation through 

Partnership and Co-Creation producer 

Shinichi Takata. “It’s very symbolic. 

It was an event not only for the 

Japanese, but also people all over 

the world.” 

98 
Students participate in a live education downlink with astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA 

Those not able to participate in a live 

event can connect to the space station 

on demand through Story Time from 

Space, sponsored by the ISS National 

Lab. Astronauts record videos of 

themselves reading children’s stories, 

which can be watched by anyone with 

internet access. Each video has 

amassed hundreds of thousands 

of views. The most popular, AuñónChancellor reading If I Were an 

Astronaut, has been viewed on YouTube 

over 600,000 times. The videos can 

be watched anytime and from home, 

providing an important resource 

for inspiring the next generation 

of explorers. 

Just as research on the space 

station continues to innovate, so 

do outreach efforts. 

One of JAXA-promoted private 

company’s missions in Kibo is Avatar-X. 

This is a partnership project of JAXA 

and avatarin Inc. (a spin-out start-up 

company of ANA Holdings Inc. aiming 

to support the growing space-based 

economy by accelerating the 

development of real-world avatars), 

which plans to launch teleoperated 

robots that civilians can control from 

Earth. Similar avatar robots are already 

deployed in various facilities on Earth, 

enabling Japanese citizens and 

students to remotely explore facilities 

like JAXA centers and aquariums as if 

they were there in person. Next up is 

bringing the robots to space. 

“One of our goals is to make space 

more relevant to everyday people,” says 

Kevin Kajitani, chief operating offcer of 

avatarin Inc, the developer of Avatar-X. 

In 2020, a test conducted aboard the 

International Space Station allowed 

anyone that came by a booth in Tokyo 

to control a robotic camera installed in 

the space station in real time. Building 

on this success, the team is now 

working toward the launch and testing 

of more advanced robotic avatar 

systems aboard the station. 

These programs will pave the way 

for the next step in space outreach: 

the Moon. 

“The future step is we want to actually 

place a robot on the Moon or Mars to 

allow children to virtually walk around 

and explore,” said avatarin Inc. chief 

executive offcer Akira Fukabori. 

The ARISS program is also looking 

ahead and preparing to take advantage 

of future opportunities. They plan on 

installing a ham radio facility in Gateway, 

a vital component of NASA’s Artemis 

program. The multipurpose outpost 

orbiting the Moon will provide essential 

support for long-term human return to 

the lunar surface and serve as a staging 

point for deep space exploration. 

Conversations, story times, video, and 

other programs like these bring all of 

humanity along on the next stage of 

humankind’s exploration of the cosmos. 

99 
100 

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut 

Thomas Pesquet poses for a photo next to 

AstroPi Raspberry Pi computers equipped with 

visual and infrared cameras. Credits: NASA/ESA Generation

Station 
The International Space Station is inspiring 

the next generation of scientists 

People born after November 2000 have 

always known life with humans in space: 

they grew up in a world with an 

International Space Station orbiting 

overhead. Call them Generation Station, 

those for whom space has always 

seemed accessible, a place where 

scientists from around the globe 

conduct research. Perhaps it is no 

wonder that many members of this 

generation have already sent their 

own research and hardware to the 

microgravity laboratory. 

To help them continue to do so, many 

space agencies offer challenges and 

programs for students in their countries 

to send experiments into orbit. 

“The space station really provides 

a unique environment for students to 

be able to have tangible access to 

space,” said Alana Bartolini, ISS and 

international education operations 

coordinator at Telespazio Belgium SRL 

for ESA (European Space Agency). 

“They are not just doing a simulation. 

They are designing a real experiment 

and sending it to space.” 

For the European Astro Pi Challenge, 

students send code directly to station. 

Two levels of challenge enable younger 

students to measure humidity and 

display a personalized message to 

the astronauts while older students 

conduct full experiments that can 

yield meaningful scientifc benefts. 

Over 15,000 students ran code via 

the Astro Pi Challenges on the space 

station from 2020-2021. 

“The kids are really creative and 

imaginative. They do not just stop at 

‘here is the sensor reading, this means 

that the temperature is this’. They take 

it further, using critical thinking to 

explore what that value could mean 

in larger context,” says Bartolini. 

One of the Astro Pi Challenge 

experiments tested whether astronauts 

can be detected in a station module 

without using visual indicators. 

“The students found out how to detect 

the crew without us telling them,” 

said Aurora Technology B.V. for ESA 

STEM Didactics Expert Elsa Sanchez. 

“The frst way was by measuring 

humidity inside the Columbus module. 

When someone was close to the 

Astro Pi, they emitted water vapor and 

humidity levels would rise, indicating 

that an astronaut could be nearby.” 

Other space agencies also run code 

challenges for students in space. 

JAXA has hosted a robot coding 

project in space called the Kibo Robot 

Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC) 

since 2020, open for any age in the 

Asia-Pacifc region. 

“By having students compete as a 

team, it makes it more inviting and 

cultivates students’ leadership, 

teamwork, perseverance, and 

creativity,” said Yayoi Miyagawa, 

associate senior administrator 

of JAXA. “The students do not need 

any equipment except computer and 

Wi-Fi. They can participate in their 

home country wherever they are.” 

This challenge invites Asian students 

to frst run their code in a simulation. 

Those who succeed move on to the 

next round, and their code is used in 

space to control NASA’s Astrobee, a 

free-fying robotic system aboard the 

orbiting lab. 

“Some of the students have never used 

the coding language Java before, and 

Winners of the 2nd Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (from left to right) 

Settapun Laoaree, Kornpapop Sittirit, and Tarit Witworrasakul pose for a photo. 

Credit: Assumption College Thonburi 

their frst time was during this challenge. 

The leaders of the winning teams in 

2021 and 2020 told me they had never 

learned Java before. Yet, they study 

hard to build the code and run the 

simulators to see how it works over 

and over. Through their continuous 

efforts, they were able to win the game,” 

said Miyagawa. 

That team leader in 2021 was Thailandbased student Tarit Witworrasakul. 

He led a team, Indentation Error, to 

victory as a high school student, even 

beating out university teams for the win. 

“Participating in this program made me 

even more confdent that I made the 

right decision to study STEM. Besides 

being very challenging, I think this feld 

is also fun, stimulating, eye-opening, 

and very rewarding when you see the 

results in the end,” said Witworrasakul. 

NASA’s High school students United 

with NASA to Create Hardware 

(HUNCH) program gives students 

the opportunity to participate in the 

design and fabrication of real-world 

products for NASA. 

HUNCH started in 2003 with two 

schools in Alabama and one in Texas. 

Now, over 250 schools in more than 

101 
NASA astronaut Megan McArthur poses with the Astrobee robotic free-fyers in support 

of the Robo-Pro Challenge, which allows students to create programs to control 

Astrobee, a free-fying robot aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA 

40 states participate in six focus areas: 

design and prototyping, software, 

hardware, sewn fight articles, video, 

and media and culinary arts. 

Students from Cypress Ranch High 

School, Cypress, Texas, present mockup hardware to staff at NASA’s Johnson 

Space Center. This hardware was built for 

NASA training programs as part of the 

HUNCH program. Credit: NASA 

The program has produced more than 

1,500 items for fight or training for the 

space station program, representing 

approximately 20,000 individual fight 

parts. That includes the creation of 

four storage lockers fown on NASA’s 

Demo-2 mission and a new tape 

dispenser for use in space. 

Additionally, a contest sponsored by 

the ISS National Lab, Genes in Space, 

challenges students in grades 7 through 

12 to design DNA analysis experiments 

using tools aboard the station. Winning 

proposals are developed into research 

projects launched to the space station. 

The 2018 winning proposal came from 

a group of students from Minnesota: 

Aarthi Vijayakumar, Michelle Sung, 

Rebecca Li, and David Li. Their project 

created double-strand breaks in yeast 

DNA, allowed cells to repair the breaks, 

and examined the repairs for mutations. 

The experiment marked several historic 

milestones: the entire process took 

place on the space station, and it used 

CRISPR-Cas9 technology in space for 

the frst time. 

The four students had conducted 

lab-based research during summers 

in high school and were looking 

for science competitions to enter. 

Genes in Space-6 team Aarthi Vijayakumar, 

Michelle Sung, mentor Deniz Atabay, 

David Li, and Rebecca Li outside the 

NASA vehicle assembly building at 

Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Genes 

in Space 

“We knew astronauts have increased 

risk of cancer and wanted to fgure out 

why,” said Vijayakumar. They examined 

previous studies and saw that many 

focused on DNA break repair, which 

had not been studied in space. 

“We decided to do the complete 

workfow in space to isolate the 

process and get a more thorough 

picture, without bringing samples back 

down where gravity could have affected 

the DNA repair,” she said. The students 

worked with scientists at NASA, 

aerospace company Boeing, and 

biotech company miniPCR to prepare 

the experiment for space. 

Vijayakumar is now a student at Yale 

studying molecular biochemistry and 

biophysics, a path inspired in part by 

her Genes in Space experience. 

“It was really out there compared to 

anything we’d done before,” she says. 

“Space biology is different from a lab 

on Earth; there are things you have 

to consider that never show up here. 

Learning how to create an experiment 

for the space station and watching the 

professionals was just as informative 

to us as the actual science itself.” 

102 
Astronaut Kate Rubins wearing 

the COURAGE spacesuit 

comprised of artwork from 

pediatric cancer patients. 

Credit: NASA 

Launching Art to New Heights 

At the intersection of space exploration 

and creativity, the space station is a 

unique platform for artistic expression. 

Projects spanning multiple media, 

from the visual arts to music, have 

inspired audiences from hundreds 

of miles above. 

As part of a program to help patients 

cope with their cancer treatments 

through art, the Spacesuit Art Project 

invited over 530 pediatric cancer 

patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center, 

family members, and support personnel 

to paint canvas strips. The hand-painted 

art pieces were stitched together and 

incorporated into three spacesuits that 

were fttingly named HOPE, COURAGE, 

and UNITY. The COURAGE suit, 

created solely by pediatric patients, 

was launched to the station and worn 

by cancer researcher and NASA 

astronaut Kate Rubins. She provided 

special downlinks to speak with the 

patients and to raise awareness for 

childhood cancer research. 

The MIT Media Lab Space Exploration 

Initiative also made an “open call” to 

artists around the world to participate in 

the Earthlings experiment. Art samples 

were deployed in a rotating structure 

aboard the space station. The project 

empowered a new generation of artists, 

designers, and creatives to engage their 

art in extreme and remote environments, 

which in turn inspires people on Earth. 

Inspiring audiences in a different 

manner, ESA (European Space 

Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano 

in 2019 became the frst DJ in space. 

He broadcasted a live 12-minute DJ 

set from the International Space Station 

for concertgoers on the Spanish island 

of Ibiza.” While energizing the crowd, 

the project was intended to inspire 

younger audiences about ESA and 

space exploration. 

During “Paint with the Astronauts” day at 

MD Anderson Cancer Center, a patient 

poses with NASA astronauts Nicole Stott 

(left) and Reid Wiseman (right). Not 

shown: NASA astronaut Ellen Baker. 

Credit: NASA/Lauren Harnett 

103 
104 105 

 

 

View of Aurora (part of time lapse) taken by 

Expedition 65 crew member Thomas Pesquet 

aboard the International Space Station. NEW FRONTIERS IN Credits: ESA/NASA 

Physics 

I think what’s really fantastic is we get the best of both worlds... 

-ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet 

From the most theoretical to the most basic, most mundane 

application, we got a bit of everything up here on the space 

“

station and that’s what makes it so special. 
106 

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha 

Cristoforetti - dressed in a Star Trek Voyager uniform -

takes a sip of espresso from the new Capillary Beverage 

investigation, also known as Space Cup, while looking 

out of the station’s cupola window. Credit: NASA 
Going with the Fluid Flow 

Studying fuids in microgravity is improving consumer products 

like shampoo and advancing technologies like life support systems 

The fog of gravity is present in every 

experiment performed on Earth, 

clouding those observations and 

limiting our understanding. Heading 

to the International Space Station 

removes that fog. 

Microgravity allows researchers to study 

the physics of our universe, from the 

properties of metals to atoms, through 

a completely new lens. Research on the 

space station is revealing fundamental 

science that can change our lives 

on Earth. 

“Being in microgravity, you are in an 

environment where you can remove 

gravity. So, some processes that are 

masked on Earth you can study in this 

environment,” says ESA (European 

Space Agency) scientist Marco Braibanti. 

Colloids are mixtures of tiny particles 

suspended in a liquid. They include 

natural mixtures such as milk and 

muddy water as well as a range of 

manufactured products from shampoo 

to medicine to salad dressing. Studying 

colloids is complicated by the fact that 

gravity causes some particles to rise 

and others to sink. Microgravity 

removes that complication and makes 

possible research like the Advanced 

Colloids Experiments (ACE) conducted 

by NASA, the International Space 

Station (ISS) National Laboratory, and 

Procter & Gamble (P&G). This series of 

studies helps companies design better 

products used in our everyday lives and 

could inform the creation of entirely new 

ones, including some that could enable 

exploration farther into space. 

The latest formulation of P&G’s Febreze 

Unstopables TOUCH Fabric Spray 

with touch-activated scent release 

technology is the frst to incorporate 

materials based on this colloids 

research. 

“It’s an amazing fuid that looks and 

feels like water,” says P&G researcher 

Matthew Lynch. 

“The work on the station helped 

us envision and understand the 

formulation.” 

Lynch says some two-thirds of P&G’s 

biggest brands could beneft from 

colloids research and in turn improve 

products for consumers. Space station 

research has contributed to three new 

patents for the company. Lynch points 

out that even a 1% savings in production 

costs or a slightly longer shelf life for 

household staples such as Downy 

fabric softener becomes signifcant. 

P&G products are used by an estimated 

4.8 billion people every day—more than 

half of Earth’s population. 

“The success of the P&G spacefight 

experiments is more than just a 

compelling business impact,” Lynch 

said. “More importantly, what we learn 

here is going to help a lot of people.” 

Other companies, including Delta 

Faucet, also have taken advantage 

of station physics research to improve 

their products. Their Droplet Formation 

experiment in collaboration with the ISS 

National Laboratory used microgravity 

to evaluate water drop formation 

ESA (European Space Agency) scientist Sébastien Vincent-Bonnieu (left) performing 

zero-gravity foam experiments on a parabolic fight where short-term microgravity 

can be used to prepare and test experiments for the space station. Credit: ESA 

and water fow from Delta Faucet’s 

H2Okinetic showerhead to create better 

performance, improve user experience, 

and conserve water and energy. 

ESA also performed numerous 

microgravity fuids studies, contributing 

greatly to our understanding of 

boiling, heat transfer, and fuid fows. 

The FOAM experiment studied bubble 

size, rearrangement dynamics, 

and other properties of wet foams. 

Foams break down quickly in gravity, 

making them diffcult to study on Earth. 

“On Earth, liquid drains. That masks 

some other effects like coarsening, 

which is when gas passes between 

foam bubbles,” says Braibanti. 

Solid and liquid foams are used across 

a variety of industries, from cleaning 

products to food and medicines. 

Gaining a better fundamental 

understanding of foams could help 

improve their control and process 

design in these industries. 

107 
NASA astronaut Shannon Walker sets up 

Packed Bed Reactor Experiment (PBRE) 

hardware components. The PBRE study 

explores how liquids and gases behave 

together in a fltration packing material 

in microgravity, which may enable the 

design of more effcient, lightweight water 

recovery life support systems that use 

less energy on future space exploration 

missions. Credit: NASA 

“We can learn something new doing 

experiments that nobody has done 

before in a unique environment. 

You learn new things that you can 

then apply in novel applications on 

Earth and in space,” says Braibanti. 

The ESA RUBI experiment analyzed 

a very different type of bubbles: those 

formed during boiling. Without gravity, 

boiling takes place in slow motion and 

produces larger bubbles. RUBI allows 

scientists to observe and measure 

effects that are too fast and too small 

on Earth, getting a more complete 

understanding of heat transfer during 

the boiling process. This information 

could be applied to help cool electronics 

such as laptops more effciently. 

“Scientists are in the process of 

analyzing all of RUBI’s data. Then we 

are planning to launch a new facility 

called Heat Transfer Host that hosts a 

number of different experiments in the 

feld of heat transfer. The idea is to use 

the results that we have from RUBI in 

the design of the new experiments,” 

says ESA scientist Sebastien 

Vincent-Bonnieu. 

The changes that microgravity causes 

in fuid behavior also can present 

challenges for transitioning Earth 

technologies to space. 

“We test reactor beds extensively on 

the ground, then fy the same thing 

and it underperforms in space,” said 

Packed Bed Reactor Experiment (PBRE) 

principal investigator Brian Motil of 

NASA’s Glenn Research Center in 

Cleveland, Ohio. 

Reactors are critical to space 

exploration: they are used to reclaim 

and purify water, clean air, and provide 

many of the life-sustaining processes 

we take for granted on Earth. Because 

of the gap in our knowledge about how 

two-phase (i.e., between a gas and 

liquid, or between a liquid and solid) 

systems work in microgravity, reactor 

designers do not have the necessary 

tools to create more-effcient systems. 

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins works on the SODI DCMix-3 installation inside 

the station’s Microgravity Science Glovebox. Credit: NASA 

And as we travel farther into space, 

reactor effciency must improve. 

“The pressure drop in reactors in space 

is different than we expected,” said 

Motil. “Because of that, our focus has 

been to answer those fundamental 

questions of what is going on and what 

is the minimum fow rate we need to 

fush bubbles out of the system.” 

The space station provides a tool for 

understanding this drop of performance 

and could enable scientists to increase 

the effciency of life support systems. 

“This research will enable us to do 

long-duration spacefights, ones where 

astronauts will have to recycle most of 

their resources. Reactor beds are one of 

the many technologies that really need 

to be well-tested prior to going to 

Mars,” said Motil. “Without the space 

station, we have no platform to validate 

what we have developed.” 

Pressure-drop calculations generated 

by the PBRE team so far already have 

been successfully applied to other 

station experiments at high fow rates. 

The IVGEN study, which tested 

the ability to generate water of 

suffcient quality for intravenous use 

in microgravity for medical emergencies, 

used these calculations to fush their 

system before the experiment. But high 

fow rates can damage reactor bed 

material, so research continues to 

conquer the low fow rate question. 

Other space station fuids experiments 

also are providing actionable information 

and results. The ESA SODI-DCMIX 

study calculated how much certain 

mixtures of fuids and gas molecules 

move and collide, which could help 

us better understand the behaviors 

of these chemicals in underground oil 

reservoirs. Studies of capillary forces, 

the small pushes and pulls that move 

liquid through a narrow tube, have led 

to the development of a special cup 

that can be used in space, and the 

testing of new life support systems 

that rely on shapes and fuid dynamics 

rather than complex pumps to move 

and store liquid. 

“We have shown to the scientifc 

community this can work and deliver 

interesting results,” said VincentBonnieu. “And now that we are 

delivering a number of results, we are 

actually seeing growing interest in space 

station research. We are opening more 

doors than we are closing.” 

108 
ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano 

does a science demonstration using Nickelodeon’s Slime 

in Space and super-hydrophobic paddles. Credit: NASA 

Physics Research Gets Slimed 

“

The data can be 

applied to work 

around low-gravity 

droplet production, 

mitigation, and 

containment and 

help inform continued 

work concerning 

general liquid 

containment, 

hydroponic plant 

watering in space, 

and more. 

Who knew green goo could be both 

educational and scientifc! U.S.-based 

television channel Nickelodeon worked 

with the International Space Station 

National Laboratory and researchers 

behind station fuids studies to send 

slime to space. The investigation 

Nickelodeon Slime in Space served 

both as research on non-Newtonian 

fuids and an outreach effort. 

The fnal product taught viewers 

about microgravity and materials 

science principles in a fun and 

engaging 15-minute virtual feld trip 

targeted at grades 3-5. The feld trip 

has been already viewed more than 

600,000 times. 

Sending this large amount of highly 

viscous liquid to the space station 

was a unique opportunity for fuids 

researchers. Scientists recorded 

observations of the slime’s fuid 

properties using eight demonstrations. 

These simple demonstrations provide 

valuable data on liquid behavior in 

microgravity. Such data inform the 

analysis and design of new space 

technology and space-based research. 

The data can be applied to work 

around low-gravity droplet production, 

mitigation, and containment and help 

inform continued work concerning 

general liquid containment, hydroponic 

plant watering in space, and more. 

And of course, it is also fun to see 

astronauts slimed in space. 

109 
110 

View of the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer 

(NICER) payload mounted on the International Space 

Station. NICER’s primary mission to perform an in-depth 

study of neutron stars offers unrivaled astrophysics 

knowledge and may revolutionize scientists’ 

understanding of ultra-dense matter. Credit: NASA 
Space Station Study of 

Neutron Stars Helps 

Improve CT Scans 

Advances in X-ray technologies to create a space station telescope 

help us unravel the mysteries of our universe while potentially 

improving medical devices 

When the team behind NASA’s Neutron 

star Interior Composition Explorer 

(NICER) developed their astrophysics 

experiment for launch to the International 

Space Station, they faced unique 

challenges. Researchers needed to 

create new X-ray technologies to best 

study the glowing cinders left behind 

when massive stars explode as 

supernovae and form neutron stars. 

What the NICER scientists never 

expected was that the technologies 

they developed for overcoming these 

challenges in space could lead to 

new advances in medicine. 

In 2017, NICER joined other astrophysics 

experiments such as the Japan 

Aerospace Exploration Agency’s 

(JAXA’s) CALET and MAXI, and NASA’s 

AMS-02 in using the outside of the 

space station as a unique perch for 

studying the universe. 

“We designed the mission to study 

neutron stars because they are really 

fantastic objects. They represent the 

densest matter that we know of in the 

universe. If you could squeeze a neutron 

star any further, it would implode into 

its event horizon and become a black 

hole,” said Keith Gendreau, NICER 

principal investigator at NASA’s 

Goddard Space Flight Center in 

Greenbelt, Maryland. “We do not know 

how matter behaves at these super-high 

densities because we cannot reproduce 

them in any experiment here on Earth 

or in the solar system.” 

NICER’s observations of neutron stars 

have already led to numerous fndings. 

In 2019, NICER detected a sudden spike 

of X-rays caused by a thermonuclear 

fash on the surface of a pulsar, a rapidly 

NICER team members apply epoxy to the X-ray concentrator mounts prior to launch. 

The epoxy held the optics assemblies fxed in position through the vibrations 

experienced during launch to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA 

spinning neutron star. It also provided 

the frst ever surface map of hot spots 

on a pulsar’s surface in the same year. 

In 2021, the telescope helped scientists 

discover that matter in the heart of a 

neutron star is less squeezable than 

some physicists predicted, NICER’s 

key science goal. 

Scientists from around the globe 

are now using the payload to study 

everything from black holes to comets. 

For example, scientists used NICER 

to chart the environment surrounding 

J1820+070, a black hole about 10 times 

the Sun’s mass. That discovery made 

the cover of the January 2019 issue 

of the scientifc journal Nature. 

But before NICER did any of this, the 

research team worked on the ground 

to fgure out how the experiment 

could provide accurate time-tag 

measurements of X-rays. 

“NICER’s measurement capabilities 

that are unique involve timing. 

The instrument records to extremely 

high accuracy the time at which X-rays 

coming from the sky are received,” 

111 
This miniaturized X-ray source was used to test the NICER payload and is now being used for developing new CT scan 

technology. The high-speed switching capability and miniature size make possible many new technologies, including X-ray-based 

communication, novel X-ray fuorescence and diffraction instruments for materials science, low and precise dose medical X-rays, 

and more. Credits: NASA/Goddard/Samantha Kilgore 

Gendreau said. “To verify that 

performance on the ground, we 

needed an X-ray generator that could 

produce X-rays at commanded times.” 

Traditional X-ray sources were limited 

in how quickly they could be turned 

on or off. The researchers needed to 

shorten that time from milliseconds 

to nanoseconds. To solve this challenge, 

the NICER team created and patented 

the Miniaturized High-Speed Modulated 

X-ray Source (MXS). 

This also happened to be just what 

neuroradiologist Dr. Raj Gupta of 

Massachusetts General Hospital was 

looking for in his quest to improve 

computed tomography (CT) scans. 

CT scans, formerly known as CAT 

scans, are obtained using rotating 

“

According to Harvard 

Health Publishing, more 

than 80 million CT scans 

are performed in the 

United States alone 

each year. 

X-ray machines that image the body 

to provide important three-dimensional 

information to medical professionals. 

According to Harvard Health Publishing, 

more than 80 million CT scans are 

performed in the United States alone 

each year. 

Traditional CT machines are large, 

heavy, and consume a lot of power, 

making them diffcult to ship and 

hard to access in environments with 

few resources. 

“Where I grew up, there is really no 

medical imaging. And even now there 

is very little penetration of advanced 

medical imaging there. Even simple 

X-rays are not available to about 

two-thirds of the world, according 

to the United Nations,” Gupta said. 

Gupta lived in the small village of 

Malsisar in northwest India until he 

was nine years old. His desire to make 

medical technologies more accessible 

drove Gupta’s work to improve the 

devices. Coincidentally, what his 

research needed was similar to what 

the NICER team had created: a small, 

lightweight X-ray source that could 

turn on and off very quickly. 

When Gupta attended a talk put on 

by Gendreau, also the lead inventor 

of MXS, Gupta knew that it was 

something special. He saw the potential 

to increase the accessibility of CT 

scans, lower the radiation doses these 

procedures deliver to medical patients, 

and create new medical devices with 

potential use for space exploration. 

He reached out to Gendreau and the 

collaboration began. 

“I never thought that when looking at 

some pulsars and neutron stars, I would 

An X-ray image of a pig lung obtained by 

Dr. Raj Gupta’s research team testing out 

the new CT scan technology. Credit: 

Raj Gupta, Massachusetts General 

Hospital and Harvard Medical School 

112 
View of the experimental setup created by Dr. Raj Gupta’s research team at 

Massachusetts General Hospital to image a pig lung to test the new CT scan method. 

The technology was developed using an X-ray source created for the NICER payload 

aboard the space station. Credit: Raj Gupta, Massachusetts General Hospital and 

Harvard Medical School 

fnd some technology that will be useful 

in my day-to-day work,” Gupta said. 

Rather than spinning the large X-ray 

machine around to capture a CT scan, 

Gupta worked with the NICER team to 

create a stationary ring of these new, 

small, modulated X-ray sources that 

can be mounted around the patient, 

fring when needed. 

“If you have many X-ray sources around 

a person, then you can turn on the ones 

that are giving the doctor more 

information more often and those 

that are giving less information 

less often,” Gupta said. 

This technique can decrease the 

amount of radiation the patient is 

exposed to and enable better image 

quality for that level of radiation. Limiting 

radiation exposure is helpful for patients 

on Earth now and for potential future 

astronauts on their way to Mars. 

A scan of a human hand obtained by Dr. Raj Gupta’s research team testing out the 

new CT scan technology. Credit: Raj Gupta, Massachusetts General Hospital and 

Harvard Medical School 

“In space, because it is a high radiation 

environment to begin with, this is even 

more important,” Gupta said. “Currently, 

long missions take months, if not years, 

to complete. In that time, somebody 

could get sick or injured. There may be 

physicians aboard who can actually do 

something about it, but the traditional 

CT scanner is just not placeable in a 

space environment.” 

Gupta and his team have already 

performed successful test scans on pig 

lungs and human hands. They published 

their initial results in Nature Scientifc 

Reports in 2018. Their next step is to 

increase the size and power of the setup 

for full-scale human testing. 

“What has happened to the accessibility 

of consumer electronics has not 

happened to medical imaging, and 

ideas like this move the ball in that 

direction,” Gupta said. 

He is hopeful that as more scientists 

from other felds study the work of 

NICER scientists, more medical benefts 

will arise. 

“They have this method of taking 

X-rays and kind of concentrating them. 

They have essentially made a focusing 

system for X-rays that could be used in 

mammography,” Gupta said. 

While this progress continues in the lab 

on Earth, NICER will continue staring 

up at the skies. 

“There are lots of intriguing aspects 

about what goes on physically inside 

neutron stars, including super 

conductivity and super fuidity – 

all these weird quantum phenomena 

that are almost science fction except 

that they’re not,” said Zaven Arzoumanian, 

NICER deputy principal investigator 

at Goddard. 

Superconductivity and superfuids 

can be created in the lab, but only in 

tiny quantities. Neutron stars offer the 

rare opportunity to study quantities 

of superfuid that weigh as much as 

the Sun. 

“We are exploring quantum phenomena 

that are happening on enormous scales, 

and understanding them can have 

technological relevance to us,” 

Arzoumanian said. 

NICER’s continued work analyzing 

neutron stars and helping us better 

understand our universe may in turn 

lead to new ways of helping us back 

on Earth. 

113 
114 

Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) attached to the Japanese 

Experiment Module - Exposed Facility (JEF). Photo taken during 

STS-127/Expedition 20 Joint Operations. Credit: NASA 
Automating an Astrophysics 

Collaboration That Bridges 

Countries and Galaxies 

An international collaboration between 

NASA’s NICER and the Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency’s (JAXA’s) space 

station experiment MAXI has jumpstarted the discovery of unpredictable 

cosmic events that reveal the workings 

of our dynamic universe. MAXI has 

scanned the skies for X-ray sources 

from the vantage point of the space 

station since 2009, alerting other 

observatories so they can capture 

additional data about these sources. 

“The space station is in contact with a 

ground station about 70% of the time. 

We can get data from MAXI about 

10 seconds after it detects something. 

Prompt analysis on ground computers 

makes it possible to issue an alert to 

observatories all over the world through 

the internet,” said MAXI co-investigator 

Tatehiro Mihara. 

The NICER team is one group receiving 

these alerts. While MAXI scans 95% of 

the X-ray sky with each orbit of the 

station, NICER measures a much 

smaller patch of sky with much higher 

sensitivity to faint objects. This makes 

the two instruments a perfect pair. 

In one instance, astronomers were 

unaware of the presence of black hole 

J1820 until MAXI spotted an outburst 

“

In one instance, 

astronomers were 

unaware of the 

presence of black 

hole J1820 until MAXI 

spotted an outburst 

on March 11, 2018. 

The frst all-sky X-ray image obtained with a camera on the Monitor of All-sky X-ray 

Image (MAXI) during one International Space Station orbit. Credit: Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency (JAXA). 

on March 11, 2018. Outbursts occur 

when an instability in the disk causes 

a food of gas to move inward, toward 

the black hole, like an avalanche. 

The causes of disk instabilities are 

poorly understood. J1820 went from a 

totally unknown black hole to one of the 

brightest sources in the X-ray sky over 

a few days. NICER moved quickly to 

capture this dramatic transition and 

followed the fading tail of the eruption 

over several months. 

However, vastly differing time zones 

between the United States and Japan 

do complicate this collaboration. 

The Orbiting High-energy Monitor Alert 

Network (OHMAN) project is taking 

on this challenge by automating the 

relationship between the two payloads. 

“NICER and MAXI are both on the 

space station, so why go through 

the bother of sending information to 

the ground at all?” said Keith Gendreau, 

NICER principal investigator at NASA’s 

Goddard Space Flight Center in 

Greenbelt, Maryland. “It should be 

possible for MAXI to do its automated 

analysis and determine whether 

something is worth NICER’s attention. 

Then NICER can follow up on the 

X-ray source automatically, cutting 

the response time from hours or 

days to minutes.” 

A laptop aboard station connected 

to both instruments serves as 

the bridge between the two missions. 

By automating this notifcation process, 

NICER and MAXI can work more closely 

together than ever before, using X-rays 

to uncover more mysteries of the 

universe and advance scientifc 

understanding – and hopefully 

something more. 

“When MAXI sees X-rays in real time in 

the sky and informs humans for the frst 

time, we see a new world where a star 

suddenly brightens up and black hole 

binaries twinkle in a millisecond,” 

Mihara said. “It might just be beautiful 

to some people, but sometimes it 

inspires them.” 

115 
116 

 

Ya-Ting Liao, an investigator for the Confned 

Combustion experiment, discusses the investigation, 

which studies how fre spreads and behaves in confned 

spaces, during a What’s On Board Briefng for SpaceX’s 

19th Commercial Resupply launch. Credit: NASA 
You’re Hot Then You’re Cold 

Extreme temperatures aboard the space station are helping us 

uncover new information about our universe, keep people safe 

from fres, and more 

Physics research requires extremes. 

The International Space Station delivers 

those extremes, from generating some 

of the coldest temperatures in the 

universe to using hot fames and 

furnaces to heat samples above 

2,000°C (3,632°F). Keeping things cold 

can slow down processes in unique 

ways in microgravity while understanding 

how fre spreads and behaves in space 

is crucial for the safety of astronauts in 

space and advances our knowledge of 

combustion and fre control on Earth. 

Let us go to the extremes and push the 

boundary of what we know for the sake 

of science and safety here on Earth. 

You’re Hot 

Fuel effciency and reducing pollution 

“Most of our electricity in the United 

States is generated by combustion,” 

says NASA’s Glenn Research Center 

project scientist Dennis Stocker. 

“In regard to powering cars, where 

would we be without combustion? 

Combustion is a big part of our 

modern lives.” 

The International Space Station helps 

combustion researchers test core 

principles of their feld, removing the 

variable of gravity, which clouds fame 

experiments on Earth. The six Advanced 

Combustion via Microgravity Experiments 

(ACME) conducted in the Combustion 

Integrated Rack could yield data that 

help improve fuel effciency and reduce 

pollutant production in combustion 

on Earth. 

Discovering cool fames 

“One of the biggest discoveries, not 

only in the microgravity program but 

in probably the past 20 to 30 years 

of combustion research, came during 

the FLEX experiments on the space 

station,” says Glenn scientist Daniel 

Dietrich. When researchers on the FLEX 

study analyzed fre suppressants by 

studying burning fuel droplets, they 

made a surprising discovery: continued, 

low-temperature “burning” after 

apparent fame extinction. 

Now known as cool fames, this 

combustion process is distinct from 

These fames were formed as a part of the Confned Combustion experiment aboard 

the space station when NASA astronaut Christina Koch conducted the frst burn of 

the study on Christmas Eve 2019. Understanding how fre spreads and behaves in 

space is crucial for the safety of future astronauts and for understanding and 

controlling fre here on Earth. Credit: NASA 

the fames that keep us warm by 

the campfre. Typical fames produce 

soot, carbon dioxide, and water. 

Cool fames produce carbon monoxide 

and formaldehyde. Learning more 

about the behavior of these chemically 

different fames could lead to the 

development of more-effcient, lesspolluting vehicles. 

Since their discovery in 2012, cool 

fames have been produced on Earth, 

but they quickly ficker out. On station, 

cool fames can burn for minutes, 

giving scientists a better opportunity 

to study them. 

“It’s not only important from a nerdy 

theoretical combustion point of view, 

but also from a practical point of view,” 

says Dietrich. “The low-temperature 

chemical reactions that we can study 

on facilities like the space station are 

very important in real combustion 

systems like engines.” 

Flames in tight spaces 

Confned Combustion could help keep 

us safer by improving fre safety codes. 

The spread of fames in confned spaces 

such as buildings and vehicles may 

pose a more serious fre hazard than 

fame spread in open spaces because 

of heat radiating back from the 

surrounding walls. This experiment 

studied fre movement through differently 

shaped spaces in microgravity to give 

us a better understanding of how fre 

behaves in these areas on Earth. 

“It felt unreal that this project, so close 

to my heart, was in space 200 miles 

above my head,” says principal 

investigator Ya-Ting Liao. Liao’s lab 

is disseminating its fndings among 

industry partners and the academic 

community to contribute to improving 

fre safety on Earth and in space. 

“We have a responsibility to use this 

unique experiment opportunity to 

impact science and life on Earth 

and beyond.” 

117 
Understanding hot metals 

To produce glass or metal alloys on 

Earth, raw materials are placed into a 

container called a crucible and heated. 

But reactions can occur between 

the crucible and the materials inside, 

causing imperfections. JAXA’s 

Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) 

takes advantage of microgravity to 

study and process these hot materials 

without containers. 

Every material has a very small 

electrostatic charge on its surface. 

ELF applies a high voltage to the 

sample, then levitates it using coulomb 

force, which forms from the attraction 

or repulsion of objects based on their 

electric charges. The amount of charge 

depends on the material’s characteristics. 

If the electrostatic charge is very small, 

scientists cannot levitate the sample on 

Earth because coulomb force cannot 

overcome gravity. In microgravity, ELF 

can levitate almost all samples that 

cannot be levitated on the ground, 

providing insights into the properties 

of high-temperature metals and new 

types of materials. 

“It is very diffcult to control the 

samples in the right position in a 

super high temperature range above 

1,000 degrees Celsius, because every 

material has its own characteristics. 

We do not know these characteristics 

on the ground, so there is a lot of trial 

and error in the space experiment,” says 

JAXA scientist Hirohisa Oda. “When we 

successfully melt the new sample in 

space, it is a very happy moment for 

ELF team.” 

Oda says ELF may accelerate 

development of innovative material 

like super-diffractive index glass and 

super-high-heat resistant ceramics. 

These materials could be useful in 

aerospace and energy industries. 

Predicting rocket engine behavior 

Rocket engines widely use spray 

combustion of liquid propellants 

immediately after injection into the 

combustion chamber. The fuel and 

oxidizer move through the combustion 

chamber at high speeds, making 

analysis of the droplet and fame 

interactions virtually impossible. 

Group Combustion, the frst combustion 

experiment performed onboard the 

Japanese Kibo module, could help 

improve numerical simulations used to 

predict spray combustion behavior in 

the development of these advanced 

rocket engines. 

Putting out fres 

We didn’t start the fre – but we sure 

need to put it out. The Burning and 

Suppression of Solids (BASS) 

investigation examines how to 

extinguish a variety of fuels burning in 

microgravity. With adequate ventilation, 

materials may burn as well in 

microgravity as in normal gravity; 

however, putting out fres in space must 

consider the geometry of the fame and 

characteristics of the extinguisher. 

Otherwise, some ground-based type 

efforts may be ineffective or make the 

fame worse through increased 

interaction with oxygen. 

BASS investigation results guide 

strategies for extinguishing accidental 

fres in microgravity and contribute to 

better fre detection and suppression 

systems on Earth. 

Going big 

The Saffre experiments are conducted 

aboard uncrewed Cygnus cargo 

spacecraft after they detach from the 

station. This squeezes in one extra dose 

This fame was one of many ignited as part of the Flame Design investigation inside 

of Combustion Integration Rack to investigate the amount of soot that is produced 

in different conditions. The yellow spots are soot clusters that glow yellow when hot. 

These clusters grow larger in microgravity than on Earth because the soot remains 

within the fame longer. Credit: NASA 

of science to these missions, taking 

advantage of every opportunity to do 

research in microgravity. The distance 

from station enables tests of larger fres 

using instruments to measure fame 

growth, oxygen use, and more. 

This work improves our understanding 

of fre growth in microgravity, safeguarding future space missions. 

Then You’re Cold 

Going to the coldest place in the 

universe to advance quantum science 

In July 2018, NASA’s Cold Atom 

Lab (CAL) became the frst facility to 

produce a new state of matter, called 

a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), in 

Earth orbit. A fundamental physics 

facility aboard the space station, CAL 

cools atoms to ultracold temperatures 

to study their quantum properties in 

ways not possible on Earth. 

“With Cold Atom Lab, we’re looking 

for new physics that pops up only 

when you can study the universe at 

extremely fne scales,” said Jason 

Williams, the lead scientist for the 

Cold Atom Lab atom interferometer 

at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

(JPL) in Southern California. 

118 
NASA astronaut Christina Koch handles science hardware stowed inside a cargo transfer bag retrieved from the SpaceX Dragon 

resupply ship. The hardware is part of the Cold Atom Laboratory that produces clouds of atoms that are chilled to about one ten 

billionth of a degree above absolute zero -- much colder than the average temperature of deep space. Credit: NASA 

Chilling atoms is the only way to 

produce a BEC. The colder the atoms 

are, the slower they move and, following 

the rules of quantum mechanics, the 

larger and more wave-like they become. 

Ultracold atom facilities like CAL cool 

atoms to within a few billionths of 

a degree above the temperature at 

which they would theoretically stop 

moving entirely. Facilities in space can 

potentially reach colder temperatures 

than Earthbound labs because less 

energy is required to keep the atoms 

in place in space. 

Longer observing times and colder 

temperatures both provide opportunities 

for deeper insights into the behaviors 

of atoms and BECs. 

BECs serve as a valuable tool for 

quantum physicists because all 

the atoms in a BEC have the same 

quantum identity. This means they 

collectively exhibit properties that are 

typically displayed only by individual 

atoms or subatomic particles. BECs 

make those microscopic characteristics 

visible at a macroscopic scale. 

“Even dating back to when the frst 

Bose-Einstein condensates were made, 

physicists recognized how working in 

space could provide big advantages 

in studying these quantum systems,” 

said David Aveline, a member of the 

Cold Atom Lab science team at JPL. 

“There have been some focused 

demonstrations in this regard, but now 

with the continuous operation of Cold 

Atom Lab, we’re showing there’s a lot 

to gain by doing these prolonged 

experiments day after day in orbit.” 

Quantum science touches our lives 

each day. Quantum mechanics refers 

to the branch of physics that focuses 

on the behaviors of atoms and 

subatomic particles. It is a foundational 

part of many components in many 

modern technologies, including cell 

phones and computers, that employ 

the wave nature of electrons in silicon. 

Although the frst quantum phenomena 

were observed more than a century ago, 

scientists continue to learn about this 

realm of our universe. 

Cold Atom Lab now has run successfully 

for more than four years, and astronauts 

even helped upgrade the facility with a 

new tool, called an atom interferometer, 

that uses atoms to precisely measure 

forces, including gravity. The new 

instrument is working as expected, 

making it the frst atom interferometer 

to operate in space. 

119 
120 121 

’

GROWING THE Low-Earth Orbit 

Economy 

NASA s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts participate in a training session at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA. From left to right: 

NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 mission specialist Jessica Watkins; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 pilot Robert “Bob” 

Hines; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 commander Kjell Lindgren; and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and 

Crew-4 mission specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy. Credit: SpaceX -ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer 

From the space agencies that started the International 

Space Station program, to now also having more and 

more commercial partners in there, shows to me that 

“

we are on the correct path. 
122 

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei works on the Multi-use 

Variable-g Platform (MVP), a space biology research 

platform housing samples such as fruit fies, fatworms, SPACE STATION Enables Launch, Growth plants, fsh, cells, and protein crystals and can produce 

up to 2g of artifcial gravity. Credit: NASA of Space Businesses 

Leveraging space station technology platforms for economic 

beneft on the ground 

The International Space Station 

provides platforms for small businesses, 

entrepreneurs, and researchers to test 

their science and technology in space. 

Not only has the station’s capacity 

for research, development, and 

manufacturing in low-Earth orbit 

increased, the cost continues to fall. 

Together, these factors are advancing 

development of new and improved 

products as well as spawning new 

commercial ventures and providing 

growth for existing ones. 

“We are walking through the door to 

the second golden age of space and 

seeing the beginnings of a growth surge 

in space-based businesses,” says 

Andrew Rush, president and chief 

operating offcer of Redwire Space. 

“In many ways, the space station has 

been responsible for opening that door. 

NASA’s support of the development 

and demonstration of new technology 

and new uses of space has enabled 

entirely new sectors – in-space 

manufacturing and commercial 

research and development among 

them – to move forward.” 

The space station is helping to fuel 

growth of the space industry as a whole. 

In the past several years, Redwire has 

acquired Made in Space and Techshot, 

companies focused on in-space 

manufacturing and space research, 

thus becoming one of the major players 

in this burgeoning economy. Its facilities 

include the station’s BioFabrication 

Facility (BFF) and ADvanced Space 

Experiment Processor-2 (ADSEP-2), 

which support in-house efforts to create 

a complete set of cardiac tissues, and 

the Multi-use Variable-g Platform (MVP), 

which produces varying levels of 

artifcial gravity for research on different 

diseases. In addition, the company 

has its own plant growth facility and 

manages research in the space station’s 

Advanced Plant Habitat. 

Turbine Superalloy Casting Module tests in-space manufacturing of superalloy parts 

in microgravity for terrestrial use. Credit: Redwire 

Another Redwire focus has been demonstrates manufacturing a type 

using microgravity to create better of turbine blade called a blisk, whereas 

turbine parts. The Turbine Ceramic Turbine Superalloy Casting Module 

Manufacturing Module (Turbine CMM) (Turbine SCM) tests a manufacturing 

123 
device that processes heat-resistant 

alloy parts in microgravity. Manufacturing 

in microgravity could allow production 

of these components with lower mass 

and stress. The parts show increased 

strength compared to those made 

on Earth. That increased strength could 

improve the performance of turbine 

engines in industries such as aerospace 

and power generation. 

“The space station is pivotal to 

businesses developing space-based 

products and services because it 

provides rapid access to space 

and return capability,” says Rush. 

“The unique environment of the space 

station has been invaluable to Redwire’s 

development of in-space manufacturing 

technology and capabilities. It is the 

only cost-effective, accessible, and 

rapid platform to develop, test, 

and operate technologies that are 

revolutionizing so many critical areas 

for the beneft of humanity.” 

Capitalizing on this growing space 

economy has enabled the company 

to expand to more than 500 employees 

and eight facilities in the United States 

and internationally. 

Houston-based Nanoracks is another 

company built largely on space 

technology. It has developed a 

multipurpose platform used on station 

for research on plant growth, radiation 

exposure, and materials and 

physical sciences. The company 

took a big step forward in 2020 

with the launch of the Bishop Airlock, 

the station’s frst commercially owned 

The Nanoracks Bishop airlock, shown here installed to the port side of the Tranquility 

module and still attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm, increases the station’s 

capacity for private and public research and enables the release of larger satellites 

and the transfer of cargo inside and outside the station. Credit: NASA 

This image shows CubeLabs installed in Space Tango’s TangoLab facility, which 

provides a standardized platform and open architecture for these experimental 

modules for use in 3D tissue and cell cultures. Credit: NASA 

and operated airlock. The airlock 

adds a variety of capabilities, including 

deployment of small satellites called 

CubeSats and other external payloads 

and support for small exterior and 

internal payloads. It is much larger 

than the existing research airlock 

and therefore can accommodate 

more and larger payloads. 

Another commercial provider, Space 

Tango, has an automated, reconfgurable 

research and development (R&D) 

and manufacturing platform called 

TangoLabs. This platform facilitates 

plant and agricultural science, organoid 

observation and growth, and fow 

chemistry, according to communications 

manager Danielle Rosales. 

“The space station is currently the 

only in-space platform for microgravity 

R&D,” says Rosales. “We cannot do 

it anywhere else. It is a necessary 

incubator as we continue to identify 

the best pathways to manufacture 

health and technology products in 

space.” It also provides a pathway for 

Space Tango to grow as a company. 

Another area of space research with 

commercial potential is the development 

of high-tech fabrics. The frst scientifc 

test of commercial fabrics on the space 

station was the ESA (European Space 

124 
A high-defnition image transmitted by SOLISS via laser communication. Credit: JAXA 

Agency) SpaceTex-2 investigation, 

which tested fabrics that provide higher 

evaporative heat loss compared to 

conventional cotton fabrics. The fabrics, 

provided by Swiss performance fabric 

manufacturer Schoeller Textil AG, are 

a frst step toward developing products 

for use in space. On Earth, warm, 

humid environments promote growth of 

bacterial, viral, and fungal skin infections 

and rashes, and these faster-drying 

textiles could help reduce these 

problems. Quick-drying clothing could 

help athletes, frefghters, and the military. 

Several commercial entities even have 

plans for developing their own space 

stations. A frst step in that direction 

is a module, developed by Axiom, 

that attaches to the space station, 

nearly doubling its useable volume. 

Axiom also is launching private 

astronaut missions, which are privately 

funded, fully commercial fights to the 

space station, on commercial launch 

vehicles. They are dedicated to 

outreach, commercial research, or 

approved commercial and marketing 

activities. 

“There always will be applied and 

fundamental research that NASA and 

other agencies want to do that need a 

microgravity platform,” says Mike Read, 

manager of NASA’s space station 

business and economic development 

offce. “But the International Space 

Station is going to be the last U.S.-

government-led platform in low-Earth 

orbit. That is why we’re enabling the 

Axioms of the world to put a module 

on station and leverage its power, 

propulsion, and all of the space station 

infrastructure to build out their segment. 

Once it is built out, we can start thinking 

about separating the Axiom segment 

and comfortably retiring station.” 

NASA has signed agreements with 

three other companies to develop space 

stations and other commercial space 

destinations: Blue Origin, Nanoracks, 

and Northrop Grumman Systems 

Corporation. 

“Once these other platforms are up 

there, we can move facilities and 

customers into them to take advantage 

of that volume,” Read adds. “If we are 

going to develop the demand, we need 

a place to put it. We can provide 

scalability to some degree on the 

space station, but likely not enough 

for a company to turn a proft.” 

The space station has also enabled 

commercial collaborations around the 

world. Bartolomeo, an external platform 

sponsored by ESA (European Space 

Agency) and developed by Boeing and 

Airbus, has 12 active and one passive 

payload sites with power management, 

payload commanding, data management 

and temporary storage, and fight 

environment determination functions. 

Potential applications include Earth 

observation, robotics, materials science, 

and astrophysics. 

ESA’s International Commercial 

Experiments service, or ICE Cubes, 

developed in partnership with Space 

Applications Services and Belgium, 

offers an affordable, modular platform 

for experiments. The frst investigations 

the facility hosted included plant 

biology, microbial bio-mining, and 

using a person’s heart rate to change 

a piece of kaleidoscopic artwork. 

A Japan Aerospace Exploration 

Agency (JAXA) experimental facility 

on the space station — the Japanese 

Experiment Module (JEM), or Kibo — 

expands use of the space station for 

commercial technical demonstrations. 

In March 2020, JAXA, along with 

Japan’s National Institute of Information 

and Communications Technology 

(NICT) and Sony Computer Science 

Laboratories, Inc. (Sony CSL), 

successfully created a bidirectional 

laser communication link between an 

optical communications system on the 

exterior of Kibo, called SOLISS, and 

the ground. JAXA and Sony Corporation 

have worked together since 2016 on 

research to establish real-time, massdata communication systems for 

inter-satellite and satellite-to-ground 

communications. JAXA, NICT, and 

Sony CSL continue to conduct 

detailed analysis and evaluation of 

the experimental results and anticipate 

commercialization of the technology 

in the near future. 

Laser communication offers greater 

ability than radio waves to scale 

bandwidth, and bidirectional laser 

communication could greatly 

increase data transmission speed. 

Demand continues to grow for faster 

transmission. This technology soon 

could help connect more people 

on Earth, especially those in 

remote locations. 

“These commercial entities are leading 

the way, working with us, not for us,” 

said Read. “NASA is in a unique place 

to enable an economy off the Earth, to 

create an environment where companies 

see opportunity. We’ve been fairly 

successful so far and it is fantastic to 

be about to take things operational.” 

The space station has validated many 

commercial hardware facilities for 

researchers to use. In total, there are 

now more than 30 of these commercial 

facilities available for space station 

partners to leverage. The validation of 

these commercial facilities helps to not 

only drive research and development 

on the space station, but also furthers 

business models in low-Earth orbit 

and beyond. 

“I believe the space station has proven 

the value of microgravity as a resource,” 

says Redwire’s Rush. “Its potential to 

revolutionize felds as diverse as 

medicine, agriculture, communications, 

and manufacturing will only drive more 

commercial interest in the International 

Space Station and future commercial 

space stations.” 

125 
126 

A view of the CSA-developed Canadarm2 and Dextre on the exterior of 

the space station. Canadarm2 and Dextre can perform maintenance work 

and repairs, reducing the number of risky spacewalks and freeing up 

astronauts to spend more time on scientifc research. Credit: NASA 
SPACE STATION 

Spurs Advances in Robotics 

for Space, Industry 

The space station has catalyzed 

advancements in robotics. 

Funded by the Canadian Space 

Agency (CSA), Canadian frm MDA 

developed Canadarm2 (also known 

as the Remote Manipulator System) 

and Dextre, robotic hardware installed 

“

Canadarm2 performs 

maintenance; moves 

supplies, equipment, 

and even astronauts; 

on the space station’s exterior in 2008. 

Canadarm2 performs maintenance; 

moves supplies, equipment, and even 

astronauts; and catches and berths 

visiting vehicles. Dextre can install 

and replace small equipment, such 

as exterior cameras or batteries, and 

replace electrical system components. 

These tools allow astronauts to spend 

more time doing scientifc experiments 

instead of going on risky spacewalks. 

The work to develop Dextre helped 

advance a technology now in use on 

Earth, as well. MDA considered giving 

Swedish company Bioservo Technologies’ 

Ironhand, based on a set of patents 

from NASA and General Motors’ (GM’s) 

Robo-Glove, is the world’s frst industrialstrength robotic glove for factory workers 

and others who perform repetitive 

manual tasks. Credit: Bioservo 

Technologies/Niklas Lagström 

and catches and 

berths visiting vehicles. 

Dextre a robotic hand with fngers that 

could grasp, says MDA chief technology 

offcer Cameron Ower. The team found 

a Canadian robotics professor, Clement 

Gosselin at Laval University, who had 

patented such technology but did not 

yet have a commercial application for it. 

MDA and the university collaborated on 

research to adapt the technology to 

perform operations that could be used 

on the space station, which evolved 

into another patented technology, 

the Self-Adapting Robotic Auxiliary 

Hand (SARAH). While not ultimately 

incorporated into Dextre, SARAH’s 

adaptive gripper technology has since 

become a commonly used component 

in the burgeoning feld of collaborative 

robotics, helping enable more fexible 

robotic work cells. In addition, three 

of Gosselin’s graduate students used 

the technology to start a robotics 

company, Robotiq. 

Another space station robot, Robonaut, 

led to the development of an industrial 

strength robotic glove. NASA and 

General Motors (GM) developed a 

prototype and tested it on the station, 

where it successfully performed simple 

tasks alongside astronauts. The team 

then reconfgured the hand-like part of 

Robonaut into a wearable device to help 

both astronauts and auto workers avoid 

hand fatigue and injury. Initially called 

Robo-Glove, the device now is 

commercially available as Ironhand, 

produced by Bioservo Technologies 

of Sweden. 

“Collaborative robots working 

alongside a person in an industrial 

setting made sense, and that spawned 

more research,” Ower says. Assembly 

line robotics had been around a while 

when Robotiq was formed in 2008, he 

added, but collaborative robots and 

smart systems that can interpret and 

have a higher level of dexterity were 

just taking off. “I think this highlights 

that tackling problems in space and 

on station drives innovation on Earth. 

In this case, a non-space idea was 

pulled into the space world then spun 

almost immediately back.” 

Acceptance of robotics in space is 

spawning additional commercial 

offerings, he explained. 

“At MDA, we are developing a 

commercial offering for space 

infrastructure developers and 

operators, a major investment building 

on that set of arm technologies and 

sensing originating from space station 

robotic technology,” Ower said. “In the 

past fve years, about $600 million has 

been invested in start-up companies 

focused on in-orbit servicing. It wouldn’t 

have happened without what was 

shown to be possible on station.” 

The wide selection of available robotic 

components includes standardized 

arms, hands, and cameras, he 

explained, none of which existed 

20 years ago. While MDA has focused 

on the space applications, activity on 

the commercial side is increasing. 

127 
128 

MINIATURE SATELLITES with Massive Benefts 

A view taken of CubeSats from Japan, 

Ghana, Mongolia, Bangladesh, and 

Nigeria deployed from the Japanese 

Experiment Module (JEM) Satellite 

Orbital Deployer 7. Credit: NASA 

To witness the space-bound ascension 

of a satellite assembled by one’s own 

hands is a moment comparable to a 

parent fnally allowing their child to go 

out and explore the world, according 

to Izrael Bautista. Not only was it aweinspiring for the engineering student 

himself, but also for his country as 

Bautista watched the second 

nanosatellite ever sent into orbit 

by the Philippines launch to the 

International Space Station. 

Bautista made scientifc strides for his 

nation by participating in the BIRDS-4 

project, which assists countries in 

designing, building, testing, launching, 

deploying from station, and operating 

their frst satellite. This satellite, Maya-2, 

performed numerous demonstrations, 

including solar cell and antenna tests. 

“It was exciting and scary at the 

same time because of the uncertainties 

that could happen during launch and 

deployment,” said Bautista. “Knowing 

that something with your fngerprints on 

it is out there in space makes me really 

proud, and it makes all the time and 

hard work we put into completing the 

satellite worth it.” 

At a standard 10 centimeters (~4 inches) 

on each side (1 Unit or 1U), these 

miniature boxes of metal may not seem 

like they could be of much scientifc use 

within the expanse of space. However, 

CubeSats have many humanitarian, 

environmental, and commercial 

applications. Their modest size 

and weight of about 1.4 kilograms 

(3 pounds) drastically reduce launch 

costs by allowing them to hitch a ride 

into orbit alongside larger payloads 

without increasing fuel costs. With over 

250 small satellites deployed from the 

space station, CubeSats are accelerating 

the growth of the small satellite industry, 

increasing access to space, and 

expanding low-Earth orbit research. 

Most of these CubeSats have been 

deployed into low-Earth orbit by the 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s 

(JAXA’s) Japanese Experiment Module 

(JEM) Small Satellite Orbital Deployer 

(J-SSOD) or the Nanoracks CubeSat 

Deployer (NRCSD). These two systems 

allow for CubeSats to be prepped inside 

the station by crew members and 

passed to the outside of station through 

the JEM airlock. Thanks to these tools, 

the permanently crewed orbiting lab has 

been able to serve as an accessible way 

for numerous students like Bautista as 

well as countries and companies to 

deploy small satellites. 

U.S.-based company Planet created a 

collection of CubeSats with the mission 

to photograph the entire Earth every day 

and turned to station to test its business 

model. Aiming to make change visible, 

accessible, and actionable, Planet has 

revolutionized the Earth observation 

industry. Planet’s feet of small satellites 

provide a bird’s-eye view of Earth with 

small satellites aptly named “Doves.” 

“Our company goal is to image 

everywhere very frequently, for 

everyone,” said Planet co-founder 

Robbie Schingler. “If you image 

everywhere, then that actually 

means that you can image anywhere. 

That’s going to be quite transformative 

for a number of countries, for a 

number of companies, and so forth.” 

A prefight view of the three BIRDS-4 fight units inside a clean room of Kyushu 

Institute of Technology. Credit: NASA 

The frst “fock” of Doves was 

released from station in February 2014. 

The 28 satellites making up this fock 

were mounted on the JAXA MultiPurpose Experiment Platform and 

placed on the JEM airlock slide table 

for transfer outside station, making this 

effort a truly international collaboration. 

With both its technology and business 

model maturing, Planet now uses 

commercial launch providers. However, 

the Planet story illustrates how the space 

station can provide early access to 

space, thereby allowing new business 

models to prove themselves and attract 

the investment capital needed to be 

successful in the marketplace. 

Planet has now built and successfully 

deployed 450 satellites, with over 

200 currently in orbit. These daily 

images do much more than just provide 

photographs of Earth; they can be used 

to monitor crop health, track carbon 

emissions, view urban growth, create 

current maps, and much more. 

Also providing imagery and help to 

the agricultural community is NASA’s 

CubeSat-compatible Compact Thermal 

129 
Imager (CTI), co-winner of NASA’s 

2021 Invention of the Year Award. 

This instrument has captured more 

than 15 million infrared images of Earth 

with technology that represents the 

latest advances in infrared detectors. 

Among the various observations, CTI 

has helped detect wildfre activity while 

also monitoring crop health. 

“Infrared imaging can play an important 

role in monitoring crop health and 

helping members of the agricultural 

community yield better harvests,” said 

Eric McGill, senior technology manager 

with the Strategic Partnerships Offce 

at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center 

in Greenbelt, Maryland. 

The adaptation of small satellite 

technology has lowered the boundary 

to entering space, permitting these 

companies, as well as previously 

non-space-faring nations, to make 

strides toward having a presence in 

low-Earth orbit. CubeSats have become 

a source of admittance for nations 

making their frst steps beyond planet 

Earth, and the space station has been 

key in making that happen. 

Since 2015, the Japanese Kyushu 

Institute of Technology, or Kyutech, 

has been carrying out the BIRDS 

program with the goals of capacity 

building and fostering a long-term 

and sustainable space organization 

in participating nations. 

“The project is a bridge to gain space 

capability for any students who are 

thinking about getting involved in it. 

BIRDS creates a rare opportunity, 

exposure, and abundant network 

to the space fraternity,” said 

J-SSOD#11 deploys the Joint Global Multi Nation Birds, known as the BIRDS-3 

Project. Credit: NASA 

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Alexander Gerst depressurizes the 

Kibo airlock in preparation for a series of Nanoracks CubeSat miniature satellite 

deployments, including Planet Dove satellites. Credit: NASA 

Victor Mukungunugwa, project manager 

of a BIRDS-5 project for Zimbabwe. 

As an engineering student representing 

his country, he says that it has been 

sensational to work with students 

from various engineering backgrounds, 

nationalities, and cultures. 

“Two to three students are involved 

from each country, and BIRDS scientists 

hope the opportunity has a domino 

effect as those students go back to 

their nations,” says George Maeda, 

an assistant professor at Kyutech who 

works with international students on 

their BIRDS projects. “For the students, 

building their nation’s frst satellite is 

thrilling beyond words. I see this on 

a daily basis. It is magic.” 

The students can teach others what 

they have learned to continue their 

involvement in the space community. 

Bautista exemplifes this objective; 

his career goals are now focused 

toward extracting the benefts of 

space for his country. 

“My future is now geared towards 

developing satellites and their end 

products,” said Bautista. “I will 

hopefully be able to teach and share 

what I have learned to the younger 

generation and be part of our budding 

Philippine Space Agency.” 

Another important use for stationdeployed CubeSats is testing out 

new technologies. A student-created 

project, AzTechSat-1, did just that. 

130 
This collaboration between NASA 

and the Mexican Space Agency 

demonstrated communications within a 

satellite network, a capability that could 

reduce the need for ground stations, 

lowering costs and increasing data 

downloads for satellite applications. 

AzTechSat team member Rosa 

Gonzales Cancino was part of a 

team of students from the Universidad 

Popular Autónoma del Estado de 

Puebla (UPAEP). 

“The day our CubeSat launched from 

the space station, it was the longest 

40 minutes waiting for a signal. Now it 

is orbiting the planet, and sometimes 

that is inconceivable. If I had not held it 

in my hands, I would think it is a trick or 

something. I am in space in a way now,” 

said Gonzales Cancino. 

Since she was a child, she has wanted 

to study the way space affects us all. 

Now she has seen space work to unify 

her community. 

“On launch day, my whole family got 

together to watch the launch from my 

house, and I was moved. I was very 

excited that despite space not being 

a topic of their interest, they were all 

supporting us. That is the same for 

the entire university. All of the students 

from all departments were cheering for 

AzTechSat,” said Gonzales Cancino. 

The Mexican students behind the 

AzTechSat-1 CubeSat hold their 

experiment. Credit: Universidad Popular 

Autónoma del Estado de Puebla 

“I feel that this is also part of the 

Mexican culture: supporting each 

other in good times and bad.” 

Going forward, new opportunities on 

station will be opened for students like 

Gonzales Cancino, and companies like 

Planet looking to test their technology 

in space. U.S.-based companies 

SEOPS and Nanoracks are providing 

those opportunities by addressing the 

need for an affordable rideshare for 

smallsats, and new ways to deploy 

satellites from station. 

With its SlingShot system, SEOPS has 

created a deployer that hitches a ride on 

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft 

and releases smallsats into an Earth 

orbit above that of the space station. 

SlingShot offers a fexible, affordable 

deployment for CubeSats and provides 

the longer in-orbit time needed to prove 

technology critical to successful 

commercialization. 

The Nanoracks Bishop Airlock Module 

serves as another door to space, 

helping to move larger payloads inside 

and outside the station. This capability 

alleviates one bottleneck slowing down 

the deployment of new small satellites 

and CubeSats from the space station. 

“We’re embarking on more and more 

public-private partnerships with NASA, 

Jose Cortez of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California (left), and 

Joel Contreras of UPAEP (right), conduct fnal integration of AzTechSat-1 into the 

Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) in preparation for launch to the International 

Space Station. Credit: NASA 

building up the ecosystem in low-Earth 

orbit,” said Nanoracks chief executive 

offcer Jeffrey Manber. “Not only is that 

important for research opportunities, but 

it also paves the way for innovations.” 

During a What’s On Board Briefng for 

SpaceX’s 19th Commercial Resupply 

Services mission to the International 

Space Station, Rosa Gonzales Cancino, 

student researcher for AzTechSat-1, 

discusses her role in the experiment. 

Credit: NASA 

131 
CubeSats Open up Space to More Countries 

and New Technology Applications 

PRCuNaR2 

The frst satellite deployed by Puerto Rico, known as 

PRCuNaR2, studied the behavior of collisions among 

particles in microgravity. Collisions of particles and 

aggregates of dust play a role in formation of protoplanetary 

disks – gaseous masses believed to give rise to planets. 

The investigation could provide insight into this process. 

“It has motivated teachers who inspire many students,” said 

principal investigator Dr. Amilcar Rincón Charris of the Inter 

American University of Puerto Rico–Bayamon Campus. “I think 

we are an example to many kids that we, here in Puerto Rico, 

can do these projects and continue boosting science. The fact 

that we have a project like this has shown a whole country that 

the science is worth investing in and that we have talent in the 

areas of aerospace and the sciences.” 

Sponsored by NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, 

the investigation operated from April to Oct. 2021. 

MMSAT-1 

Myanmar’s MMSAT-1, deployed during the JEM 

Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) M2 

mission, monitors Earth’s surface, including forests, 

disaster areas, and weather. The satellite uses a 

high-resolution telescope system, a multi-spectral 

camera, and a camera with a fsh-eye lens. 

The mission’s goal is to provide information 

useful for implementing more effcient and 

systematic agricultural practices and improving 

the monitoring of natural disasters. 

Sponsored by JAXA, MMSAT-1 operated from 

Oct. 2020 to April 2021. 

Swiatowid 

SatRev was the frst Polish company to develop a satellite from 

electronic components to launch and operate a mission in orbit. 

Swiatowid, its frst project, demonstrated new miniaturization concepts 

and technologies for the CubeSat market. The project specifcally 

tested whether the 2U CubeSat could provide high-resolution images 

of Earth using a telescope with an industry-quality camera sensor. 

Investigators analyzed the images and compared them to images from 

other sources such as airplanes and other satellites. Use of many small 

and less-expensive satellites could dramatically reduce the time it takes 

to obtain Earth images and provide more frequent images of a specifc 

region. This capability has a variety of applications in the burgeoning 

Earth-imagery marketplace, including research, resource exploration, 

environmental monitoring, and disaster response. 

The ISS National Lab sponsored Poland’s satellite demonstration, 

which operated from March to Oct. 2019. 

The PRCuNaR2 development team: top (left to right) 

Hector Gonzalez, Carlos Gibson, Lucas Soto, 

Amilcar Rincon, Xavier Alvarez, Ian Ortiz, and 

Jesus Marrer; bottom (left to right) Edwardivan 

Labarca, Natalie Cruz and Carlos Vergara. 

Credit: Inter-American University of Puerto Rico 

Prefight view of Myanmar’s MMSAT-1 satellite. 

Credit: Tohoku Hokkaido University. 

The NanoRack CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD)-16 

investigation is shown aboard the space 

station prior to deployment of seven CubeSats 

that include Swiatowid. Credit: NASA 

132 
ASTERIA 

ASTERIA used a 6U CubeSat to test new technologies for 

astronomical observation, including detection of exoplanets, 

or planets outside our solar system. Scientists observe the small 

shadow of a planet as it passes through the light of the star it orbits, 

which requires repeated observation of stars over a long period of 

time from a dark environment. ASTERIA used advanced pointing 

control technology and new thermal stabilization features on the 

CubeSat platform to perform these complex measurements. 

The frst CubeSat built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) 

in Southern California to successfully operate in space, ASTERIA 

launched in 2017 and continued operating through three mission 

extensions until the last successful communication on Dec. 5, 2019. 

During those extensions, ASTERIA tested capabilities for making 

CubeSats more autonomous and made opportunistic observations 

of Earth, a comet, Vesta, Uranus, other spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit, and stars that might host transiting exoplanets. 

RainCube 

Climate and weather models depend on measurements 

from space-borne satellites to complete model validation and 

improvements. RainCube demonstrated using radar and antenna 

technology to profle vertically falling precipitation, such as rain 

and snow, on Earth. RainCube developed a novel, miniaturized 

radar instrument and demonstrated the feasibility of a radar 

payload on a CubeSat platform. 

The instruments offer reduced size, mass, and power consumption 

and could provide a low-cost, quick-turnaround platform for future 

missions. The technology could enable observation of the evolution 

of weather systems and phenomena on the scale of minutes. 

Such measurements and observations have the potential to 

signifcantly improve climate and weather models and climate 

science and weather forecasting. 

RainCube was developed by JPL and few in 2018. 

Remove Debris 

Tens of thousands of pieces of debris clutter Earth’s orbit. NanoRacksRemove Debris demonstrates a way to reduce this debris and the 

risk of satellites and other spacecraft colliding with a piece of it. 

Investigators and developers from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, 

France, Germany, and South Africa designed an experiment using two 

CubeSats, one with a camera to map location and speed of simulated 

debris and the other with a net or harpoon to capture and deorbit 

pieces of the debris up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) in size. 

Demonstrations successfully produced images and precise locations 

of intended targets and using a net, captured CubeSats launched to 

represent debris targets. The captured target was foated away to 

deorbit and burn up upon atmospheric re-entry in much less time than 

it would take without intervention. Researchers also analyzed video of 

the demonstration runs from Earth to learn more about the behavior 

of debris and how best to remove it. 

The project, co-funded by the European Commission and other project 

partners and led by the Surrey Space Centre in the United Kingdom, 

few in 2018. 

This image shows the ASTERIA CubeSat 

moments after its deployment from the 

space station’s Nanoracks CubeSat 

Deployer. Credit: NASA 

NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor 

installs the Nanoracks Cubesat 

Deployer-14 (NRCSD-14), which 

deployed the RainCube and a variety 

of other CubeSats. Credits: NASA 

Deployment of the NanoRacks-Remove 

Debris Satellite. Credit: NASA 

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Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut 

David Saint-Jacques and NASA astronaut 

Anne McClain shown installing RRM3 on the 

space station airlock slide table in preparation 

for its fnal home on the outside of the station. 

Credit: NASA 
Catch a Falling Satellite 

Space station enables tests of technology to capture, refuel, 

and repair orbiting satellites 

When satellite fuel tanks hit empty, 

they can no longer maintain their orbit. 

If they run out of coolant, some 

instruments stop functioning correctly. 

The result can be loss of data and 

science or disrupted services on Earth. 

Launching satellites to replace them 

can be an expensive endeavor but does 

restore services to Earth. However, the 

now-defunct satellites may become 

orbital debris, creating a potential 

hazard to other spacecraft. 

Several investigations have used the 

International Space Station to test ways 

to refuel and repair satellites in orbit 

and avoid these problems. 

Beginning in 2011, the Robotic Refueling 

Mission (RRM) used the space station’s 

two-armed robotic handyman, Dextre, 

developed by the Canadian Space 

Agency (CSA), to test NASA-developed 

tools and procedures needed to refuel 

and repair satellites that were not 

originally designed for such servicing. 

RRM-P2 operated from 2013 to 

2016 to refne those tools and 

procedures, creating the ability for a 

robot and satellite to work together. 

“To refuel a satellite in orbit that was not 

designed for it requires a series of highly 

dexterous tasks and special tools to 

interface between the robot and 

satellite,” said RRM co-investigator 

Jill McGuire, director of Exploration 

and In-space Services at NASA’s 

Goddard Space Flight Center in 

Greenbelt, Maryland. “So, we built 

innovative tools to bridge the gap 

between the robot and the payload.” 

That paved the way for RRM3, which 

launched in 2017 and already has 

successfully demonstrated the frst 

in-space transfer of cryogenic fuid, 

which can function as a fuel or coolant. 

The Zero Boil-Off Tank (ZBOT) study 

worked with a different aspect of 

cryogenic fuid, using an experimental 

fuid to test an alternative means for 

controlling tank pressure for storing 

coolant. This is the frst in a series of 

experiments to advance our knowledge 

in the development of lightweight, 

RRM3 hardware shown aboard the space station. This investigation demonstrates the 

frst transfer and long-term storage of liquid methane, a cryogenic fuid, in microgravity. 

The ability to replenish and store cryogenic fuids, which can function as a fuel or 

coolant, can help enable long-duration journeys to destinations like the Moon and 

Mars. Credit: NASA 

effcient, and long-duration cryogenic satellites that can be more easily 

propellant storage tanks in space. serviced – and, therefore, keep 

providing important services to In addition to extending the life of people on Earth. existing satellites, these investigations 

provide guidance for designing future 

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NASA astronaut Christina Koch handles media bags that 

enable the manufacturing of organ-like tissues using the 

BioFabrication Facility (BFF), a 3D biological printer. The 

BFF could become part of a larger system capable of 

manufacturing whole, fully functioning human organs 

from existing patient cells in microgravity. Credit: NASA 
Building a Better Future 

in Orbit 

How in-space manufacturing is bringing change to life on Earth 

An average of 22 people die each day in 

the United States waiting for a donated 

organ. Upwards of 30 million people 

worldwide suffer from degenerative 

retinal diseases. New manufacturing 

processes are being developed aboard 

the International Space Station that 

could help address both issues. 

Microgravity provides a unique 

opportunity for companies, creating 

everything from bioprinted organs to a 

high quality of materials not achievable 

on Earth. In making the business case, 

high-demand products that address 

signifcant unmet needs or that have 

a high return on investment are at the 

top of the list for creation in orbit and 

return to our planet. It turns out that 

research at the intersection between 

biotechnology and medicine, something 

that seems straight out of science 

fction, may ft that bill. 

U.S.-based biotechnology company 

LambdaVision is designing and 

developing a protein-based artifcial 

retina, using a light-activated protein, 

that could replace the function of 

damaged photoreceptors in the eye. 

The aim is to restore functional sight in 

those with blindness caused by retinal 

degenerative diseases, which include 

age-related macular degeneration and 

retinitis pigmentosa. Currently, no cure 

is available for either of these diseases, 

thus there is a signifcant unmet need 

to develop a technology to restore 

meaningful vision to these patients 

and improve their quality of life. 

The ISS National Lab-sponsored 

Protein-Based Artifcial Retina 

Manufacturing investigation evaluates 

the use of the protein bacteriorhodopsin 

in a layer-by-layer deposition process to 

create thin flms that can be inserted 

into the subretinal space. Those created 

on station are expected to have better 

quality and stability than those 

manufactured on Earth. 

“In a microgravity environment, 

we expect more homogeneous and 

consistent layering,” said principal 

investigator Nicole Wagner, president 

and chief executive offcer of 

LambdaVision. “On Earth, we construct 

the artifcial retina using a layer-by-layer 

process that is very much subject to 

the effects of gravity. Manufacturing 

in microgravity allows us to avoid 

sedimentation of solutions and 

aggregation, which can produce 

thin flms with fewer defects, higher 

homogeneity, and enhanced 

optical clarity.” 

LambdaVision researchers and their 

implementation partner Space Tango 

were able to manufacture a 200-layer 

flm in microgravity for the frst time — 

an important step in their studies. 

Many commercial manufacturing 

operations are taking advantage 

of microgravity’s reduction in errors 

caused by gravity on Earth. Made in 

Space Fiber Optics examines fber optic 

flament manufacturing in microgravity 

using a material called ZBLAN, a blend 

of zirconium, barium, lanthanum, 

sodium, and aluminum. This optical 

A microscopic image of a section of ZBLAN optical fber produced by the second 

iteration of Fiber Optic Production aboard the International Space Station. Credit: 

Mercury Systems 

fber glass can perform 100 times 

more effciently than traditional silicabased fbers, according to the ISS 

National Lab. 

Researchers believe that these optical 

fbers, used for ultra-high-speed 

broadband communications and 

remote sensing, could exhibit far 

superior qualities when produced in 

microgravity. Several studies are putting 

this theory to the test, seeing whether 

low-Earth orbit can house commercial 

manufacturing of these fbers for use 

on the ground. 

ISS National Lab sponsored Fiber 

Optic Production-2 (FOP-2) expands 

upon earlier work, helping construct a 

process to aid future manufacturing of 

high-quality optical fber of the highest 

value for commercial businesses. 

Also returning to Earth from orbit could 

be actual 3D-printed human cells. 

Several companies are working toward 

the creation of human organs using 

microgravity as a tool. Bioprinting, a 

subcategory of 3D printing, uses viable 

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cells and biological molecules to print 

tissue structures. A frst-of-its-kind 

bioprinter launched by Russian state 

space agency ROSCOSMOS 

(ROSCOSMOS) in 2018 helped pave 

the path for research on artifcial organ 

creation. Specialists from Russian 

company 3D Bioprinting Solutions 

developed special scientifc equipment 

called 3D MBP, which consists of a 

magnetic bioprinter, Organ.Aut, and 

a set of multifunctional transparent 

cuvettes. Organ.Aut’s capabilities 

include culturing cartilage cells in space 

through the use of magnetic felds. 

A series of experiments performed 

on station from 2018-2020 proved the 

scientifc importance of this approach 

for the creation of tissue constructs 

(platforms for research), obtaining stable 

bioflms of bacteria and studying the 

processes for synthesizing mineral 

components of bones and crystallizing 

organic molecules. These results pave 

the way for the development of 

innovative treatments that include 

tissue engineering products and 

next-generation medicines. 

Astronauts currently use the 

BioFabrication Facility (BFF) to test 

the creation of biofabricated tissues 

in microgravity. Techshot, a Redwire 

Nicole Wagner, President and CEO for 

LambdaVision Inc., speaks to members 

of the media in the Kennedy Space 

Center’s Press Site auditorium. 

Credits: NASA/Kim Shifett 

company that built and runs the facility, 

is looking to capitalize on the increased 

opportunities for commercial businesses 

in space. Techshot launched BFF in 

2019 and since then has been working 

toward the goal of developing the 

capability to solve the problem of 

organ shortage. 

“There will never be a solution available 

if we don’t take the frst step,” says 

Richard Boling, vice president at 

Techshot. BFF already has printed 

multilayer cardiac constructs as well 

as preliminary test prints of components 

of a human meniscus. 

On Earth, bioprinted constructs either 

collapse or require chemical thickening 

treatments, both of which render the 

cells incapable of replicating human 

organ tissue. Microgravity makes it 

possible to print complex multilayer 

constructs and compile them into tissue 

with a two-pronged process. First, cells 

are printed in repetitious layers using 

the BFF. A second piece of Techshot 

hardware, the ADvanced Space 

Experiment Processor (ADSEP), 

conditions these cells into tissues. 

While the focus of this project is better 

health for those on Earth, these two 

hardware systems also may play a role 

in production of food or medicine during 

deep space exploration. 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Norishige Kanai poses for 

a photo with the installed Made in Space Fiber Optics Locker and the re-installed 

Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) manufacturing device. The Made In Space 

Fiber Optics investigation demonstrates the merits of manufacturing fber optic 

flaments in microgravity. Credit: NASA 

“We provide the picks and shovels 

researchers use to make new 

discoveries and improve life on Earth,” 

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut 

Matthias Maurer is shown during 

prefight training for the BioPrint First Aid 

investigation, which tested a bioprinted 

tissue patch for enhanced wound 

healing. Credit: ESA 

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says Boling. “Feed people and heal 

them, what more would you want to do 

to beneft humanity? To me, the space 

industry is less about the rings of Saturn 

and more about humanity, whether 

making life better on Earth, or extending 

life to Mars.” 

Bioprint FirstAid, a study from the 

German Space Agency (DLR), 

focuses on bioprinting for exploration. 

It demonstrates a portable, handheld 

bioprinter that uses a patient’s own 

skin cells to create a tissue-forming 

patch to cover a wound and accelerate 

the healing process. 

On future missions to the Moon and 

Mars, bioprinting such customized 

patches could help address changes 

in wound healing that can occur in 

space, which complicates treatment. 

Extracting an individual’s cells before a 

mission would enable more immediate 

response to injury. Similar 3D printing 

technology could help address another 

issue with long-duration spacefight: 

limits on the ability to predict every tool 

or object needed for missions beyond 

the lunar surface. One way to avoid 

“over packing” is to bring technology 

to create any fxture the crew may need 

during the spacefight. 

The frst 3D printer in microgravity, 

a plastic-based machine, arrived on 

station in 2014. Developed by Redwire 

Space (formerly Made in Space), the 

machine combined heat with the plastic 

in a singular-layering process to 

manufacture objects on demand. 

The 3D Printing In Zero-G experiment 

opened the door to this possibility 

by demonstrating that a 3D printer 

works normally in space. The Italian 

Space Agency (ASI) and NASA also 

collaborated on the Portable On Board 

Printer 3D experiment, which further 

paved the way for printing on station. 

Now hundreds of samples have been 

created using multiple printing facilities. 

In general, these printers extrude 

streams of heated plastic, metal, or 

other material, building layer on top 

of layer to create three-dimensional 

objects. Testing this process using 

relatively low-temperature plastic 

feedstock on the space station was an 

important frst step toward establishing 

an on-demand fabrication capability 

for deep-space crewed missions and 

in-space manufacturing. 

Minimizing waste is of the utmost 

importance aboard the space station 

and will be crucial on long-duration 

missions. NASA’s Refabricator, the frst 

3D Printer integrated with a recycler 

aboard station, recycles plastic waste 

into high-quality 3D printer flament. 

Successfully demonstrating sustainable 

manufacturing, repairing, and recycling 

is a key initiative for NASA. 

The Redwire Regolith Print (RRP) 

demonstration took this concept 

to the next level by examining an 

entirely different kind of feedstock 

for 3D manufacturing on the orbiting 

laboratory: regolith. This dust, present 

on the surface of the Moon and other 

planetary bodies, could provide raw 

Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore holds up the frst object made in space with 

additive manufacturing or 3D printing. Credits: Made in Space/Redwire Space 

materials for construction of habitats 

and other structures. Using regolith 

would reduce how much material 

must be launched on future missions. 

Exploring the next frontier of 

manufacturing off the Earth gives 

commercial partners the opportunity 

to explore the capabilities of production 

in microgravity for use on Earth and on 

long-duration space missions. As with 

many advanced scientifc concepts 

relating to space, the space station 

seemed like a fctional concept in the 

mid-20th century. Now it is bringing to 

reality futuristic ideas for manufacturing. 

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko foats aboard the International Space Station 

with the 3D MBP. Credit: ROSCOSMOS 

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