i

Related Publications

International Space Station Research and Development Reviews

Comprehensive International Space Station Research Accomplishments

International Space Station Science Research Accomplishments During the Assembly Years: An 

Analysis of Results from 2000–2008. NASA Technical Paper, 2009; TP-2009-213146-Revision A. 

Update expected 2012.

Benefits of Space Research

International Space Station Benefits for Humanity 2012

Benefits of Space Research, expected 2012

International Space Station Education Impacts

International Space Station Benefits for Humanity 2012

Thomas DA, Robinson JA, Tate J, Thumm T. Inspiring the Next Generation: Student Experiments 

and Educational Activities on the International Space Station, 2000–2006. NASA/TP-2006-213721. 

2006; 1-108. Update expected 2012.

Other Publications of Interest

Research in Space: Facilities on the International Space Station 2009

Reference Guide to the International Space Station 2010

The Era of International Space Station Utilization: Perspectives on Strategy From International 

Research Leaders 2010

iii

NP-2012-02-003-JSC

International Space Station Benefits for Humanity

This book was developed collaboratively by the members of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), 

European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration (NASA) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos).

The stories contained in this document are a collection of web stories that can be found at 

www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/benefits/index.html. 

Product of the Program Science Forum

CSA: Nicole Buckley, Perry Johnson-Green, Thomas Piekutowski, Marilyn Steinberg, Jason Clement, Ruth Ann Chicoine

ESA: Martin Zell, Christer Fuglesang, Jason Hatton, Patrik Sundblad, Nigel Savage, Rosita Suenson, Julien Harrod

JAXA: Tai Nakamura, Shigeki Kamigaichi, Ryota Sato, Tatsuya Aiba, Masato Koyama, Yayoi Miyagawa, Shiho Ogawa, 

Yutaka Kaneko

NASA: Julie Robinson, Tracy Thumm, Tara Ruttley, Camille Alleyne Cynthia Evans, William Stefanov, Elizabeth Richards, 

Jennifer Fogarty, Judy Carrodeguas, Carolyn Knowles, Regina Blue, Kelly Humphries, Michael Curie, Joshua Buck, 

Brooke Boen, Kris Rainey

Roscosmos: George Karabadzhak, Igor Sorokin, Sergey Avdeev, Boris Zagreev

Design and Formatting

James Fairchild and Kristi Ferguson

Managing Editor

Tracy L. Thumm, NASA

Executive Editor

Julie A. Robinson, NASA
iv

Contents

Human Health

neuroArm: Robotic Arms Lend a Healing Touch............................................................................. 1

Preventing Bone Loss in Space Flight With Prophylactic Use of Bisphosphonate: 

Health Promotion of the Elderly by Space Medicine Technologies ............................................... 3

High Quality Protein Crystal Growth Experiment Onboard “Kibo” ................................................ 5

Are You Asthmatic? Your New Helper Comes From Space. ........................................................... 9

Add Salt? Astronauts’ Bones Say Please Don’t............................................................................. 11

International Space Station Plays Role in Vaccine Development................................................. 13

Advanced Ultrasound for the Space Program and on Earth ........................................................ 16

Early Detection of Immune Changes Prevents Painful Shingles in Astronauts and 

Earth-Bound Patients.................................................................................................................... 21

Cancer Treatment Delivery ........................................................................................................... 24

Advanced NASA Technology Supports Water Purification Efforts Worldwide ............................ 27

Earth Observation and Disaster Response

Earth Remote Sensing From the Space Station—It’s Not Just Handheld Cameras Anymore...... 31

Space Station Imagery Helps Island Nations Manage Coral Reef Resources............................... 34

Space Station Agricultural Camera Observes Flooding in North Dakota...................................... 37

Monitoring the Health of the Lagoon of Venice From the Space Station .................................... 39

Unparalleled Views of Earth’s Coast With HREP-HICO................................................................. 41

Space Station Captures Tsunami Flooding in Northern Japan ..................................................... 44

Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES)................................... 46

Using the Space Station To Support Studies Relevant to Understanding Climate Change.......... 49

Investigation of Earth Catastrophes From the International Space Station: Uragan Program... 53

Space Station Keeps Watch on World’s Sea Traffic...................................................................... 56

Global Education

Inspiring Youth With a Call to the International Space Station.................................................... 61

Students Get Fit the Astronaut Way............................................................................................. 63
v

Europe’s Alliance With Space Droids............................................................................................ 65

Water: A Chemical Solution......................................................................................................... 67

Ucyu Renshi (Space Poem Chain): Connecting Global People With Words................................ 69

Students Photograph Earth From Space via EarthKAM Program................................................. 71

Red Food for the Red Planet......................................................................................................... 74

Calling Cosmonauts From Home! ................................................................................................. 76

vii

Executive Summary

Almost as soon as the International Space Station was habitable, researchers began using it to 

study the impact of microgravity and other space effects on several aspects of our daily lives. This 

unique scientific platform continues to enable researchers from all over the world to put their 

talents to work on innovative experiments that could not be done anywhere else. Although each 

space station partner has distinct agency goals for station research, each partner shares a unified 

goal to extend the resulting knowledge for the betterment of humanity. We may not know yet 

what will be the most important discovery gained from the space station, but we already have 

some amazing breakthroughs! In the areas of human health, telemedicine, education and 

observations of Earth from space, there are already demonstrated benefits to human life. Vaccine 

development research, station-generated images that assist with disaster relief and farming, and 

education programs that inspire future scientists, engineers and space explorers are just some 

examples of research benefits. This book summarizes the scientific, technological and educational 

accomplishments of research on the space station that has had and will continue to have an impact 

on life on Earth.

The benefits outlined here serve as examples of the space station’s potential as a groundbreaking

scientific research facility. Through advancing the state of scientific knowledge of our planet, 

looking after our health, and providing a space platform that inspires and educates the science and 

technology leaders of tomorrow, these benefits will drive the legacy of the space station as its 

research strengthens economies and enhances the quality of life here on Earth for all people.

ix

Human Health, Earth Observation, and 

Education Statement

Human Health

The International Space Station is a unique 

laboratory for performing investigations that 

affect human health both in space and on Earth. 

Throughout its assembly, the space station has 

supported research that is providing a better 

understanding of certain aspects of human health, 

such as aging, trauma, disease and the 

environment. Several biological and human 

physiological investigations have yielded 

important results, including improved 

understanding of basic physiological processes 

normally masked by gravity and development of

new medical technology and protocols driven by the need to support astronaut health. Advances in 

telemedicine, disease models, psychological stress response systems, nutrition, cell behavior and 

environmental health are just a few examples of benefits that have been gained from the unique 

space station microgravity environment.

Earth Observation and Disaster Response

The International Space Station is a “global observation and diagnosis station.” It promotes 

international Earth observations aimed at understanding and resolving the environmental issues of 

our home planet. 

The space station offers a unique vantage for observing the Earth’s ecosystems with hands-on and 

automated equipment. These options enable astronauts to observe and explain what they witness 

in real time. Station crews can observe and collect camera images of events as they unfold and may 

also provide input to ground personnel

programming the station’s automated 

Earth-sensing systems. This flexibility is an 

advantage over sensors on unmanned 

spacecraft, especially when unexpected 

natural events, such as volcanic eruptions 

and earthquakes, occur. 

A wide variety of Earth-observation 

payloads can be attached to the exposed 

facilities on the station’s exterior; already,

several instruments have been proposed by
x

researchers from the partner countries. The station contributes to humanity by collecting data on 

the global climate, environmental change and natural hazards using its unique complement of 

crew-operated and automated Earth-observation payloads. 

The existing international partnerships, fundamental to the International Space Station, facilitate 

data sharing that can benefit people around the world and promote international collaboration on 

other Earth-observation activities.

Global Education

The space station has a unique ability to 

capture the imaginations of both students 

and teachers worldwide. The presence of 

humans onboard the station provides a 

foundation for numerous educational 

activities aimed at capturing that interest and 

motivating the study of science, technology, 

engineering and mathematics, or STEM. 

Projects such as the Amateur Radio on 

International Space Station, or ARISS; Earth 

Knowledge Acquired by Middle School 

Students, or EarthKAM; and Take your 

Classroom into Space, among others, have 

allowed for global student, teacher and public 

access to space through student image acquisition and radio contacts with crew members.

Educational activities are not limited to STEM, but encompass all aspects of the human condition.

This is well illustrated in the Uchu Renshi project, a chain poem initiated by an astronaut while in 

space and continued and completed by people on Earth. With space station operations continuing 

until at least 2020, projects like these and their accompanying educational materials will be made 

available to more students around the world. Through the continued use of the station, we will 

challenge and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, writers, artists, politicians and 

explorers.
1

“Where the robot entered my head,”

says 21-year-old Paige Nickason, the 

first patient to have brain surgery 

performed by a robot, as she points to 

an area on her forehead. “Now that 

neuroArm has removed the tumor from 

my brain, it will go on to help many 

other people like me around the world.”

Human Health

neuroArm: Robotic Arms Lend a Healing Touch

Canadian Space Agency

The delicate touch that successfully removed an egg-shaped tumor from Paige Nickason’s brain got 

a helping hand from a world-renowned arm—a robotic arm, that is. The technology that went into 

developing neuroArm, the world’s first robot capable of performing surgery inside magnetic 

resonance machines, was born of the Canadarm (developed by MDA for the U.S. Space Shuttle 

Program) as well as Canadarm2 and Dextre, the Canadian Space Agency’s family of space robots 

performing the heavy-lifting and maintenance on board the International Space Station.

neuroArm began with the search for a solution to a surgical dilemma: how to make difficult 

surgeries easier or impossible surgeries possible. MDA worked with a team led by Dr. Garnette 

Sutherland at the University of Calgary to develop a highly precise robotic arm that works in 

conjunction with the advanced imaging capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. 

Surgeons needed to be able to perform surgeries while a patient was inside an MRI machine, which 

meant designing a robot that was as dexterous as the human hand, but even more precise and 

tremor-free. Operating inside the MRI also meant it had to be 

made entirely from nonmagnetic materials (for instance, no 

steel) so that it would not be affected by the MRI’s magnetic 

field or, conversely, disrupt the MRI’s images. The project 

team developed novel ways to control the robot’s movements 

and give the robot’s operator a sense of touch—both 

essential so that the surgeon can precisely control the robot 

and can feel what is happening during the surgery.

Since Paige Nickason’s surgery in 2008, neuroArm has 

been used to treat dozens of patients successfully. The 

neuroArm technology has since been purchased by IMRIS Inc.,

a private, publicly traded medical device manufacturer based 

in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. MDA and IMRIS are 

advancing the design to commercialize a two-armed version 

of the system to allow surgeons to see detailed, threedimensional images of the brain as well as use surgical tools 

and hand controllers that allow the surgeon to feel tissue and 

apply pressure when he or she operates. A clinical trial led by 

Dr. Sutherland is currently underway at Calgary’s Foothills 

Hospital using the first generation of the robot on a group of 

120 patients. IMRIS anticipates being in a position to seek 

regulatory approval for the robot as early as 2012.
2

MDA is also continuing to apply its space technologies and know-how to medical solutions for life 

on Earth. The company has partnered with the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, 

Ontario, to collaborate on the design and development of an advanced technology solution for 

pediatric surgery. Dubbed KidsArm, the sophisticated, teleoperated surgical system is being 

designed specifically to operate on small children and babies. KidsArm is intended for use by 

surgeons in conjunction with a high-precision, real-time imaging technology to reconnect delicate 

vessels such as veins, arteries or intestines.

In collaboration with The Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation (CSII) in Hamilton, Ontario, 

MDA is also developing an advanced platform for use in the early detection and treatment of 

breast cancer. The image-guided autonomous robot (IGAR) will provide increased access, precision 

and dexterity, resulting in more accurate and less invasive procedures.
3

Preventing Bone Loss in Space Flight with Prophylactic 

Use of Bisphosphonate: Health Promotion of the Elderly 

by Space Medicine Technologies

Hiroshi Ohshima

Space Biomedical Research Office, JAXA

Bone loss and kidney stones are well known as essential 

problems for astronauts to overcome during extended 

stays in space. Crew members engage in physical exercise 

for two and a half hours a day, six times a week 

(fifteen hours a week) while in orbit to avoid these issues. 

Nevertheless, the risks of these problems occurring 

cannot be completely eliminated through physical 

exercise alone. 

Bone plays an important role as a structure that supports

the body and stores calcium. It retains fracture resistance 

by remodeling through a balance of bone resorption 

and formation. In a microgravity environment, because 

of reduced loading stimuli, there is increased bone 

resorption and no change in or possibly decreased bone 

formation, leading to bone mass loss at a rate of about 

ten times that of osteoporosis. The proximal femoral 

bone loses 1.5 percent of its mass per month, or roughly 

10 percent over a six-month stay in space, with the 

recovery after returning to Earth taking at least three or 

four years. The calcium balance (the difference between 

intake and excretion), which is about zero on Earth, 

decreases to about –250 mg/day during flight, a value that increases the risk of kidney stones. 

Bisphosphonate is a therapeutic agent that has been used 

to treat osteoporosis patients for more than a decade, with 

a proven efficacy to increase bone mass and decrease the 

occurrence of bone fracture. Through 90-day bed rest 

research on Earth, we confirmed that this agent has a 

preventive effect on the loss of bone mass. Based on these 

results as well as studies conducted by others, JAXA and 

NASA decided to collaborate on a space biomedical 

experiment to prevent bone loss during space flight. 

Dr. Leblanc, USRA, and Dr. Matsumoto, Tokushima 

University, are the two principal investigators of this study. 

Astronauts take bisphosphonate once a 

week to prevent bone loss in space.

(Photo by JAXA/NASA)

An astronaut performing exercise in the 

International Space Station. (Photo by 

JAXA/NASA)
4

JAXA and NASA crew members are participating in this study by taking this agent once a week while 

in space. Our study is still ongoing; however, early results suggest that astronauts can reduce the 

risk of bone loss and renal stones by proper intake of appropriate nutrients, such as calcium and 

vitamin D, an effective exercise program and minimal amounts of medication. 

Bone loss is also observed in bedridden older people. Elderly people lose 1 or 2 percent of their 

bone mass due to aging and a decline in the amount of female hormone. Osteoporosis is declared 

when a person has a bone mass 30 percent lower than the average for young adults, which is a 

condition affecting 11 million Japanese and one in two women aged 70 years and older. Every year, 

160 thousand patients undergo operations for femoral neck fractures in Japan, followed by intense 

rehabilitation for three months. Such operations cost 1.5 million yen per person, and the total 

annual expense for medical treatments and care of these bone fractures amounts to 

66.57 billion yen in total national cost. 

The three key elements for promoting the health of elderly people to prevent fractures are 

nutrition, exercise and medicine. Meals should be nutritionally balanced with calcium-rich foods 

(milk, small fish, etc.) and vitamin D (fish, mushrooms, etc.). Limited sunbathing is also important 

for activation of vitamin D. Physical exercise to increase bone load and muscle training should also

be integrated into each person’s daily life. Those at high risk for fractures should take effective 

medicines to reduce the risk of fractures.

Accordingly, the secrets of the promotion of astronauts’ health obtained from space medicine are 

expected to be utilized to promote the health of elderly people and the education of children.

Astronauts enjoy meals in the International Space Station. 

(Photo by JAXA/NASA)
5

High-Quality Protein Crystal Growth Experiment Onboard “Kibo” Mika Masaki

Space Environment Utilization Center, JAXA

The vast universe and proteins used to form our bodies are not as unrelated as they may sound—a 

“crystal” is the key to connect the two. Proteins in the body have three-dimensional, complex 

structures and the most suitable environment to study these structures is space. Recent studies in 

Japan, based on the International Space Station research, may help develop more effective 

methods for treating disease.

In space, there is no convection causing solution to flow up and down and right to left due to 

differences of density, nor is there precipitation to cause heavier items to sink. Therefore, protein 

molecules form orderly and create a high quality crystal that is beneficial to the study of its 

structure. Various crystals have been created in the unique environment of space.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, has conducted nine sessions of the protein 

crystallization experiments since 2003 in the Zvezda service module on the International Space 

Station and has established a technology to produce high-quality protein crystals in space. Based 

on the technology, a series of six experiments conducted in Kibo began in July 2009, and 

completion is expected, by the beginning of 2013.

With the support of Russian Federal Space Agency known as Roscosmos, the protein samples 

installed in the Cell Units (Fig. 1) are launched to the space station on board the Russian Progress 

spacecraft. Soon after the docking, the samples are brought into Kibo to be placed inside the 

Protein Crystallization Research Facility, or PCRF, where they will be kept for a period of two to four 

months at a stable temperature, 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) (Fig. 2). A counterdiffusion method called “Gel-Tube method,” is used for crystallization whereby polyethylene glycol 

or salt solution is diffused into the protein solution separated by a porous membrane inside a tube. 

Then, concentration of polyethylene glycol in the protein solution gradually increases and finally 

satisfies the condition for protein crystallization (Fig. 3).

Figure 1. Cell Unit

Cell Unit is used for incubation of the proteins when 

it is installed into the Protein Crystallization Research 

Facility or PCRF on board the space station. It is also a 

transportation container of the Gel-Tube cartridges 

as it is loaded into the cargo vehicles.
6

A major purpose of the protein crystal growth experiment is its contribution to the development of 

medical treatments. The protein that causes disease and the medicine that suppresses it can be 

compared to the relation between a “keyhole” and a “key.” If the shape of the keyhole is 

discovered by examining the structure of the protein, treatment-oriented medicine with few side 

effects—the key to fit the keyhole—can be designed. JAXA is making positive advancements in 

their research on obstinate diseases through experiments in space with the hope of supporting

medical care more effectively (Fig. 4). 

An example of a protein that was successfully crystallized in space that may hold the key to treating 

a disease is hematopoietic prostaglandin D synthase or H-PGDS. H-PGDS is the enzyme responsible 

for the production of hematopoietic prostaglandin D synthase 2 or PGD2, which is known to be a 

mediator of allergic and inflammatory reactions. Recently, a research team at the Osaka Bioscience 

Figure 2. Protein Crystallization Research Facility 

Protein Crystallization Research Facility, or PCRF, 

is a sub-rack payload used for the protein 

crystallization experiments, which provides 

controlled temperature and can hold six cell 

units (up to 144 proteins) inside.

Figure 3. Gel Tube Cartridge (JCB)

Gel-Tube cartridge called “JCB” which contains 

twelve crystallization capillaries inside is a simple 

and economical crystallization tool. It requires only 

minimum onboard operation of astronauts. 

(© JAXA)
7

Institute or OBI reported that H-PGDS is expressed in

necrotic muscle fibers of patients with Duchenne 

muscular dystrophy or DMD. An inherited muscle 

disorder, DMD is the most common form of muscular 

dystrophy, affecting approximately 1 in 3,500 boys. DMD 

causes muscular atrophy and accelerates the progression 

of muscular deterioration. It is an obstinate disease for 

which a fundamental mode of treatment has not yet 

been found. Therefore, H-PGDS-specific inhibitors are 

considered to be useful drugs for muscular dystrophy. 

The OBI research team has successfully determined 

the three-dimensional structure of H-PGDS in a 

complex with a prototype H-PGDS-specific inhibitor. 

H-PGDS has been crystallized several times in 

microgravity as part of JAXA’s space experiments. 

Using X-ray crystallographic analysis—using X-rays to 

determine the structure—researchers determined the

structure of the high-quality crystals of H-PGDSinhibitor complexes diffracting to 1.0–1.5 Angstrom 

resolution in space, and discovered a new inhibitor 

with several hundred times stronger activity than the 

prototype inhibitor (Fig. 5). This provides a better 

understanding of the binding mode of H-PGDS with 

inhibitors for better drug design. Further research is 

ongoing with an aim of practical use (Fig. 6).

Figure 4. Advantage of the Space Experiment 

Because the structure of the disease-causing protein, or the 

keyhole, is vague when it is obtained on the ground, the shape 

of the key, or a medicine candidate compound for treatment, 

cannot be determined. However, it is possible to find the 

structure of the disease-causing protein through the space 

experiments, and medicine that fits the treatment (the key that 

fits the keyhole) can be developed. (© JAXA)

Figure 5. High-Quality Crystals of H-PGDS-Inhibitor Complexes

The detailed structure of muscular dystrophy related protein 

became clear through a space experiment. (© Osaka Bioscience 

Institute/MARUWA Foods and Biosciences, Inc.)
8

There are more than 100,000 proteins in the human body and as many as 10 billion in nature. Every 

structure is different and each one of them holds important information related to our health and 

to the global environment. Space is now being utilized as the latest site of biomedical research, 

where scientists conduct experiments that are impossible or extremely difficult on Earth to 

understand the structures of proteins. Various investigations in Kibo generate high-quality protein 

crystals open doors to new possibilities. The elucidation of protein structure is instrumental to 

understanding the mechanisms of life. 

Figure 6. Treatment for Muscular Dystrophy

The progress of muscular atrophy is reduced by an effective 

medicine candidate compound. (© Osaka Bioscience Institute)
9

Are You Asthmatic? Your New Helper Comes From Space.

European Space Agency

Kalle, a 10-year-old boy, is already in favor of space technology. In the future, he could control his 

asthma with a small device also used by crew members on board the International Space Station. 

Because of it, he knows almost everything about nitric oxide—an important gas we all breathe out.

Nitric oxide, or nitrogen monoxide, as it is properly called, is both a good and bad molecule, found 

almost everywhere as an air pollutant that is produced by vehicle exhaust and industrial processes 

burning fuel. Nitric oxide is a contributor to the damage of the ozone layer and easily converts into 

nitric acid—which may fall as acid rain.

Intriguingly, tiny amounts of nitric oxide are released locally in inflamed tissue of humans and other 

mammals. Tracing it back to its source can reveal different diseases. 

In people with asthma, inflammation in the lung adds nitric oxide to exhaled air. Measuring the gas 

can help to diagnose the disease and may prevent attacks if the levels of nitric oxide indicate that 

medication should be adjusted.

Nitric oxide is also an interesting molecule on the space station. Dust and small particles floating 

around in weightlessness can be inhaled by the astronauts, possibly triggering inflammation of the 

airways. It also plays a role in decompression sickness that may arise from spacewalks.

The European Space Agency, or ESA, uses a lightweight, easy-to-use, accurate device for measuring 

nitric oxide in exhaled air. The aim is to investigate possible airway inflammation in astronauts and 

act before it becomes a health problem.

Former ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter 

undertaking science activities for the Nitric

Oxide Analyzer (NOA) experiment in 2006. 

(Image: ESA)
10

Following its development by the Swedish company Aerocrine AB and ESA, the device has been

found beneficial in space exploration and everyday use on Earth.

NIOX MINO® is now used by patients like Kalle at health centers. They can monitor levels of asthma 

control and the efficiency of medication—leading to more accurate dosing, reduced attacks and 

improved quality of life.

For further information, please contact:

Lars Karlsson and Lars Gustafsson

Karoliniska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Dept of Physiology and Pharmacology

Karolinska Institutet

Nanna Svartz väg 2

S-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden

Tel. +46 8 524 868 90

Email: Lars.Karlsson@ki.se
11

Add Salt? Astronauts’ Bones Say Please Don’t. European Space Agency

Osteoporosis is a harsh disease that reduces the quality of life 

for millions and costs Europe around €25 billion ($31 billion)

each year. It typically affects the elderly, so the rise in life 

expectancy in developed countries means the problems 

inflicted by osteoporosis are increasing. 

Fortunately, research done in space may change the game. 

Astronauts on the International Space Station experience 

accelerated osteoporosis because of weightlessness, but it is 

carefully controlled, and they can regain their lost bone mass 

once they are back on Earth.

Studying what happens during long spaceflights offers a good 

insight into the process of osteoporosis—losing calcium and 

changing bone structure—and helps to develop methods to 

combat it.

It has been known since the 1990s that the human body holds 

on to sodium, without the corresponding water retention, 

during long stays in space. But the textbooks said this was not possible. “Sodium retention in 

space” became an important subject to study.

Salt intake was investigated in a series of studies, in 

ground-based simulations and in space, and it was 

found that not only is sodium retained (probably in the 

skin), but it also affects the acid balance of the body 

and bone metabolism. So, high salt intake increases 

acidity in the body, which can accelerate bone loss.

The European Space Agency’s, or ESA’s, recent SOdium 

LOad in microgravity, or SOLO, study zoomed in on this 

question. 

3D pQCT image of osteoporotic bone. 

(Image: Scanco Medical AG)

The SOLO experiment is carrying out research into salt 

retention and its effect on bone metabolism in astronauts, 

which can help provide insights into medical conditions on 

Earth, such as osteoporosis. (Image: Istockphoto/S.Kaulitzki)
12

Nine crew members, including ESA’s Frank De Winne and Paolo Nespoli during their long-duration

flights in 2010 and 2011, followed low- and high-salt diets. The expected results may show that 

additional negative effects can be avoided either by reducing sodium intake or by using a simple

alkalizing agent like bicarbonate to counter the acid imbalance.

This space research directly benefits everybody on Earth who is prone to osteoporosis.

For further information, please contact:

Petra Frings-Meuthen

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Institute of Aerospace Medicine

Space Physiology

Linder Höhe

D-51147 Cologne, Germany

Tel: +49 2203 601-3034

Fax: +49 2203 61159 

Email: petra.frings-meuthen@dlr.de

Web: http://www.dlr.de 

ESA astronaut Frank De Winne undertaking a body 

mass measurement, an essential element of the 

SOLO experiment, on the space station. 

(Image: ESA)

ESA astronaut André Kuipers (left) and Russian cosmonaut 

Oleg Kononenko (right) with food items on the ISS in 

December 2011. In the SOLO experiment, astronaut 

subjects undergo two different diet regimes to determine 

the physiological effects of sodium on the body. 

(Image: ESA)
13

International Space Station Plays Role in Vaccine Development

Tara Ruttley, Ph.D., Associate International Space Station Program Scientist

NASA

Have you ever been afflicted with a case of food poisoning so awful it made you stop to wonder 

why no one’s found a cure or sure-fire preventative for it yet? And chances are you or someone 

you know has experienced a bacterial staph infection so aggressive it was resistant to nearly every 

antibiotic used by the medical profession. The development of vaccines to different pathogens has 

impacted our global health in ways we could have never anticipated as recently as the early 20th 

century, and there are still plenty of pathogens to protect ourselves from. The evolution of vaccine 

development is being streamlined with the help of the microgravity environment exhibited on the 

International Space Station. 

Researchers Timothy Hammond, Ph.D., at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Cheryl 

Nickerson, Ph.D., at Arizona State University have both flown experiments, using microgravity in 

their search for therapeutic agents or vaccines against Salmonella bacteria. Salmonella infection is 

one of the most common forms of food poisoning in the U.S. Worldwide, Salmonella diarrhea 

remains one of the top three causes of infant mortality, so a vaccine has the potential to make 

dramatic improvements in health for developing countries. The space environment has been 

shown to induce key changes in microbial cells that are directly relevant to infectious disease, 

including alterations of microbial growth rates, antibiotic resistance, microbial invasion of host 

tissue, organism virulence (the relative ability of a microbe to cause disease) and genetic changes 

within the microbe. Collectively, this body of work has shown that the virulence of this organism 

increases in microgravity. The targets identified from each of these microgravity-induced 

alterations represent an opportunity to 

develop new and improved therapeutics, 

including vaccines, as well as biological and 

pharmaceutical agents aimed specifically at 

eradicating the pathogen. 

Early work that laid the foundation for the 

microgravity-based vaccine development 

studies began in 1998, when Nickerson 

initially was funded by NASA in an effort to 

understand how Salmonella bacteria would 

respond to a microgravity environment. This 

was the first of what would be multiple 

studies from this team on Salmonella bacteria 

grown in true microgravity or ground-based 

analogues of microgravity. 

Cheryl Nickerson of the Biodesign Institute at Arizona 

State University (Credit: Nick Meek)
14

Follow-on experiments conducted on space shuttle 

flights to the space station have examined the 

virulence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus 

aureus, known as MRSA, as well as other microbes. 

MRSA is a type of Staphylococcus bacteria that is 

resistant to certain beta-lactam antibiotics; these 

antibiotics include methicillin, penicillin, and 

amoxicillin. More severe or potentially lifethreatening MRSA infections occur most frequently 

among patients in healthcare settings. MRSA is 

especially troublesome in hospitals, where patients 

with open wounds, invasive devices and weakened 

immune systems are at greater risk of infection 

than the general public.

The studies of Salmonella and MRSA bacteria in space are part of the U.S. National Laboratory 

pathfinder program to demonstrate the use of the space station as a research platform for 

commercial research and development. The pathfinder research approach uses a set of flight 

experiments to identify the components of the organisms that facilitate increased virulence in 

space, and then applies that information to pinpoint targets for anti-microbial therapeutics, 

including vaccines. Discovering the factors responsible for growth and virulence of bacteria will 

contribute to the development of novel therapeutic treatments, including vaccines. In fact, the 

commercial corporation Astrogenetix’s space-based Salmonella research has resulted in the 

discovery of a potential candidate vaccine for this pathogen and is currently in the planning stages 

for review and commercial development. 

More recently, two Arizona State University teams led 

by Nickerson and Roy Curtiss III, Ph.D., worked 

together to deliver vaccine samples that were flown to 

the space station on STS-135. The investigation seeks 

to improve on existing vaccines against Streptococcus 

pneumonia—a bacteria that causes life-threatening 

diseases, such as pneumonia, meningitis, and 

bacteremia. This organism is responsible for more than 

10 million deaths annually and is particularly 

dangerous for newborns and the elderly, as they are 

less responsive to current anti-pneumococcal vaccines 

traditionally delivered by needle. An orally delivered vaccine known as the Recombinant 

Attenuated Salmonella Vaccine, or RASV, is currently undergoing clinical trials, and the Arizona 

State University research teams are seeking to increase this vaccine’s anti-pneumococcal 

effectiveness by maximizing its ability to induce a protective immune response. “We have the 

opportunity,” commented Nickerson, “to utilize spaceflight as a unique research and development 

platform for novel applications with potential to help fight a globally devastating disease.” The 

samples sent to the space station were a genetically altered strain of Salmonella that carries a 

Astronaut John Phillips, STS-119 mission specialist, 

activates the MSRA experiment on the middeck of 

Space Shuttle Discovery. (Image credit: NASA)

An example of Salmonella invading cultured 

human cells. (Image courtesy of Rocky 

Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH)
15

protective antigen against the Streptococcus pneumonia bacteria. Molecular targets identified 

from this work hold promise for translation to develop new and improve existing antipneumococcal RASVs to prevent disease for the general public. Moreover, because RASVs can be 

produced against a wide variety of human pathogens, the outcome of this study could influence 

the development of vaccines against many other diseases in addition to pneumonia.

This space-based research provides evidence that the International Space Station as a National 

Laboratory is a valuable resource that can be utilized for the benefit of Earth. Discovery of 

therapeutic targets for MRSA and Salmonella infections are examples of efforts to use the novel 

microgravity environment to develop new pharmaceutical agents, and as the station nears 

completion, there will be an increase in such opportunities to utilize the International Space Station

National Laboratory as a platform for drug discovery. Overall, these results represent just a fraction 

of the possibilities of future microgravity discoveries. Scientists participating in these studies plan 

to fly a continuing series of experiments to the space station, giving them streamlined access that 

will help to accelerate progress for several different lifesaving vaccines.
16

Advanced Ultrasound for the Space Program and on Earth1

Scott A. Dulchavsky, M.D.2

Henry Ford Hospital

Kathleen Garcia; Douglas R. Hamilton, M.D., Ph.D.; Shannon Melton; and Ashot E. Sargsyan, M.D.3

Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering

A patient’s location at the time of a medical crisis often determines their pain and suffering and 

even their chances of survival. As a rule, ease of access to medical care decreases as the distance 

from a developed metropolitan area increases. Providing medical care for people in remote 

communities; at research outposts, such as Antarctic stations; and on isolated crews, such as the 

International Space Station crew, is particularly challenging. Medical care at these remote locations 

is usually performed by minimally trained medical personnel, and a physician is sometimes 

available only through phone or Internet links, if at all. The ability to quickly diagnose an illness or 

injury and initiate treatment improves the outcome for the patient and reduces the consequences 

for the rest of the mission. The ability to make an accurate diagnosis in remote areas reduces the 

impact of the incident and the chances of an expensive and potentially dangerous and unnecessary 

evacuation.

Ultrasound imaging is among the fastest, safest and most universal diagnostic methods ever 

invented. It provides much of the information that can be obtained by expensive technologies, such 

as X-ray, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imagery, and it is the only method to 

produce a real-time or live image that can be interpreted and/or transmitted at the same time. In 

the right hands, ultrasound instantly answers many clinical questions, shortening the assessment 

time and improving outcome.

The NASA Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity, or ADUM, research team, based at 

NASA’s Johnson Space Center, tests novel uses of ultrasound in large medical centers and 

laboratory conditions, and then adapts them for use in space flight, providing training and guidance 

to non-medical operators. The ADUM team is comprised of individuals with unique clinical, 

scientific, engineering, and teaching expertise, as well as direct experience in a multitude of 

telemedicine projects and programs. 

Earth-Based Testing: Expanded Uses for Ultrasound

Ultrasound is routinely used to obtain diagnostic information about pregnancy and various 

abdominal and vascular conditions such as gallbladder disease or blood clots. We have examined 

 1 Adapted from an original article that appeared in NASA Technology Innovation, Vol 15; 3, 2010; NP-2010-06-658-HQ.

2 Scott Dulchavsky, M.D., is chair of surgery at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich., and the lead investigator in the ADUM project.

3 Kathleen Garcia; Douglas Hamilton, M.D., Ph.D.; Shannon Melton; and Ashot Sargsyan, M.D., are with Wyle Integrated Science and 

Engineering and are co-investigators in the ADUM project. Wyle is the prime contractor for the NASA Johnson Space Center 

Bioastronautics contract, providing medical operations, ground and flight research, space flight hardware development and 

fabrication, science and mission integration.
17

the use of ultrasound in additional conditions, including collapsed lung, broken bones, injuries to 

the eyes or head and infections in the teeth or sinus cavities. 

Patients who have had chest injuries are at risk of a collapsed lung or pneumothorax, which is 

usually diagnosed with a chest X-ray. The ADUM team developed a simple lung ultrasound 

technique that can be used to diagnose a pneumothorax with higher accuracy than a chest X-ray. 

This new technique is now standard in many hospitals and trauma centers around the world. Using 

parabolic flight as an analog to microgravity, the ultrasound hardware, astronaut training and 

remote guidance procedures were validated for use on the space station as a potential capability 

for the medical support of future space missions.

The ADUM team developed “cue cards” to rapidly guide nonexpert users to perform ultrasound 

examinations on patients with extremity injuries and found that broken bones can be diagnosed 

with more than 90-percent accuracy after just minutes of training. Ultrasound also can be used to 

determine if muscles, joints or tendons are injured. Importantly, it provides a convenient way to 

look at muscles and joints as they move, which is an advantage over X-ray or other techniques that 

only provide still images of the body.

There is concern that astronauts will suffer eye injuries caused by objects floating in the spacecraft 

and, more recently, the effect of prolonged exposure to microgravity on vision. Ultrasound can be 

used to determine if there are foreign particles in the eye and to identify other conditions that 

could affect eyesight during space travel. Ocular ultrasound also can provide important information 

about the condition of the brain in head-injured patients. Those with brain swelling can be 

identified by using ultrasound to measure the size of the nerve in the back of the eye.

Rapid Training for Nonexpert Operators

During an ultrasound examination, a probe is placed on the patient’s body to transmit and receive 

sound waves to produce a moving image. The technique depends on proper placement and 

movement of the probe to obtain the best images, and it generally requires hundreds of hours of 

practice. The ADUM investigators found that it is possible to use non-medical operators to obtain 

good-quality data if the right clinical questions are asked and the operator is given the right amount 

and type of information and direction from a remotely located expert.

The ADUM team developed a bilingual (English and Russian) computer-based On-Board Proficiency 

Enhancement, or OPE, e-learning tool, which consists of a stepwise program for performing 

targeted ultrasound examinations after only a short hands-on training program before flight. The 

OPE program includes modules that review equipment set up, basic and advanced ultrasound 

principles, anatomy, remote guidance principles and exam-specific suggestions with a reference 

collection of target images. Companion cue cards, which show where to apply the probe to obtain 

the correct image, were developed for all of the ultrasound examination sets. This training regimen 

can be completed in two or three hours and includes 30-minute refresher modules to be 

completed just before an examination.
18

The key concept developed by the ADUM team is the methodology for “Remote Expert Guidance”

of ultrasound examinations, which links a remote expert with the on-site operator in a virtual 

common working environment. The ultrasound machine video output is transmitted to the remote 

expert via a satellite or Internet connection, and the operator is guided to obtain the ultrasound 

images via voice commands. This technique has dramatically reduced training requirements (often 

down to minutes) while preserving the quality of the ultrasound examinations.

Ultrasound on the Space Station

Initial trials of the new paradigm, using ultrasound to capture images of the heart and abdomen, 

led the way to a large series of ADUM experiments on the station, sponsored by NASA and the 

National Space Biomedical Research Institute, or NSBRI. The ADUM investigators stressed the 

importance of minimal preflight training of astronaut and cosmonaut crew members, computerbased refresher e-learning before imaging sessions, and complex ultrasound examinations on the 

station with remote expert guidance.

Crew members first performed diagnostic quality cardiac, vascular and thoracic ultrasound 

examinations on the station. Then other astronauts were rapidly trained to expand the capabilities 

to perform examinations of the heart, lungs, blood vessels and abdomen with a special emphasis 

on musculoskeletal ultrasound. The crew members performed bone ultrasound examinations every 

month to monitor changes in the bones from a long period without gravity. The ADUM team then 

worked with astronauts to perform additional ultrasound examinations on the station, including 

examinations of teeth, sinus and eyes. Finally a full examination of the heart was performed 

without direct video capabilities, using only voice guidance and relying on pattern recognition 

developed in the experiment.

More than 100 hours of ultrasound examinations were conducted with long-duration station crew

members, providing a “head-to-toe” assessment of changes in the body associated with space 

flight. As of the end of 2009, the techniques and solutions developed by the team were officially 

accepted for medical support of the station crews as well as for conducting experiments in space 

physiology and clinical space medicine research.

Ultrasound Application Experience

ADUM investigators modified the training methods and remote guidance techniques developed for 

the space station to extend medical care capabilities on Earth. Non-physician athletic trainers for 

the Detroit Red Wings hockey team and the Detroit Tigers baseball team were taught advanced 

ultrasound skills to help with injured athletes. A portable ultrasound device was installed in the 

locker room of the athletic stadiums, and athlete-specific cue cards were developed for common 

sports injuries. Tele-ultrasound connections were established between the sporting arenas and 

Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich., to allow remote guidance capabilities.

Initial experiences with the hockey and baseball teams showed that the athletic trainers could 

perform complex muscle, bone and joint ultrasound examinations rapidly and with high diagnostic 
19

accuracy, allowing point-of-care diagnosis of athletic injury. Some ADUM investigators have 

extended these capabilities to the United States Olympic Training Facilities and have supported the 

Torino, Beijing and Vancouver games with hundreds of point-of-care ultrasound examinations in 

athletes with suspected injuries.

The ADUM team has extended the concept to remote environments, such as Mt. Everest and the 

Arctic Circle. The team designed a self-contained system that includes a portable ultrasound device, 

solar power, satellite phone connectivity and a laptop computer containing educational programs. 

An untrained mountaineer was able to perform a complete lung ultrasound scan at Advanced Base 

Camp on Mt. Everest using cue cards and remote guidance. The novice operator was able to send 

high-quality ultrasound images to the remote expert to diagnose a fellow climber with fluid in the 

lungs secondary to high altitude. A similar remote ultrasound system was used at Resolute Bay in 

the Canadian Arctic Circle to enable nonexpert operators to perform targeted scans of almost every 

organ system.

The just-in-time ultrasound educational programs developed for use in space and for remote 

locations also are appropriate for training health care personnel. A training program was developed 

for Wayne State University School of Medicine, and is now used by the American College of 

Surgeons to teach ultrasound to the surgeons of the future.

Future Plans

The ADUM team is currently developing a simple, whole-body ultrasound education catalog that 

can be used to teach nonexpert operators to diagnose a wide variety of conditions. An integrated 

remote medical care device is being created to combine computer education, ultrasound-based 

diagnostics and communication capabilities with remote experts to extend high-quality medical 

care capabilities to remote, rural and underserved regions on Earth. 

The real-time nature of ultrasound imaging and the ability to easily transmit the images to allow 

remote expert guidance make ultrasound applications especially attractive for remote use. ADUM 

investigators are studying the possibility of using ultrasound to effectively answer primary clinical 

diagnostic questions in unconventional settings where ultrasound is the only (or the first available) 

source of imaging and where on-site expertise is limited. They have developed and extensively 

used multimedia e-learning software, which makes a winning combination with real-time 

mentoring of the distant on-site operator (remote expert guidance). These methods of focused 

ultrasound have been used successfully on the station and in several applications on the ground.

Ultrasound is one of the most adaptable diagnostic imaging modalities, which can be used for many 

medical and surgical conditions. Advances in portability and affordability, coupled with enhanced 

training programs and tele-ultrasound, can provide powerful diagnostic capabilities anywhere on 

and off the planet.
20

Together with its partners, the ADUM team will work to create new knowledge and capabilities to 

benefit human health on Earth and in the most daring exploration settings of the future.
21

Early Detection of Immune Changes Prevents Painful Shingles in 

Astronauts and Earth-Bound Patients4

Satish K. Mehta, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Enterprise Advisory Services

Duane L. Pierson, Ph.D., Chief Microbiologist

C. Mark Ott, Ph.D., Senior Microbiologist

NASA Johnson Space Center

The physiological, emotional and psychological stress associated with spaceflight can result in 

decreased immunity that reactivates the virus that causes shingles, a disease punctuated by painful 

skin lesions. NASA has developed a technology that can detect immune changes early enough to 

begin treatment before painful lesions appear in astronauts and people here on Earth. This early 

detection and treatment will reduce the duration of the disease and the incidence of long-term 

consequences.

Spaceflight alters some elements of the human 

immune system: innate immunity, an early line of 

defense against infectious agents, and specific 

components of cellular immunity are decreased in

astronauts. Astronauts do not experience increased 

incidence or severity of infectious disease during 

short-duration spaceflight, but NASA scientists are 

concerned about how the immune system will 

function over the long stays in space that may be 

required for exploration missions.

Selecting one or more biomarkers or indicators of 

immunity in healthy individuals is difficult, but the 

herpes viruses have become valuable tools in early 

detection of changes in the immune system, based 

largely on the astronaut studies. Eight herpes viruses 

may reside in the human body, and virtually all of us 

are infected by one or more of these viruses. Herpes 

viruses cause diseases including common “fever 

blisters” (herpes simplex virus or HSV), infectious 

mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus or EBV) and 

chicken pox and shingles (varicella zoster virus or 

VZV). In immune-suppressed individuals, herpes 

viruses may cause several types of cancer, such as 

carcinoma, lymphoproliferative disease and others.

 4 Adapted from an original article that appeared in NASA Technology Innovation, Vol 15; 3, 2010; NP-2010-06-658-HQ.

Caption and credit TBD

VZV infected MeWo cells showing typical herpesvirus-induced multinucleated giant cells. Cultures 

are stained with acrydine orange to identify RNA 

(red) in the cytoplasm. (Image credit: NASA)
22

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one million cases of shingles occur 

yearly in the U.S., and 100,000 to 200,000 of these cases develop into a particularly painful and 

sometimes debilitating condition known as post-herpetic neuralgia, which can last for months or 

years. The other seven herpes viruses also exist in an inactive state in different body tissues much 

like VZV, and similarly they may also reactivate and cause disease during periods of decreased 

immunity.

The most common cause of decreasing immunity is age, but chronic stress also results in decreased 

immunity and increases risk of the secondary disease, such as VZV-driven shingles. Chemotherapy, 

organ transplants and infectious diseases, such as human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, also 

result in decreased immunity. Thus, viral reactivation has been identified as an important indicator 

of clinically relevant immune changes. Studies of immune-compromised individuals indicate that 

these patients shed EBV in saliva at rates 90-fold higher than found in healthy individuals.

The herpes viruses are already present in astronauts, as they are in at least 95 percent of the 

general adult population worldwide. So measuring the appearance of herpes viruses in astronaut 

body fluids serves as a much-needed immune biomarker. It is widely believed that various stressors 

associated with spaceflight are responsible for the observed decreased immunity. Researchers at 

NASA’s Johnson Space Center found that four human herpes viruses reactivate and appear in body 

fluids in response to spaceflight. Due to the reduced cellular immunity, the viruses are allowed to 

emerge from their latent state into active infectious agents. The multiplying viruses are released 

into saliva, urine or blood and can be detected and quantified by a polymerase chain reaction or 

PCR assay for each specific virus. The PCR assay detects viral DNA and is very sensitive and highly 

specific, allowing the user to selectively replicate viral DNA sequences. The finding of VZV in saliva 

of astronauts was the first report of VZV being reactivated and shed in asymptomatic individuals. 

Subsequently, the VZV shed in astronaut saliva was found to be intact and infectious, posing a risk 

of disease in uninfected individuals.

PCR technology also was utilized to study VZV-induced shingles in patients from the general 

population. In the study, which merged the experience of physicians at the University of Texas 

Health Science Center in Houston and NASA scientists at Johnson Space Center, salivary VZV was 

present in each of the 54 shingles patients on the day treatment was initiated. Pain and skin lesions 

decreased following antiviral treatment, and levels of VZV decreased as well. The lower levels of 

VZV copies in shingles patients before treatment overlapped the upper range of VZV levels in 

astronauts, suggesting a potential risk of shingles from VZV reactivation in space.

This early-detection technology was used to facilitate early diagnosis of shingles in a 21-year-old 

patient, resulting in early medical intervention. This quick action prevented the formation of skin 

lesions and reduced the duration of pain associated with acute disease. In another NASA study, 

spaceflight PCR technology was utilized to detect VZV in the serum and peripheral blood 

mononuclear cells of all 25 shingles patients, demonstrating for the first time that viremia (virus in 

the blood) is a common manifestation of shingles. However, the PCR assay requires large, complex 

equipment, which is not practical for space flight.
23

To overcome this obstacle in an effort to investigate viral reactivation in crew members, NASA 

developed a rapid method of detection of VZV in body fluids, and a patent application is currently 

pending for it. The new technology requires a small sample of saliva, which is mixed with 

specialized reagents that produce a red color only when VZV is present. This technology makes 

possible early detection, before the appearance of skin lesions. Early detection allows for early 

administration of antiviral therapy and thus limits nerve damage and prevents overt disease. Rapid 

intervention is expected to prevent post-herpetic neuralgia. The device is designed for use in 

doctors’ offices or spacecraft and can be modified easily for use with other viruses in saliva, urine, 

blood and spinal fluid. The sensitivity and specificity emanates from an antibody-antigen reaction.

In another collaborative study, NASA and University of Colorado Health Science Center (Denver) 

researchers developed a collection tool for assessment of salivary stress hormones during space 

shuttle missions. Saliva samples are collected on individual filter paper strips and dried. The dried 

samples remain stable at room temperature for as long as six months to allow testing once back on 

Earth. The test measures cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), two important stress and 

immune regulatory hormones. The filter paper also can be used for proteins and other molecules of

interest in saliva. Booklets of these filter papers now are being used in university and government 

laboratories for remote saliva collection.

These studies demonstrate the potential value of bringing to the general public a technology that 

could prevent a painful and debilitating condition in up to one million people each year in the 

U.S. alone.
24

Cancer Treatment Delivery

Tara Ruttley, Ph.D., Associate International Space Station Program Scientist

NASA

Humanity is on the constant search for improvements in 

cancer treatments, and the International Space Station 

has provided a microgravity platform that has enabled 

advancements in the cancer treatment process. 

The oncology community has a recent history of using 

different microencapsulation techniques as an 

approach to cancer treatment. Microencapsulation is a 

single step process that forms tiny liquid-filled, 

biodegradable micro-balloons containing various drug 

solutions that can provide better drug delivery and 

new medical treatments for solid tumors and resistant 

infections. In other words, by using microcapsules 

containing antitumor treatments and visualization markers, the treatment can be directed right to 

the tumor, which has several benefits over systemic treatment such as chemotherapy. Testing in 

mouse models has shown that these unique microcapsules can be injected into human prostate 

tumors to actually inhibit tumor growth or can be injected following cryo-surgery (freezing) to 

improve the destruction of the tumors much better than freezing or local chemotherapy alone. The 

microcapsules also contain a contrast agent that enables C-T, X-ray or ultrasound imaging to 

monitor the distribution within the tissues to ensure that the entire tumor is treated when the 

microcapsules release their drug contents. 

The Microencapsulation Electrostatic 

Processing System-II experiment, or MEPS-II, 

led by Dennis Morrison, Ph.D. (retired), at 

NASA Johnson Space Center, was performed 

on the station in 2002 and included innovative 

encapsulation of several different anti-cancer 

drugs, magnetic triggering particles, and 

encapsulation of genetically engineered DNA. 

The experiment system improved on existing 

microencapsulation technology by using 

microgravity to modify the fluid mechanics, 

interfacial behavior, and biological processing 

methods as compared to the way the 

microcapsules would be formed in gravity. 

Single cell microencapsulation

(Image credit: NASA)

Dr. Morrison with MEPS flight hardware ready to pack for 

the International Space Station UF-2 mission
25

In effect, the MEPS-II system on the station combined two immiscible liquids in such a way that 

surface tension forces (rather than fluid shear) dominated at the interface of the fluids. The 

significant performance of the space-produced microcapsules as a cancer treatment delivery 

system motivated the development of the Pulse Flow Microencapsulation System, or PFMS, which 

is an Earth-based system that can replicate the quality of the microcapsules created in space. 

As a result of this space station research, the results 

from the MEPS-II experiments have provided new 

insight into the best formulations and conditions 

required to produce microcapsules of different 

drugs, particularly special capsules containing 

diagnostic imaging materials and triggered release 

particles. Co-encapsulation of multiple drugs and 

Photodynamic Therapy, or PDT, drugs has enabled 

new engineering strategies for production of 

microcapsules on Earth designed for direct delivery 

into cancer tissues. Other microcapsules have now 

been made for treatment of deep tissue infections 

and clotting disorders and to provide delivery of 

genetically engineered materials for potential gene 

therapy strategies. Microcapsules that were made on the space station and are targeted at 

inhibiting the growth of human prostate tumors have been successfully demonstrated in laboratory 

settings. Although Morrison’s team had performed several similar microencapsulation experiments 

on space shuttle missions, because of the space station’s ability to support long-term experiments, 

more progress was made by the eight microencapsulation experiments conducted on the station in 

2002 than from the 60+ prior experiments conducted on the four space shuttle missions—STS-77, 

STS-80, STS-95 and STS-107.

Benefits of Space Station Research

The microgravity environment on the station was an enabling environment that led the way to

better methods of microcapsule development on Earth. The capability to perform sequential 

microencapsulation experiments on board the station has resulted in new, Earth-based technology 

for making these unique microballoons that provide sustained release of drugs over a 12–14 day 

period. The station research led directly to five U.S. patents that have been licensed by NASA and 

two more that are pending. NuVue Therapeutics, Inc., is one of several commercial companies that 

have licensed some of the MEPS technologies and methods to develop new applications, such as 

innovative ultrasound enhanced needles and catheters that will be used to deliver the 

microcapsules of anti-tumor drugs directly to tumor sites. More recent research uses a new device 

for freezing tumors (“cryo-ablation”) followed by ultrasound-guided deposition of the multi-layered 

microcapsules containing different chemotherapy drugs outside the freeze zone within a human 

prostate or lung tumor. In a 28-day study, combination therapy resulted in retarding tumor growth

78 percent and complete tumor regression of up to 30 percent after only three weekly injections of 

Microencapsulation containing anti-tumor drugs 

made on the space station. (Image credit: NASA)
26

microencapsulated drug at tiny quantities that should not have slowed down tumor growth by 

more than 5–10 percent. NuVue Technologies, Inc., has now obtained two U.S. patents based on 

the combination therapy that includes the delivery of the NASA-type microcapsules. Upon securing 

funding, clinical trials to inject microcapsules of anti-tumor drugs directly into tumor sites will begin 

at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the Mayo Cancer Center in Scottsdale, Ariz. 

Other potential uses of this microencapsulation technology include microencapsulation of 

genetically engineered living cells for injection or transplantation into damaged tissues,

enhancement of human tissue repair, and real-time microparticle analysis in flowing sample 

streams that would allow petrochemical companies to monitor pipeline volume flow. 

Schematic of the Pulse Flow Microencapsulation System (Image credit: NASA)
27

Advanced NASA Technology Supports Water Purification Efforts 

Worldwide

Arun Joshi, International Space Station Program Science Office

NASA Johnson Space Center

Whether in the confines of the International Space Station or a tiny hut village in sub-Saharan 

Africa, drinkable water is vital for human survival. Unfortunately, many people around the world 

lack access to clean water. Using technology developed for the space station, at-risk areas can now 

gain access to advanced water filtration and purification systems, making a life-saving difference in 

these communities. 

The nonprofit organization Concern for Kids, or CFK, in Nye, Mont., has provided aid and disaster 

relief to countries such as Malaysia, Iraq and Indonesia since 1992. Among other services, the 

group raises funds to install water delivery systems and water storage tanks in at-risk regions. 

Years later, CFK representatives learned about a deep-water well failure in the tiny Kurdish village 

of Kendala, Iraq, which left its residents without access to drinkable water. The population quickly 

dwindled from 1,000 residents to a mere 150. Those remaining were forced to use a nearby creek 

that contained water contaminated by livestock, which they sifted through fabric to remove dirt 

and debris. 

Todd Harrison was president of CFK’s board of directors at the time and strongly empathized with 

the people of Kendala. He set out on a mission to revive this ailing community by improving the 

deplorable conditions. The solution came in the form of a familial connection that put Harrison in 

touch with NASA engineers who developed technology to provide clean water aboard the space 

station. 

Harrison’s sister, Robyn Carrasquillo, was the engineering manager for the Environmental Control 

and Life Support System, or ECLSS, project at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. She and her 

team of engineers were responsible for developing the cutting-edge water purification system that 

recycles air and water aboard the station. 

By efficiently recycling wastewater aboard the space station, there is a reduced need to provide the 

resource via resupply—which would not be an option for long-duration space travel. Without this 

capability, the station’s current logistics resupply capacity would not be able to support the 

standard population of six crew members. “In a year, the water saved by recycling exceeded the 

initial launch weight and weight of replacement parts due to some initial issues,” commented 

Carrasquillo. 

Two principal components make up the International Space Station Regenerative ECLSS: The Water 

Recovery System, or WRS, and the Oxygen Generation System, or OGS. The WRS conducts the 
28

water purification and filtration process in the ECLSS. Commercial companies took an interest in 

this part of the ECLSS project, as they sought to adapt it to an Earth-based water treatment system. 

Harrison discovered an interesting relationship between CFK’s water filtration system and NASA 

because of his familiarity with his sister’s work. NASA’s previous research and application provided 

the Microbial Check Valve, or MCV, an integral component of the purification and filtration process.

Originally developed for the Space Shuttle Program by Umpqua Research Corporation, the MCV 

was later sold to WSC. The MCV is an iodinated-resin that provides a simple way to control 

microbial growth in water without the use of power. By dispensing iodine into the water, it 

Volunteers help install and test a water 

purification system in Kendala, Iraq. 

(Image courtesy of Concern for Kids)

The International Space Station water recovery component of the 

Environmental Control and Life Support System (NASA image)
29

performs an important secondary nutritional function for the populace. This chemical, when 

added to the diet, promotes proper brain functions and maintains bodily hormone levels—which 

regulate cell development and growth. Children who lack iodine in their diets exhibit growth 

mental retardation. 

With the help of U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne)

personnel, a 2,000-liter water tank and fresh water were brought to the Kurdish village. Workers 

ensured that the water was clean and iodinated to prevent bacteria and virus contamination. 

Carrasquillo recalls the installation efforts and associated challenges. “[CFK] encountered some 

technical issues that our group helped with by phone. The MCV had dried out during transit and we 

were able to do an assessment and reassure them it should be okay. In addition, the pumps that 

were available in the local village were oversized for the filtration system.”

Carrasquillo’s team strategized and implemented a bypass that allowed workers to use the 

available pump and start the system immediately. This workaround enabled the successful

processing of Kendala’s water supply. 

Joint collaborations between aid organizations and NASA technology show just how effectively 

space research can adapt to contribute answers to global needs. Since this initial effort, the 

commercialization of this station-related technology has provided aid and disaster relief for 

communities worldwide. Chiapas, Mexico; Kampang Salak, Malaysia; Sabana San Juan, Dominican 

Republic; Balakot, Pakistan; and Vera Cruz, Mexico are just a few examples of cities that benefited 

from this advanced filtration capability. Other related developments include a personalized device 

that uses forward osmosis to turn urine into drinking water. Water Security Corporation, or WSC,

licensed the device for use in commercial ground-based filtration systems deployed around the 

world.

31

Earth Observation and Disaster Response

Earth Remote Sensing from the Space Station—It’s Not Just 

Handheld Cameras Anymore

William L. Stefanov

Chief Scientist, Science Applications, Research and Development Department, Jacobs5

Since the International Space Station became operational in November 2000, astronauts on board 

have taken more than 600,000 images of the Earth’s land surface, oceans, atmospheric 

phenomena, and even images of the Moon from orbit using handheld film and digital cameras as 

part of the Crew Earth Observations experiment. Despite this large volume of imagery and clear 

capability for Earth remote sensing, the space station historically has not been perceived as an 

Earth observation platform by many remote sensing scientists. With the installation of new 

facilities and sophisticated sensor systems on the International Space Station over the past two 

years—and more to come—this perception is changing. 

So what can the station offer in terms of Earth remote sensing that free-flying, robotic satellite 

systems cannot? 

Images With a Variety of Lighting Conditions 

Unlike many of the traditional Earth 

observation platforms, the station 

orbits the Earth in an inclined 

equatorial orbit that is not sunsynchronous. This means that the 

station passes over locations on the 

Earth between 52 degrees north and 

52 degrees south latitude at 

different times of day and under 

varying illumination conditions. 

Remote satellite-based Earth 

observing sensors are typically 

placed on polar-orbiting, sunsynchronous platforms like Landsat7

or Terra in orbits designed to pass 

over the same spot on the Earth’s 

surface at approximately the same 

time of day. These satellite 

platforms will revisit a location

 5 William L. Stefanov is with Jacobs, the prime contractor for the NASA Johnson Space Center Engineering and Science Contract.

ISSAC “first light” image of Charlotte Harbor, Fla. acquired June 10, 

2011, overlaid on Landsat 5 base image. The ISSAC scene is 

processed to highlight vegetation in red, urban areas in gray, and 

water surfaces in black. Clouds appear bright white.
32

about every two weeks. While collecting imagery in similar 

lighting conditions is good for producing uniform data for a 

specific place, it restricts the time that data is collected (near 

local solar noon in most cases). If a scientist is interested in a 

surface process that typically happens in the early morning or 

late in the afternoon (for example, patterns in coastal fog 

banks), the data will be difficult to collect from the polarorbiting, sun-synchronous satellites. 

Responsive Data Collection 

Another advantage unique to the space station is the presence 

of crew that can react to unfolding events in real time, rather 

than needing a new data collection program uploaded from 

ground control. This is particularly important for collecting 

imagery of unexpected natural hazard events such as volcanic 

eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunami. The crew can also 

determine whether viewing conditions—like cloud cover or 

illumination—will allow useful data to be collected, as 

opposed to a robotic sensor that collects data automatically 

without regard to quality. 

Complementing handheld, digital camera imagery taken by 

astronauts, the current automated sensor systems and 

facilities on board the space station—both internal and 

external—provide exciting new capabilities for Earth remote 

sensing. In addition, the station’s power and data infrastructure encourages the development of new sensors. The 

following systems managed by NASA for Earth observation are 

now or will shortly be onboard and operational for the space 

station (or manifested for transport): 

• Window Observational Research Facility, or WORF, provides 

a highly stable internal mounting platform to hold cameras 

and sensors steady while offering power, command, data, 

and cooling connections. With the WORF, the high-quality 

optics of the nadir viewing window—looking “straight 

down” at the Earth—in the U.S. Destiny Laboratory are now 

fully utilized for the first time. 

• International Space Station Agricultural Camera, or ISSAC. 

The ISSAC was developed by students and faculty at the 

University of North Dakota. Its prime purpose is to collect 

HICO true-color image of Monterey 

Bay, Calif., acquired March 27, 2010.
33

multispectral data supporting agricultural activities and related research in the Upper Midwest of 

the United States. In addition, the ISSAC can be tasked to collect imagery of natural hazards and 

disasters in support of NASA humanitarian efforts. ISSAC collects information in the visible and 

near-infrared wavelengths (3 bands) at a nominal ground resolution of 20 meters per pixel. 

• Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean, or HICO, is mounted on the external facility of the 

Japanese Kibo module. The prime mission of HICO is to collect data on water clarity, bottom 

materials, bathymetry, and on-shore vegetation along the coasts of Earth’s oceans at 

approximately 90 meters per pixel ground resolution. The sensor collects high-quality 

information in 87 bands over the visible and near-infrared wavelengths.

• International Space Station SERVIR Environmental Research and Visualization System, or ISERV, is 

a planned sensor system consisting of a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope paired with a digital 

camera system to collect visible-wavelength imagery at ground resolutions of less than 3 meters 

per pixel. The system will be mounted in the WORF and will have excellent stability and targeting 

capabilities. The sensor is intended to support the SERVIR program in its goals of humanitarian 

support by using Earth science data to aid the developing world, mitigate and respond to 

disasters, and provide humanitarian support. 

Currently, individual science teams manage access to data collected by the various sensor systems, 

but a central data access facility is planned for the future. The combined capabilities of both 

human-operated and autonomous sensor systems onboard the space station promise to 

significantly improve our ability to monitor the Earth and respond to natural hazards and 

catastrophes. Integration of the space station Earth observation systems represents a significant 

and complementary addition to the international satellite-based Earth observing “system of 

systems,” providing knowledge and insight into our shared global environment.
34

Space Station Imagery Helps Island Nations Manage 

Coral Reef Resources

NASA Johnson Space Center

Coral reefs are a critical resource for many island and coastal nations, particularly in the tropical 

Pacific and Indian Oceans. These nations rely on the rich reef ecosystem to support local fisheries; 

additionally, the reefs serve as barriers that help protect coasts from significant waves and storm 

surges and bring in substantial revenue through tourism. Astronaut photographs of coral reefs 

taken from the International Space Station provide an important perspective on coral reef 

geography, coastal development, and related land habitats. 

In recent years, the scientific community has recognized that reefs around the world are 

threatened by large scale processes such as global warming and associated sea level rise, ocean 

warming and acidification, and local human activities such as coastal development, over-fishing and 

heavy tourism (see Reefs at Risk and Mapping the Decline of Coral Reefs). Collapse of individual 

reef systems would spell disaster for local island nations and coastal societies dependent on reef 

resources. A global decline in reef systems carries significant implications for the oceans’

biodiversity, support for important fisheries, and more. 

About a decade ago, several programs were initiated to map the extent of global reefs as a first 

step in understanding their geographic attributes and managing the resource (see Millennium Coral 

Reef Mapping). As these initiatives began, scientists recognized that 1) accurate maps of the 

world’s reefs were lacking; 2) detailed mapping of the reefs would provide more value to local 

resource managers; and 3) the remoteness of many reef systems would make detailed mapping 

difficult or impossible. 

Most reef data came from established remote sensing sources, including Landsat7 and sea-viewing 

Wide Field-of-View Sensor, or WiFS. However, teams of scientists and resource managers quickly 

recognized that very little detailed imagery exists over many remote oceanic locations. NASA 

supported the collection of reef imagery from a variety of sensors through partnership with several 

organizations (e.g., United Nations Environmental Program–World Conservation Monitoring Centre 

and International Coral Reef Action Network, International Center for Living Aquatic Resources 

Management, and ReefBase). 

Astronaut images were identified as an important contributing resource because they provided 

better resolution than some remotely-sensed data, were generally cloud-free, and covered areas 

not traditionally imaged by remote sensing platforms. Astronauts consciously target beautiful reef 

areas as they orbited over the large expanses of oceans. Although not a prime source of remotely 

sensed data, astronaut photography of remote reef locations in the world’s oceans have provided 

valuable data that have been assimilated and fused into global databases that help to map reef 

systems, and monitor their changes. This information is critical for local reef managers. 
35

Today, station astronauts routinely collect high resolution (5–6 m) digital imagery of the Earth’s 

reefs. Richard Stumpf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA reported 

in a 2003 study that the images have been used by NOAA for water depth assessments. Additional 

collaborations have evaluated the influence of the spatial scale of the imagery on determining 

landscape parameters of atolls as reported by Serge Andréfouët of the Institute for Marine Remote 

Sensing, University of South Florida, in 2003, and scientists use the high resolution astronaut 

photography for planning dive surveys and other management activities according to a 2002 

publication by Jean-Pascal Quod of the French initiative for Coral Reefs, or IFRECOR.

Photographing reef areas from the station is an established way to contribute to the global 

database of reef images and support coastal communities in managing their own reef areas. In the 

future, other space station sensors, such as the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean, or 

HREP-HICO, and International Space Station SERVIR Environmental Research and Visualization 

System, or ISERV, may also provide meaningful data for reef mapping activities. 

The digital photograph above, taken from the space station, shows details of the reefs surrounding 

îles Glorieuses. The photograph served as a base map for detailed field mapping of the reef zones 

(geomorphology and ecology) by Agence pour la Recherche et la Valorisation Marines (ARVAM), 

based in Réunion, and partners. These maps supported biological inventories and surveys of coral 

Îles Glorieuses (îles Eparses archipelago, Indian Ocean). These islands are protected because of 

their importance for sea turtles and seabird nesting. (ISS002-E-6913)
36

reef health using established international protocols (Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network and 

Reef Check). The high spatial resolution of these astronaut photographs (about 5 meters per pixel) 

captures the detail needed to support this kind of detailed field research. 

References

Andréfouët, S., J. A. Robinson, C. Hu, G. Feldman, B. Salvat, C. Payri, and F.E. Muller-Karger. 2003. 

Influence of the spatial resolution of SeaWiFS, Landsat 7, SPOT and International Space Station data 

on determination of landscape parameters of Pacific Ocean atolls. Canadian Journal of Remote 

Sensing 29(2):210–218. 

Robinson, J. A., G. C. Feldman, N. Kuring, B. Franz, E. Green, M. Noordeloos, and R. P. Stumpf. 2000.

Data fusion in coral reef mapping: working at multiple scales with SeaWiFS and astronaut 

photography. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Remote Sensing for Marine and 

Coastal Environments, Vol. 2, pp. 473–483. 

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/DataFusionInCoralReefMapping/ 

Spalding, M. D., C. Ravilious, and E. P. Green. World Atlas of Coral Reefs. University of California 

Press, Berkeley. 

Stumpf, R. P., K. Holderied, J. A. Robinson, G. Feldman, N. Kuring. 2003a. Mapping water depths in 

clear water from space. Coastal Zone 03, Baltimore, Maryland, 13–17 July 2003 

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/CoastalZone/default.htm 

Bryant, D., L. Burke, J. McManus, and M. Spalding. 1998. Reefs at Risk: A map-based indicator of 

threats to the world’s coral reefs. World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C. 

http://wri.igc.org/reefsatrisk/reefrisk.html 

Andréfouët, S., J. A. Robinson. 2003. The use of Space Shuttle images to improve cloud detection in 

tropical reef environment. International Journal of Remote Sensing 24: 143–149.
37

Space Station Agricultural Camera Observes Flooding in North Dakota

William L. Stefanov

Science Applications, Research and Development Department, Jacobs

Ask a geologist or ecologist about remote sensing of the Earth—collecting information about a 

material or process without physically touching or sampling it—and they will likely mention 

Landsat; Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, known as ASTER;

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS; or other sensor systems that routinely 

collect data from orbit for the land surface, oceans, or atmosphere. Since the early 1970s, 

terrestrial global remote sensing has been the territory of the polar-orbiting, sun-synchronous 

satellite, but that is now changing with the addition of new remote sensing systems to the 

International Space Station. 

One of the first new systems is the International Space Station Agricultural Camera, or ISSAC. The 

ISSAC was developed by students and faculty at the University of North Dakota, and its prime 

purpose is to collect data in support of agricultural activities and related research in the upper 

midwest of the United States. Today’s farmers use data and information from a variety of remote 

sensing satellites to understand weather systems and climate patterns and to monitor the health of 

their crops. The ISSAC will be another source of information for farmers and agricultural 

researchers by collecting imagery of croplands and other land cover over the Midwestern states 

during the growing season. 

Unlike the more familiar handheld digital camera photographs taken by astronauts from the space 

station for the Crew Earth Observations experiment, ISSAC imagery is similar to multispectral data 

collected by the ASTER sensor onboard the NASA Terra satellite. The ISSAC is also mounted in the 

Window Observational Research Facility, or WORF, and operates independently of the station

crew. 

The sensor system uses two digital still cameras equipped with filters to collect individual image 

frames sensitive to the visible green, visible red, and near-infrared wavelengths of the 

electromagnetic spectrum. The individual frames are then combined to form a single multispectral 

(three-band) image. This wavelength combination makes the ISSAC particularly good at 

distinguishing different kinds of vegetation and detecting changes in the areal coverage and health 

of plants, two factors of importance for agricultural studies and monitoring. 

In addition, the ISSAC can collect imagery of natural hazards and disasters in support of NASA 

humanitarian efforts. ISSAC demonstrated this capability soon after it became operational by 

collecting images of flooding from the Souris River near Minot, N.D., on June 24, 2011. Because 

ISSAC imagery is recorded in wavelengths similar to Landsat, scientists could easily compare the 

ISSAC data with earlier Landsat data of the Souris River valley, clearly illustrating the extent of 

flooding in and around Minot.
38

With the ISSAC now operational, data collected from the space station includes imagery that is 

similar to that acquired by polar-orbiting, satellite-based sensors. ISSAC significantly augments the 

traditional Earth observations from polar-orbiting satellites by collecting data at variable times of 

day and with different repeat frequencies. Addition of the ISSAC and other remote sensing systems 

to the station, whether housed internally in the WORF or mounted externally, improves the 

capability of NASA to observe and monitor natural and anthropogenic (of human origin) Earth 

processes and natural hazards. 

Comparison of Minot, N.D., and Souris River 

Valley during normal river flow conditions (top 

image, Landsat Thematic Mapper data) and during 

flood conditions (bottom image, ISSAC data). Both 

images have been processed to highlight actively 

photosynthesizing vegetation in red. Urban areas 

appear gray-brown and water-flooded.
39

Monitoring the Health of the Lagoon of Venice From the Space Station

William L. Stefanov

Science Applications, Research and Development Department, Jacobs

The City of Venice, Italy, is known for its architecture, history, romance, and, of course, the canals 

that serve as major thoroughfares through the urban area. The canals and bridges are the human 

overprint on the Lagoon of Venice, a marshy body of water along the Adriatic Sea that contains the 

117 islands upon which the city is built. In addition to forming the base of the city of Venice, the 

Lagoon is a critical part of the Mediterranean wetlands ecosystem, recognized by international 

treaty as a Ramsar site.6

Like many coastal regions, the Lagoon of Venice, together with the city of Venice and the 

environmentally sensitive wetlands, is subsiding into the Adriatic Sea, creating flood risks for Venice 

and major damage to the wetlands. Careful mapping of the Lagoon is critical to mitigating damage 

to the people and environment. 

In 2010, astronaut photographs of the Lagoon taken from the International Space Station caught 

the eye of Dr. Alessandro Mulazzani, an environmental consultant working with the Atlante della 

laguna (Atlas of the Lagoon) project (http://www.silvenezia.it/). The Atlas is a web-based 

Geographic Information System (GIS) that provides a wealth of information on the climate, 

ecosystem, hydrology, and human impacts to the Lagoon. Mulazzani characterized the value of 

high-resolution astronaut photography to the Atlas: “These photographs are very useful for us to 

provide an up-to-date view of this unique environment, the Lagoon of Venice, especially for general 

public and students...”

This interest developed into an ongoing collaboration with the Crew Earth Observations, or CEO,

team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and resulted in the Lagoon of Venice becoming an official 

CEO site for continued astronaut photography. The CEO team uses the most up-to-date station

orbital information to predict when particular ground sites will be visible to the crew. These target 

predictions are then screened for adequate lighting, acceptable degrees of cloud cover, and the 

availability of the crew to take imagery. Ground sites that pass through these various filters are 

provided to the station crew members as targets for imaging using the cameras aboard the station. 

Following successful acquisition of imagery for a requested target, the images are cataloged and 

added to the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth online database and become freely 

available to the international public. For formal collaborations, such as the Lagoon of Venice, 

notification of new imagery can also be sent to designed investigators. 

The use of handheld digital camera imagery from the station can help fill the gaps in time series of 

robotic satellite data as well as provide imagery taken from different viewing perspectives and 

 6 The Ramsar Convention, first organized in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, is an international treaty intended to foster maintenance and 

sustainable use of the wetlands within the member nation’s territories. The Lagoon of Venice became a Ramsar site in 1989. 
40

ground resolutions. This broad range of performance is a unique advantage of the station as a 

remote sensing platform and particularly highlights the advantage of having a human-operated 

remote sensing capability in addition to the more traditional autonomous systems. In the case of 

the Lagoon of Venice, having human eyes watching for unexpected opportunities to collect data 

may help ensure the health of this wetland for generations to come. 

Screen capture of the Atlas of the Lagoon, showing geo-referenced astronaut photograph 

ISS023-E-13766 with a portion of the canal system (bright blue) added as an additional layer. 

The base image is an orthophoto mosaic (image created from a series of geometrically corrected 

images). Note that the site is currently only available in Italian. 

(http://www.silvenezia.it/webgis/map.phtml?config=baseorto)
41

Unparalleled Views of Earth’s Coast With HREP-HICO

Arun Joshi, International Space Station Program Science Office

NASA Johnson Space Center

Scanning the globe from the vantage point of the International Space Station is about more than 

the fantastic view. While cruising in low Earth orbit, the space station HICO and RAIDS Experiment 

Payload–Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean, or HREP-HICO, gives researchers a valuable 

new way to view the coastal zone. 

Using an imaging spectrometer mounted outside the station on the Japanese Exposed Facility of 

the Kibo Laboratory, researchers are collecting data about the Earth that will help them to better 

understand coastal environments and other regions around the world. 

Why is this important? Coastal waters are an important link between local and global economic 

development and environmental sustainability. Coastal zones support many of the world’s major 

cities (and their industrial zones, ports, recreational facilities); they also include critical ecosystems 

that support fisheries and protect shorelines. 

The above image compilation is an annotated representation of the best pictures taken 

during the December 2010 investigation of HICO. (Image courtesy of NASA)
42

HREP-HICO is a visible to near-infrared wavelength spectrometer optimized for environmental 

characterization of coastal zones and mapping of terrestrial geophysical features of the Earth. 

Mike Corson, Ph.D., principal investigator for HREP-HICO at the Naval Research Laboratory in 

Washington, D.C., explained that “Coastal environmental characterization includes producing maps 

of near-shore bathymetry, water clarity, organic and inorganic dissolved and suspended matter and 

bottom characteristics.... Such maps are important to Navy and Marine Corps who operate in 

coastal areas.”

The Payload Operations and Integration Center at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, 

Ala., manages operations for HREP-HICO. Aside from the initial installation and eventual removal 

from the station via extravehicular robotics, the collection of data from HREP-HICO requires no 

crew interaction. 

Taking images of the ocean, however, is harder than it seems. As the first space-borne imaging 

spectrometer designed to sample the coastal ocean, HREP-HICO has to account for the vast 

breadth of global coastlines, the complex makeup of the ocean, changing weather conditions, and 

the location of the sun. These challenges can easily obscure views of the water and the sea floor—

yielding poor and incomprehensible imagery. 

HREP-HICO records reflected light from a range of wavelengths—including visible and near-infrared 

wavelengths. This spectral information is used to identify and quantify each pixel in the image 

scene. This allows for subsequent correction for atmospheric effects and sea surface reflections. 

HREP-HICO also demonstrates its utility to meet Department of Defense requirements by validating 

the performance of Maritime Hyperspectral Imaging, or MHSI, technology. MHSI technology 

provides imagery performance requirements and product retrieval algorithms tailored by scientists 

for the coastal zone. “Product algorithms for MHSI often make use of biological or physical 

information relevant to the imaged area because of the complicated nature of coastal 

environments,” Corson explained. 

The Office of Naval Research sponsors the HREP-HICO instrument as an Innovative Naval Prototype. 

The HICO prototype has two goals. The first is to demonstrate the ability to produce maps of 

coastal environmental properties using hyperspectral imagery from space. The second is to 

demonstrate ways to reduce the cost and schedule of building a space payload. By manipulating 

design and using commercial-off-the-shelf components where possible, engineers effectively 

designed HREP-HICO at a fraction of the cost of traditional space instruments. 

The results from the HREP-HICO investigation provide benefits to agencies with marine 

responsibilities, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, via 

information on bathymetry, bottom type, water clarity, and other water optical properties. This 

technology can also aid in land studies for agricultural purposes by monitoring land cover, 

vegetation type, vegetation stress and health, and crop yield. Researchers may also use HREP-HICO 
43

to determine the environmental impacts of natural and unnatural disasters, such as the 2010 oil 

spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The HREP-HICO launched Sept. 10, 2009, and was mounted to the International Space Station’s 

Japanese Experiment Module–Exposed Facility, or “front porch.” HREP-HICO is the first U.S. 

experiment payload mounted on the Exposed Facility.

HREP-HICO collected its first imagery on Sept. 25, 2009. According to Corson, “HICO has recorded 

almost 4,000 hyperspectral images of coastal environments worldwide during its ongoing mission. 

HICO will continue its pathfinder missions, providing image data to dozens of government and 

university researchers.”
44

Space Station Captures Tsunami Flooding in Northern Japan

William L. Stefanov

Science Applications, Research and Development Department, Jacobs

On Mar. 11, 2011, the eastern coast of Japan was shaken by the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku 

earthquake—one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded. Caused by fault movement between 

the Pacific and North American tectonic plates, the quake spawned a tsunami that inundated much 

of the eastern coastline of the island of Honshu. Along with the tragic loss of human life and 

widespread devastation to buildings, infrastructure, and agriculture, the tsunami damaged the 

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, leading to radiation leaks and potentially long-term 

ecological hazards. 

The crew of the space station responded to the crisis and acquired several useful images of 

flooding from the tsunami. This image, taken on Mar. 13, 2011, illustrates flood waters along the 

Japanese coast north and east of Sendai. An astronaut on the International Space Station took this 

image of Higashimatsushima from an altitude of 220 miles (350 kilometers). Both agricultural fields 

and settled areas are submerged by muddy water, while the crisscrossing runways at Matsushima 

Airport are surrounded. 

Oblique image of the Japanese coastline north and east of Sendai following inundation by a tsunami. The 

photo was taken Mar. 13, 2011. Sunglint indicates the widespread presence of floodwaters and indicates 

oils and other materials on the water surface. 

(http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/EarthObservatory/Tsunami_Japan_2011_glint.htm)
45

Far from being dispassionate observers of the disaster, the station crew members expressed their 

concern and sympathy for the people of Japan via video, radio, and email exchanges. At the 

onboard press conference on Apr. 13, Cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev said, “The tragedy that 

shocked everybody across the world—the horrible natural disaster that struck the island nation of 

Japan caused a lot of pain in every Russian’s heart. Since we are neighboring nations and really 

close to each other and this tragedy can easily happen and impact our territory as well. On our 

behalf, I would like to say that we would like to enhance the monitoring capabilities. Perhaps we’ll 

have some new capabilities using scientists all over the world to track and monitor natural disasters 

in a new fashion that—God forbid—should happen again anywhere in the world.”

Astronaut Ron Garan said, “We wanted to say that the strength of our international partnership lies 

in the fact that we are all together, in the good times and the bad times, and we support each 

other.” The Mar. 11 earthquake caused severe damage to oil refineries, some of which caught fire. 

In the aftermath, oil floated on the surface of Ishinomaki Bay. In the photo below, sunglint—the 

mirror-like reflection of the sun on the ocean’s surface—highlights the oil slicks; oil smoothes the 

surface and makes the water more reflective. In this image, patches of oil tend to appear lighter 

than oil-free areas. Other phenomena, however, can lighten the water’s appearance, especially 

close to the shore. 

The image illustrates two unique aspects of the station for Earth observation and disaster response. 

Using handheld digital cameras, the crew has the capability to capture sunglint on water surfaces 

with greater frequency and control than most satellite-based systems—this provides an enhanced 

capability to detect and map standing water on the land’s surface and may also indicate areas of 

particular environmental and health concern for contaminants. True-color images such as these, 

taken at a variety of pixel resolutions, can also be transmitted to responders on the ground and are 

readily understandable—little to no post-processing of the imagery is required. 

As an Earth remote-sensing platform, the station is unique in that it hosts both human-operated 

and autonomous sensor systems. The “human element” has proved to be useful in both 

recognizing and capturing imagery of natural processes and features—including catastrophic 

events—and in providing views that complement other imagers, extending the usefulness of the 

remotely sensed data. 
46

Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES)

Takuki Sano, International Space Station Science Project Office 

Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, JAXA

The Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) is the first onboard 

mechanically cooled superconducting mixer and high-resolution system for measuring atmospheric 

minor constituents related to stratospheric and mesospheric chemistry. SMILES collected highquality observation data for six months until the instrument encountered trouble. These data 

indicate the excellent performance of the SMILES instrument as the data analysis progressed, and 

the data are expected to produce a mine of new scientific information. 

The main scientific objective of the SMILES mission is to study the recovery and stability of the 

stratospheric ozone, also known as the ozone layer. Some numeric atmospheric model calculations 

have suggested that global ozone levels will recover to pre-1980 levels around the middle of the 

21st century. However, there are still considerable uncertainties affecting ozone levels, especially 

in the bromine budget and chemical processes of inorganic chlorine. In addition, stratospheric 

cooling due to increases in greenhouse gases in the troposphere may affect the trend and the 

stability of the ozone layer. The SMILES mission contributes to these studies by focusing on the 

detailed halogen chemistry related to ozone destruction processes. 

SMILES was launched to the International Space Station on Sept. 11, 2009, with Konotori1 on the 

HIIB launch vehicle from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. After being attached to a port of the 

Exposed Facility of Kibo (Japanese Experiment Module) on the station Sept. 25, the instrument 

passed several critical onboard tests. The nominal continuous observation of the Earth’s 

atmosphere started Oct. 12. SMILES performed observation for about six months, until a 

component of the instrument broke down on Apr. 21, 2010. 

SMILES detected weak radiation from atmospheric constituents in the submillimeter wavelength 

region (0.46–0.48 millimeters of wavelength, which corresponds with 624–650 gigahertz of 

frequency). By calculating the strength of spectral lines coming from various molecular species, the 

abundance of the species can be retrieved. 

One sample (snapshot) of the global distribution of atmospheric constituents retrieved from 

SMILES observation is the ozone depletion and related change in the amount of chlorine 

compounds around the North Pole. In winter 2010, planetary waves in the stratosphere became 

vigorous, resulting in a stratospheric sudden warming event at high latitudes [about 104 °F (40 °C)

increase of temperature within several days]. A heterogeneous chemistry process has been

underway during this term, and gaseous hydrochloric acid, or HCL, decreased within the polar 

vortex. At the same time, chlorine chemistry was activated by solar radiation outside the polar 

night region, resulting in the high chlorine monoxide, or ClO, region. In this region, ozone 

destruction occurred. SMILES can determine such phenomena with high resolution simultaneously

in different regions.
47

In the brightness temperature spectra obtained from SMILES observation data, strong ozone and 

hydrochloric acid lines with other minor peaks of hypochlorous acid, or HOCl; nitric acid, or HNO3;

bromine oxide, or BrO; and ozone isotopes can be seen. The noise level of the brightness 

temperature is around 0.4 Kelvin, which is at least one digit smaller than other space-borne limb 

sounders. 

Ozone destruction was activated with ClO and HCl on Jan. 23, 2010. It is shown as the high ClO region (see 

“ClO” panel). In the high ClO region, O3 destruction has occurred (see “Ozone” panel). The area where HCl 

concentration is low suggests the region of polar vortex (see “HCl” panel).

(Courtesy of Kyoto University)

An example of a spectrum observed with SMILES. For comparison of spectra on different tangent heights, 

the baseline of each spectrum is vertically displaced. Random noise of the spectra is about 0.4–0.6 Kelvin

among all tangent heights. (Courtesy of Fujitsu FIP)
48

During the first stage of SMILES instrument development, the current literature-based 

spectroscopic values were used to set the parameters for the spectrometer. The extremely high 

performance of the spectroscopy with SMILES has led researchers to reevaluate known 

atmospheric science data and to develop additional atmospheric investigations to test new 

parameters.

SMILES was successfully launched and performed atmospheric observation with its high spectral 

resolution. Unfortunately, its operation was terminated after six months of observation; but the 

observation data indicated the outstanding performance of the SMILES instrument. Preliminary 

scientific results are reasonable and consistent with the results of other space-borne 

measurements. It is expected that undiscovered information will be found in the data collected 

over the six months of operation. Further studies related to data processing and analysis will be 

necessary to determine the real performance of SMILES instrument.
49

Using the Space Station To Support Studies Relevant to Understanding 

Climate Change

Jason Hatton 

Science and Applications Division

International Space Station Utilization and Astronaut Support Department 

Directorate of Human Spaceflight and Operations

ESA/ESTEC 

For many astronauts, the most memorable experience during space flight is seeing the fragile blue 

globe of Earth beneath the space station. With the changing illumination conditions and passing 

seasons, one never tires of the dynamic view. Dust storms sweeping the U.S. Southwest, lowpressure areas bringing rain to northern Europe, a typhoon hitting Japan and noctilucent clouds at 

high latitudes—all these can be easily seen from the orbital outpost. Scientific instruments onboard 

an international fleet of satellites are routinely sounding, measuring and analyzing the Earth’s 

environment, providing key data for understanding long-term changes in the Earth’s climate. To 

supplement the work of the dedicated Earth observation satellites, the European Space Agency, or 

ESA, has launched an announcement of opportunity, or AO, for new station experiments for 

climate change relevant studies.

Various natural physical processes modify the atmosphere, oceans and land surfaces on short and 

long-term scales. In the past 150 years, human activities have resulted in significant changes in 

many aspects of Earth’s environment, including increases in greenhouse gas concentrations, 

modification of the nitrogen and phosphorous cycle and major alterations of land use (e.g.,

deforestation). It is crucial that we understand the interaction of human-caused alterations and

natural changes to predict future changes in the Earth’s environment. In turn, this information will 

assist sustainable development in relation to human activities while minimizing degradation of the 

environment and limiting the vulnerability of society to climate change. 

ESA, along with other international agencies, is currently operating a number of Earth observation 

satellites carrying dedicated instruments to address specific mission objectives. These are 

supported mainly by ESA’s Living Planet Program, the Global Monitoring for Environment and 

Security, or GMES, Program (jointly carried out with the European Union) and ESA’s Climate Change 

Initiative. 

A large variety of international research activities are being performed routinely on board the 

International Space Station. Historically, the main focus of European research has been in the area 

of life and physical sciences, taking advantage of the microgravity and exposure to the space 

environment provided by the station. However, the station has a clear potential to be used as a 

multiuser platform for studies in astrophysics, solar science, fundamental physics, Earth science 

and climate change.
50

To assess the level of interest of the European and international research communities in deploying 

remote-sensing instruments on the space station for global change studies, a call for ideas was 

issued by ESA’s Directorate of Human Spaceflight (now Directorate of Human Spaceflight and 

Operations) and supported by the Directorate of Earth Observation Programs in Oct. 2009. Fortyfive proposed ideas were received, with many promising concepts proposed. This confirmed a high 

level of interest in the use of the station for climate change studies, and several interesting 

thematic areas were identified. The recent announcement of opportunity proposals will be peer 

reviewed, and several candidate experiments will be selected for further detailed study and 

developed for flight on the space station. Further details are available at 

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/HSF_Research/SEMPM17TLPG_0.html.

The space station offers possibilities to fly instruments and experiments without the development 

of a dedicated satellite platform. The orbit inclination of 51.6° and altitude of 220-250 miles (350–

400 kilometers) are different from those of most Earth observation satellites. Instruments can be 

mounted on a variety of external locations, including the truss structure and dedicated platforms 

on the European Columbus, Japanese Kibo and Russian segment modules. The European Columbus 

module’s External Payloads Facility, or CEPF, has four payload attachment sites on the end of the 

module, permitting nadir, zenith and side (limb) viewing. Several instruments relevant to Earth

science and climate change are either in development or already deployed on the station. The 

zenith port of the CEPF is currently occupied by the ESA Sun Monitoring on the External Payload 

Facility of Columbus, or SOLAR, instrument, which measures the sun’s energy irradiance—an 

important parameter for climate studies. The ESA Atmosphere Space Interactions Monitor, or

Earth framing the International Space Station in May 2010 following undocking of 

Atlantis during the STS-132 mission. (Image: NASA) 
51

ASIM, which will study high-energy optical and gamma ray events associated with thunderstorms,

will be deployed on Columbus in 2015. On the external platform of the Japanese Kibo module, the 

JAXA Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb Sounder, or SMILES instrument, measured trace 

gases in the stratosphere, including chemicals that interact with the Earth’s ozone layer. Also 

mounted on the outside of the Kibo, the NASA Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) 

is an imaging spectrometer for studying coastal waters.

An additional location for instruments is inside the station, taking advantage of high-quality viewing 

ports and windows. The NASA Destiny Laboratory has the Window Observational Research Facility,

or WORF, which allows viewing through a dedicated nadir-viewing window, while the Cupola 

module has seven windows providing panoramic nadir and limb views of the Earth. Earth 

observation imaging using handheld digital cameras is currently performed by the crew members 

through the station windows as part of the Crew Earth Observations, or CEO, experiment. 

Potentially, laboratory or airborne instruments could be developed and flown within relatively 

short lead times. The station provides a normal “shirt sleeve” environment in which to operate

instruments as well as the possibility for the crew to interact directly with the experiment (e.g., to 

change configuration or filters).

Noctilucent clouds photographed from the space station in July 2008. (Image: NASA)
52

(Right) The Cupola on the International Space Station provides a panoramic view of the Earth for 

observations. (Left) A night-time image of the Nile Delta region and Eastern Mediterranean taken from the 

station in November 2010. (Images: NASA)
53

Investigation of Earth Catastrophes From the International Space 

Station: Uragan Program

Igor V. Sorokin

S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia

The Uragan program aboard the Russian segment of the International Space Station uses digital 

photography to study Earth’s natural resources by monitoring catastrophes, both natural and 

human made. Uragan, which means “hurricane” in Russian, began during the first days of 

habitation on the station and continues to be an important Earth observation program, with the 

primary goal of defining requirements for a ground-space system for disaster warning and damage 

mitigation. The program is a logical continuation of the Earth Visual-Instrumental Observations 

Program (in other words, a crew Earth observation program) started in the Soviet Union/Russia in 

the early 1970s as part of the Salyut series of space stations and followed by the Mir orbiting 

complex. 

In recent decades, humankind has faced various natural and human-made disasters—some with 

widespread damage. The Uragan program examines natural and human-made catastrophes,

including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, fires, hurricanes, piping accidents and aviation 

accidents. Information on these types of catastrophes is beneficial to experts in various fields, 

governments and scientists developing models of catastrophic phenomena and many more. The 

Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin (Expedition 15) works with the Photospectrometric System 

or FSS used for Uragan.
54

space station is a convenient platform for Earth observation in that it provides a space for testing a 

variety of equipment, software and observation methods. Eventually, some of the items tested 

may be used on robotic spacecraft for remote observations.

Practical needs and quick response are used as the basis for the Uragan program. Images taken

from the station can be used by government agencies, scientists, and others to determine the 

effects of natural or human-made disasters. This program has photographed several disasters since 

its inception, including human-made oil pollution. In the Caspian Sea region, images taken by 

station crew members show how oil pollution has affected the coastal areas. Through analysis of 

the images, three major areas or sources have been identified: the northeast coast in Kazakhstan, 

southeastern Turkmenistan, and the Absheron region of Azerbaijan. On the northeast coast of the 

Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan, the large oil deposits formed water-oil lakes ranging in size from several 

yards or meters up to 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) across. Portions of these lakes are surrounded by 

ground walls to prevent flooding and contamination of the surrounding areas. The Caspian Sea 

level continuously fluctuates, and waves up to 9 feet (3 meters) high can be caused by strong 

winds. Because of the probability of floods on the coast, the potential for failure of these lake walls

and corresponding oil flow into Caspian Sea waters is rather high. 

Besides human-made disasters, natural disasters are also monitored. In 2002, crew photography 

documented important information about a glacier-related disaster in the Caucasus Mountains. On 

Sept. 20, a small glacier called Kolka in North Ossetia, Russia, unexpectedly released a great 

amount of ice mixed with water and stones. This mass quickly traveled down the valley causing 

widespread destruction, loss of life and blocking a hollow in front of Rocky Ridge. 

A cosmonaut’s photograph taken one month earlier on Aug. 13, 2002, showed the north part of 

Kazbek Mountain with the small Kolka glacier clearly in view in the upper part of the Genaldon 

River valley. The glacier was completely covered by stones, giving it a dark appearance. Upper 

Oil pollution in the northern part of the Caspian Sea 

(on the basis of data received from the Uragan 

experiment): 40 oilfields, equaling approximately 

10 percent of the surface covered with oil film. 
55

reaches of the Genaldon River before and after the catastrophe were observed using the 

cosmonaut photographs. This glacial event was unusual, as almost the entire glacier quickly left its 

bed and streamed down the valley. Scientists around the world observed this rare occurrence.

Crew photography taken after the disaster showed a deep, empty hollow that had been full of ice. 

The mass media published many differing opinions about the catastrophe, however only the 

precise detailed surveys from space allowed for a thorough analysis and final determination of the 

reasons for the disaster. Analysis of the images by experts from the Institute of Geography, Russian 

Academy of Sciences, discovered clear signs of initial phase of avalanche masses motion. The 

specific color of ice-soil mixture and changes of structure of the glacier cover indicated melting of 

the inner layers of the glacier which gives lubrication for the avalanche flume. Such well planned 

monitoring improves the ability to predict such disasters in advance. 

Other important results obtained within the framework of the Uragan program include 

observations of floods, forest fires, glacial hazards, reservoirs, seaports, icebergs, and other objects 

and phenomena. Further development of the program is related to the use of additional 

equipment for observations in the microwave, infrared and ultraviolet ranges, together with 

development of mathematical models for investigation of catastrophic phenomena. This program 

continues to capture images of disasters and through analysis, benefiting all humankind.

Principal Investigators:

Mikhail Yu. Beliayev

S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia 

Lev V. Desinov

Institute of Geography, the Russian Academy of Sciences 

Kolka glacier and avalanche phenomena in the Caucasus. 

(Image by space station Expedition 5 crew member Valery Korzun.)
56

Space Station Keeps Watch on World’s Sea Traffic

European Space Agency

As the International Space Station circles Earth, it has been tracking individual ships crossing the 

seas beneath. An investigation hosted by the European Space Agency (ESA) in its Columbus module 

has been testing the viability of monitoring global maritime traffic from the station’s orbit hundreds 

of miles (kilometers) above since June 2010.

The ship-detection system being tested is based on the Automatic Identification System, or AIS, the 

marine equivalent of the air traffic control system.

All international vessels, cargo ships above certain weights and passenger carriers of all sizes must 

carry “Class A” AIS transponders, broadcasting continually updated data, such as identity, position, 

course, speed, ship particulars, cargo and voyage information to and from other vessels and shore.

AIS allows port authorities and coast guards to track seagoing traffic, but the system relies on VHF 

radio signals with a horizontal range of just 40 nautical miles (74 km). This makes it useful within 

coastal zones and on a ship-to-ship basis, but not in the open ocean; ocean traffic was largely 

untracked. However, AIS signals travel much further vertically, making the space station an ideal 

location for space-based AIS signal reception and, therefore, providing the capability of tracking 

global maritime traffic from space. 

Astronauts were instrumental in enabling the COLAIS experiment, which is an in-orbit 

demonstration project of ESA’s General Support Technology Program. Columbus was not originally 

outfitted with VHF antennas to capture the AIS signals; they were installed on the outside of the 

The International Space Station as seen from the departing Atlantis

space shuttle, May 23, 2010. 

(Credit: NASA image S132E012208.)
57

module during a spacewalk in November 2009, with the remaining piece of hardware, the ERNOBox control computer, installed inside Columbus along with the NORAIS receiver in May 2010. The 

ERNO-Box is itself an orbital demonstration of a new class of space computer developed by Astrium 

Gmbh, Germany. Astrium was responsible for overall system integration, and contributed the 

ERNO-Box and a grappling adaptor, or GATOR, used to attach the AIS antenna to Columbus. 

Antennas were built by AMSAT. 

Global Overview of Maritime Traffic

The AIS ground coverage from the station is between approximately 68° north and 68° south. The 

system consists of two antenna assemblies that were mounted on the outside of Columbus during 

a spacewalk in November 2009 as well as data relay hardware (the ERNO-Box) and a receiver 

mounted inside Columbus. The two operational phases with the first receiver from Norway,

or NORAIS, which is operated by FFI/Norway, 

have been extremely successful, with data 

telemetry received by the Norwegian User 

Support and Operation Center, or

N-USOC, in Trondheim, Norway, via ESA’s 

Columbus Control Center in Germany. Data has 

been received by NORAIS in almost continuous 

operation, and all modes of operation have 

worked extremely well. The NORAIS Receiver 

has a sample mode that can collect the raw 

signal, digitize it and send it to ground for 

analysis of signal quality, which is proving very 

helpful in making additional improvements/

refinements to the system in extremely 

crowded shipping areas where the possibility 

of lost signals or mixed signals can occur.

The International Space Station 

makes 15 orbits around the Earth 

each day. The illustration of the 

COLAIS system in operation using the 

NORAIS receiver shows the station 

passing the Mediterranean. Its field of 

view is shown in red; detected vessels 

are shown as ship symbols, and 

terrestrial AIS base stations are 

shown as buildings. The data are for 

the first five hours of June 3, 2010. 

(Credit: FFI)

Astronaut Randolph Bresnik seen during Atlantis EVA-2 on 

November 21, 2009, with the unfurled AIS antenna, 

attached to Columbus for use in experimental tracking of 

VHF signals of ships at sea. (Credits: NASA)
58

This is used both to investigate the signal environment and to evaluate the performance of new 

receiver technologies on the ground. Several hundred data sets have been collected and processed 

with new candidate algorithms for next generation receivers.

The results of the analyses have been very good. On a good day, approximately 400,000 ship 

position reports are received from more than 22,000 different ship identification numbers 

(Maritime Mobile Service Identity, or MMSI). In a summary made in Oct. 2011, the total number 

of position reports received exceeded 110 million messages from more than 82,000 different 

MMSI numbers. 

As an addition to the original technical topics, operational experimentation has been included in 

the investigations. Near-real-time data transfer is crucial to meet the requirement of SAT-AIS set by 

ESA in cooperation with operational users. After an upgrade of the ground systems in the N-USOC, 

10 days of near-real-time data show that 80 percent of the messages collected in the period could 

be delivered through the station’s communications network with data latency significantly less 

than 1 hour. The near-real-time data delivery has been part of routine operations since Nov. 2011.

At present, a new version of the decoder algorithm, developed by Kongsberg Seatex as part of the 

technology development contract with ESA, is being tested. The development benefits from the 

investigations of the sampled data and ongoing work in other ESA projects. The firmware was 

uploaded to the NORAIS Receiver through the station’s communications network and verified and 

activated in Jan. 2011. The preliminary results indicate that the performance in terms of decoded 

messages has increased by a factor of between 1.5 and 2.0 for the high traffic zones that ESA has 

specified should be monitored with high performance.

The spectrum versus time for 22 seconds of a sampled data. The messages can be 

seen as vertical lines. Approximately 150 messages are decoded from the data. 

(Credit: FFI)
59

The work on better algorithms continues. A second NORAIS Receiver upgrade is planned in May 

2012. The results of the development will support the design and development of a space-based 

AIS system in general as well as the performance of the AIS receiver on the station.

Integrating AIS information with other satellite data, such as information from remote-sensing 

satellites, should significantly improve maritime surveillance and boost safety and security at sea. 

The payload designed for the Norwegian AISSat-1 satellite, which launched into a near polar orbit 

in July 2010, provides similarly good data in the high north. The NORAIS Receiver is softwaredefined radio design operating across the maritime band from 156 to 163 megahertz. The tuning of 

the NORAIS receiver to frequencies under consideration for allocation to space-based AIS has been 

carried out, and NORAIS took part in international tests of these two proposed frequencies in 

October 2010 as arranged by U.S .Coast Guard. 

The main reason for covering more than the two current frequencies in use for AIS is to have the 

possibility to demonstrate the operational use of new channels in the maritime band being 

allocated to space-based AIS. Also, this configuration allows for characterization of the maritime 

VHF spectrum with respect to occupancy and interference. The software implementation allows for 

optimization of the receiver settings in orbit and also allows for upload of new signal processing 

algorithms. 

The Vessel Identification System, or VIS, could potentially be beneficial to many European entities,

particularly in assisting them in law enforcement, fishery control campaigns, maritime border 

control, maritime safety and security issues, including marine pollution surveys, search and rescue 

and anti-piracy. Various service entities have already been asking to get access to the VIS data,

which is continuously acquired on Columbus.

Ship position reports received with the NORAIS Receiver during 24 hours, 29th June 2010. 

(Credit: FFI)

61

Global Education

Inspiring Youth With a Call to the International Space Station

Jessica Nimon and Camille Alleyne

International Space Station Program Science Office

NASA Johnson Space Center

Ever since the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, hardware was first 

launched aboard space shuttle Atlantis on STS-106 and transferred to the space station for use by 

its first crew, it has been used regularly to perform school contacts. With the help of amateur radio 

clubs and ham radio operators, astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the station have been speaking 

directly with large groups of people, showing teachers, students, parents and communities how 

amateur radio energizes students about science, technology and learning. The overall goal of ARISS 

is to get students interested in mathematics and science by allowing them to talk directly with the 

crews living and working aboard the station.

The ARISS conversations usually last for about 10 minutes. During that time, chosen students on 

the ground ask a preselected set of questions, which the crew answers from aboard the station. 

In preparation for these exchanges, students learn about the space station as well as about radio 

waves and how amateur radio works. Ken Ransom, project coordinator with the space station Ham 

Radio Program, points out the educational benefits of these communications, of which about 50 a 

year take place. “The ARISS program is all about inspiring and encouraging by reaching the 

community and providing a chance for schools to interact with local technical experts. It also brings 

the space program to their front door.”

In order for ARISS to work, the station must pass over

the Earth-bound communicators during amateur radio 

transmissions to relay signals between the station’s ham 

radio and ground receivers. Other issues, such as 

weather and crew availability, also factor into the timing 

of the transmissions. During this pass, an average of 

18 questions can be answered, depending on the 

complexity of the query. To date, the space station has 

held more than 600 ARISS sessions with students around 

the world.

A student talks to a crewmember onboard the 

International Space Station during an ARISS contact. 

(Image courtesy of ARISS)
62

The downlink audio from ARISS talks can be heard by anyone in range with basic receiving 

equipment; transmissions broadcast on 145.800 megahertz. Interested parties can also catch a 

broadcast via EchoLink and the Internet Radio Linking Project, or IRLP, amateur radio networks or 

on the Internet, when available, according to Ransom.

For students who have never thought about the exploration of space, being involved in an amateur 

radio event such as this can be an eye-opener and pave the way for them to dare to dream and for 

those dreams to come true.

U.S. educators interested in participating in an ARISS communication can contact NASA’s Teaching 

From Space Office for a proposal packet. International schools should submit applications via the 

ARISS Web site for consideration. Submissions are due in July and January of each year.

Astronaut Sunita L. Williams, flight engineer for 

Expeditions 14 and 15, talks with students at 

the International School of Brussels in Belgium 

during an Amateur Radio on the International 

Space Station (ARISS) session in the 

Zvezda Service Module.

(NASA image ISS014E18307)
63

Students Get Fit the Astronaut Way

Jessica Nimon, International Space Station Program Science Office

NASA Johnson Space Center

When you think of NASA, you likely picture the space shuttle or International Space Station or have 

images of planets and galaxies flashing before your mind’s eye. NASA’s Mission X: Train Like an 

Astronaut, however, focuses a little closer to home. Working with the schools in our very own 

neighborhoods and around the world, Mission X uses the same skills used to train astronauts to 

motivate physical education for around 3,700 students in 40 cities around the globe.

The brainchild of the International Space Life Science Working Group, or ISLSWG, and the Human 

Research Program Education and Outreach, or HRPEO, Mission X launched in U.S. schools Jan. 18, 

2010. NASA’s Human Research Program funded the pilot program, including activity and 

educational modules and an interactive Web site (www.trainlikeanastronaut.org). The program is 

available in six different languages for participants in 10 countries—the U.S., the Netherlands, Italy, 

France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Columbia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The goal of the 

program is to make kinesiology and nutrition fun for children by encouraging them to train like an 

astronaut.

Chuck Lloyd, the NASA program manager responsible for the project, comments on how the space 

program excites students, prompting active participation. “Mission X is all about inspiring and 

educating our youth about living a healthy lifestyle with a focus on improving their overall daily 

physical activity with the Mission X physical activities, known as train-like-an-astronaut.”

Students at Daltonbasisschool de Tjalk in 

Lelystad, Netherlands, participate in the 

building an astronaut core activity.

(Courtesy of ESA)
64

Students ranging from 8 to 12 years old learn about the science behind their activities, including 

the importance of hydration, bone health, and balanced nutrition. Known as “fit explorers,” these 

youth stay motivated with fun ways to gauge their success. For instance, they can see what other 

schools are doing on the Train Like An Astronaut blog. Fit explorers logged their accumulated 

activity points over the course of the program to help an online cartoon astronaut, known as Flat 

Charlie, Walk to the Moon. Flat Charlie made it to the Moon five weeks into the competition—a 

distance of 238,857 miles (384,403 km) or 478 million steps—and he’s still going! 

Fit explorers learn that astronauts train before, during and after missions to maintain top physical 

health via good nutrition, rest and physical activity habits to function in the demanding 

environment of microgravity. Lloyd makes the connection of such health-centric mindsets for 

everyone, even those not planning to launch into space. “Our youth must also make smart choices 

on balancing the amount of work, play and sleep they get to remain in peak performance. 

Education is critical to our youth and to our communities to ensure we have tomorrow’s workforce 

and technical leadership to address the rigors of our societies.”

The first phase of the challenge, which lasted for six weeks, had schools participating with each 

other within their own countries in a friendly competition. The second phase of the challenge will 

be an ongoing multi-year Mission X Train Like An Astronaut challenge that will be expanded to 

more students and more countries.

Students at Media Sandro Pertini 

school in Savona, Italy, participate 

in the Building an Astronaut Core 

activity. (Courtesy of ASI)
65

Europe’s Alliance With Space Droids

Nigel Savage, Ph.D., Head of Education Unit

Directorate of Human Spaceflight and Operations

European Space Agency

Between video games and sci-fi movies, a robotic squadron of miniature satellites come to life 

aboard the International Space Station, obeying the commands of young students.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is participating in the NASA and Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology, or MIT, Zero-Robotics competition, a chance for high school students to program 

droids for action on the space station. SPHERES—also known as Synchronized Position Hold,

Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites—are volleyball-sized satellites with their own power, 

propulsion, computers and navigation.

The challenge to remotely control them began in the United States, where an adventurous 

professor from MIT found inspiration in the Star Wars saga to create these intriguing robots. The 

mini-spacecraft have been used inside the station since 2006 to test autonomous rendezvous and 

docking maneuvers.

Now formation flying in zero-gravity becomes a programming issue for European students, also. A 

number of schools from ESA member states create rival programs that control three SPHERES in 

real time on the space station.

A local SPHERES expert, familiar with the coding requirements for the droids, is assigned to each 

European school. Sponsored by ESA, several university staff members are being trained at MIT.

The competition is not only about feeding the satellites sets of commands. The local experts help 

students build critical engineering skills, such as problem solving, design thought process, 

operations training and teamwork. Their results could lead to important advances for satellite 

servicing and vehicle assembly in orbit.

Teams in the U.S. and Europe test their algorithms under realistic microgravity conditions by

competing in elimination rounds against each other with finals on both sides of the Atlantic.

The winners’ software is uploaded and run in the three weightless SPHERES by astronauts on the 

station. The exciting final is streamed live at ESA’s technology center in the Netherlands, known as

ESTEC, and MIT.

This is the start of Europe’s alliance with the space droids, the first in a string of global education 

projects with the station as a common scientific platform for students worldwide. If the pilot 

experience proves successful this year, ESA anticipates including larger numbers of participants 

from all over Europe in future competitions. And may the force be with them.
66

View of the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites 

(SPHERES) floating in the Destiny laboratory module as seen by the Expedition 14 

crew. Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter is visible in the background. 

Image credit: NASA.
67

Water: A Chemical Solution

Camille Alleyne

International Space Station Program Science Office

NASA Johnson Space Center

Can you imagine not having access to safe and clean drinking water? Well, that is the plight of 

hundreds of millions of people around the world. One in eight people lacks access to this 

fundamental resource for human survival.

The most abundant substance on the Earth’s surface, water, H2O, is essential for life. It covers 

about 70 percent of the planet’s surface, and it makes up about 70 percent of the human body. 

Clean water is essential for human health and well-being. 

Space engineers who design the International Space Station systems share the same need as those 

concerned about the lives of people in remote areas of Earth—to be innovative in developing ways 

to make this vital resource readily available. Thus, the goal of the 2011 Global Water Experiment is

to educate students about the chemistry of water resources around the world and to increase 

awareness of how people in different environments use various methods to provide clean, safe 

drinking water.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO, in partnership 

with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, or IUPAC, designated 2011 as the 

International Year of Chemistry. As a part of the year-long activities, students across the world will 

sample water in their communities and conduct experiments to learn about our planet’s acidity 

levels, water salt content, and various water treatment, disinfection and salt removal method. The 

results will be used to build an interactive, global water data map.

Rita Nobile, 15, of Pacifica High 

School, speaks to members of 

NASA’s Digital Learning Network 

as part of a Webcast. Photo by 

Anthony Plascencia, Ventura 

County Star. 
68

The American Chemistry Society is sponsoring Water: A Chemical Solution, providing students in 

the United States with an opportunity to learn not only about the water challenges other people 

face, but to encourage interest and generate enthusiasm for chemistry among young people and to 

promote international cooperation toward a creative future for chemistry.

The experience helps students learn how the International Space Station water resources are 

managed and about the fundamental technology behind the station’s Environmental Control Life 

Support System. The system handles up to 23.2 pounds of condensate, crew urine and urinal flush 

water to produce a purified distillate. This distillate is combined with other wastewater sources 

collected from the crew and cabin and is processed, in turn, by a water processor assembly that 

ultimately produces drinking water for the crew.

The station’s water processor has an iodinated resin that is used in the filtration process. Iodine is 

added to the water to control the growth of microorganisms—in the same way chlorine is added to 

the water we drink at home. Iodine is used instead of chlorine because iodine is much easier to 

transport to orbit, and because it is less corrosive. This iodinated resin has been developed as a 

commercial water filtration solution for use in disaster and humanitarian relief zones in a number 

of countries throughout the world.

Water recycling is critical to reducing resupply requirements for human exploration in the extreme 

environment of space. As a result, students around the world who participate in this Global Water 

Experiment will also benefit from the knowledge of station’s system design as they learn to think 

critically about the natural world around them and about the most fundamental resource 

necessary for human survival.

Water recycling system used on the 

International Space Station.

Image credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
69

Ucyu Renshi (Space Poem Chain): Connecting Global People With Words

Masato Koyama

Space Environment Utilization Center, JAXA

For as long as we can imagine, the heavens have at times been an easel on which human beings 

painted their dreams, sometimes mirroring their own lives. Today, as scientific progress helps 

unravel the world’s mysteries one by one, the skies above, extending to outer space, continue to 

inspire us with limitless curiosity as well as awe of the infinite beyond. 

Ucyu Renshi (space poem chain) targets the establishment of a collaborative venue through renshi 

(chain poetry) by collectively considering space (the universe, Earth and life itself), unfettered by 

barriers of nation, culture, generation, profession, and position or rank. 

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or 

JAXA, started the Ucyu Renshi program to 

connect people, including crew members in 

space, with words and allow them to feel 

more closely involved in space activities. 

Even those not interested in space sciences 

and technologies can participate in and 

enjoy Ucyu Renshi. 

Renshi (chain poetry), a form developed 

from traditional Japanese “renga and renku 

(linked verse)” in the early 1970s, is now 

well known and has gained a global 

following. It is open ended, aiming to fuse 

the traditions of classical Japanese poetic forms with the world of modern poetry. Renshi is 

compiled by weaving words like batons in a relay race from one participant to the next. 

Ucyu Renshi is a form of renshi compiled by thoughts of imaging space, including Earth and our 

lives. Collaborating with and considering other participants is clearly essential to creating 

remarkable Ucyu Renshi, and doing so helps to build bonds among people.

JAXA compiles one Ucyu Renshi collection every year, consisting of around 24 short poems. Half are 

written by the public, while the remainder feature the contributions of famous poets. After the 

completion of the Ucyu Renshi, it is recorded on a DVD, which is then loaded into the International 

Space Station every year. A Ucyu Renshi symposium is also held to introduce the Ucyu Renshi to 

the public. JAXA also is applying Ucyu Renshi to Japanese language classes in elementary schools. 

Students compile Uchu Renshi in class and learn how to create the poems with famous poets while 

learning the importance of cooperation within the class. Students enjoy creating Ucyu Renshi and 

are very excited about participating in the “Kibo” big space project. 

JAXA: An Uchu Renshi Symposium is held every year after 

the completion of Ucyu Renshi to publicize them.
70

JAXA started the Ucyu Renshi in 2006, and 

the four Ucyu Renshi already composed are 

now stored in the International Space 

Station’s Japanese Experiment Module, or 

“Kibo,” which means “hope” in Japanese. All 

participants can watch the space station 

from the ground, imagining their poems 

stowed in the station, a shining star in space. 

Since it started in 2006, the number of 

participants has steadily increased, with 

more and more people interested in Ucyu 

Renshi and space activities. Furthermore,

Ucyu Renshi inspires them with a new 

universal view.

JAXA: Ucyu Renshi URL: http://iss.jaxa.jp/utiliz/renshi/
71

Students Photograph Earth From Space via EarthKAM Program

Arun Joshi, International Space Station Program Science Office

NASA Johnson Space Center

Imagine this: you are a young and inquisitive middle-school student, investigating and examining 

the vastness of Earth’s majestic mountain ranges, coastlines, oceans and other geographic 

imprints. Now, envision the thrill of doing so from the vantage point of an astronaut! Earth 

Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students, or EarthKAM, allows students to do just that—

view and capture images of their world from an astronaut’s perspective! 

EarthKAM is a NASA-funded educational outreach program run in collaboration with the University 

of California at San Diego. The goal is to provide an enriched and enhanced educational experience 

to motivate students toward math and science studies. The camera allows students worldwide to 

examine and photograph Earth from the unique vantage point of the International Space Station.

EarthKAM uses a Nikon D2Xs digital camera mounted in the Window Observational Research 

Facility, or WORF, which uses the science window located in the U.S. Destiny Laboratory. This 

window’s high quality optics capabilities allow the camera to take high-resolution photographs of 

the Earth using commands sent from the students via the online program. Students and educators 

then use the photos as supplements to standard course materials, offering them an opportunity to 

participate in space missions and various investigative projects. Creators of EarthKAM hope that 

combining the excitement of this space station experience with middle-school education will 

inspire a new set of explorers, scientists and engineers. 

The above photo of Croatia is one of the final pictures taken during 

the most recent EarthKAM session in July 2011. 

(Image courtesy of EarthKAM)
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Students use EarthKAM to learn about spacecraft orbits and Earth photography through the active 

use of Web-based tools and resources. With the help of their teachers, they identify a target 

location and then must track the orbit of the station, reference maps and atlases and check the 

weather prior to making their image request. These requests funnel to another set of students, this 

time at the University of California at San Diego. These college students run the EarthKAM Mission 

Operations Center, or MOC, for the project. Here they compile the requests into a camera control 

file and, with the help of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, then uplink the requests to a computer 

aboard the space station. 

Requests ultimately transmit to the digital camera, which then takes the desired images and 

transfers them back to the station computer for downlink to EarthKAM computers on the ground. 

This entire relay process usually completes within a few hours, and the photos are available online 

for both the participating schools and the public to enjoy.

As an added bonus, EarthKAM does not require much attention aboard the space station, which 

allows the astronauts to pay more attention to the other more involved payloads. According to 

Annie Powers, a NASA flight controller in the Cargo Integration and Operations Branch at the 

Johnson Space Center, “The crew’s main role is the set up: they position the camera on a bracket 

over the window, adjust the camera settings, connect the USB cable to the laptop and start the 

EarthKAM software. But, after set-up, all the crew has to do is periodically change the camera 

battery, and we usually have them swap to a different lens mid-week. It’s a very autonomous 

system; it pretty much just snaps away!”

The above photo of North Korea is from a series of images that UCSD 

students annotate for EarthKAM participants. The photo was taken during 

the winter 2011 session of EarthKAM. (Image courtesy of EarthKAM)
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In its earliest stages, the EarthKAM program went by the name of KidSat, coined by NASA astronaut 

and creator of the program Sally Ride. EarthKAM flew on five shuttle flights prior to its relocation to 

the space station in 2001. The EarthKAM camera has since been a permanent payload aboard the 

space station and supports approximately four missions annually. July 2011 marked the most 

recent session of EarthKAM. 

The EarthKAM program brings education out of the textbooks and into real life for students. From 

its first space station expedition in March 2001 to now, EarthKAM has touched the lives of over 

165,000 student participants and an unknown number of online followers. The program also has a 

strong international presence with users from 41 countries to date. “With every new mission,”

added Powers, “you can just see the numbers growing because [EarthKAM] is so automated now!”

Interested viewers of EarthKAM images and educators interested in participating have the 

opportunity to register online. 

The EarthKAM camera mounted on a multiuse bracket with a clamp at the Node 2 

nadir hatch window taken during the EarthKAM session in July 2011. (ISS028E019379 

courtesy of NASA)
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Red Food for the Red Planet

Canadian Space Agency

Among the many issues that space programs face as they develop plans to send a human mission 

to Mars, the question of life support ranks at or near the top. It should come as no surprise, then,

that this challenge is at the heart of research being conducted by some of the world’s top 

scientists, including those in Canada.

These scientists are investigating options that would provide astronauts with a self-contained 

biological system required to sustain life during a long-duration mission. In the case of Mars, 

planners need to consider a minimum of a six-month journey in each direction to get to and from 

the planet, coupled with a stay likely somewhere in the neighborhood of eighteen months!

One of the most obvious options is to use plants, which provide food, water and oxygen, while at 

the same time recycling carbon dioxide and waste. The answer, although seemingly obvious, 

requires more in-depth thought. Scientists still must wrestle with the questions of which types of 

seeds are best suited for space missions and whether the environments of both deep space (for the 

journey), and Mars itself will affect the ability of the seeds to germinate.

In an effort to get Canadian students to address these issues, as a catalyst for inspired and 

authentic learning, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has been collaborating with the University of 

Guelph, Agriculture and Agro-Food Canada, the Ontario Centres of Excellence, Heinz Canada and 

Stokes Seeds on the Tomatosphere Project. 

During a previous Tomatosphere program, students 

studied the growth of their tomato plants in 

Miss Smith’s grade three class at Langley 

Fundamental Elementary, Vancouver, British 

Columbia, Canada. The students took their plants 

home to grow in their gardens over the summer. 

Image credit: Tomatosphere.
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Each year, students are provided with sets of tomato seeds that have been exposed to space or 

space-simulated environments as well as a control group of seeds. Recently, 600,000 of these seeds 

were flown onboard the final U.S. space shuttle mission to the International Space Station, where 

they will remain for up to three years prior to returning to Earth and being distributed to more than 

13,000 participating classrooms. The project’s baseline experiment investigates the germination 

rate of the seeds; however, supporting materials have been developed to allow educators from 

grades 3 to 10 to build on student understanding of a variety of topics, from the science of plants 

to the science of nutrition to the science of ecosystems.

Marilyn Steinberg, the Space Learning Program Manager at the CSA, commented that, through 

their participation in Tomatosphere, “These students become space-farmers, conducting 

experiments in their classrooms that teach them about the complexity of horticulture, inspire 

innovative thinking about food production off-planet, and build their scientific skills set as they 

prepare to become Canada’s first generation of planetary explorers.”

Over the next three years, participating students will continue to provide scientists with data 

related to the possibility of growing tomatoes in space, while developing a “taste” for science and 

space research. 

Those interested in finding out more about Tomatosphere are encouraged to visit the project 

website at http://www.tomatosphere.org/.
76

Calling Cosmonauts From Home!

Sergey Avdeev, Deputy Department Head, Division Chief

The Central Scientific Research Institute of Machine-Building – TSNIIMASH

Educating future generations of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians is a global 

effort—one that includes the contributions of the Russian Federal Space Agency, or Roscosmos. 

One of the main objectives of activities aboard the International Space Station is the 

implementation of educational and outreach projects that contribute to attracting young people to 

study science. These projects also help create modern high-technology equipment and increase 

support in society for space programs in general and the space station program in particular.

Currently on board the Russian segment of the station are four space investigations that have 

educational components. Coulomb Crystal, Shadow-Mayak, MAI-75 and Great Start continue to 

demonstrate great benefits in capturing the imagination of students across the Russian region.

Coulomb Crystal is an investigation aimed at studying the dynamics of solid dispersed 

environments in an inhomogeneous magnetic field in microgravity. Pilot studies onboard the 

station explore the structural properties of Coulomb clusters—liquid crystal phase transitions, wave 

processes and the physical and mechanical characteristics of its heating mechanism, to name a few. 

Students at all levels of schooling, including secondary school and college, have had the 

opportunity to prepare and conduct the experiment on the ground. 

Shadow-Mayak is a VHF radio beacon that 

allows amateur radio enthusiasts to 

communicate with crew on board the 

station. The presence of this equipment on 

board the Russian segment of the station

serves as a learning tool for students in the

area of space communications. They study 

the conditions of the admission-transfer of 

the radio beacon using the world amateur 

radio network. They also study the 

characteristics and spatial distribution of 

the intensity of the radio broadcast and 

rebroadcast from the onboard transceiver 

transmitter.

Along the lines of Shadow-Mayak, MAI-75 

also is part of the suite of communication 

equipment that is housed on board the 

Russian segment of the station. It allows for 

a system of quick video downlinks from space in near-real time. This network distribution affords 

students and amateur radio operators from all over Russia the opportunity to learn first hand from 

Diagram of the experiment “Shadow-Mayak.”

(Image courtesy of ROSCOSMOS)
77

space explorers what it is like to live and work in 

space. The use of images of Earth from space

also is effective in the learning process and 

serves to inspire and motivate.

Great Start is an investigation aimed at 

popularizing the achievements of cosmonautics 

in Russia and in the world. Developed with the 

preparation of a special questionnaire, this

experiment allows the general public an 

opportunity to express its attitude to the great 

event in human history—the first human flight 

in space—as well as to get acquainted with the 

results of scientific investigations being 

conducted on board the station. Great Start

promotes and enhances international 

cooperation on the station for further integration of Russia into the world of cultural, educational 

and scientific relations. As a result, there will be scientific and educational workshops held to 

popularize the achievements of Russian human spaceflight with the involvement of the general 

population—including students and specialists in various areas of possible utilization of the results 

of space missions.

There are several more experiments planned within the framework of the educational program: 

ecology-education, which include student experiments that demonstrate the conduct of airborne 

microscopic particle suspensions in microgravity; chemistry-education, which include student 

experiments that capture microgravity structural elements in the specified form on the basis of 

polymer composite materials and diffusion; and diffusion, which is an educational demonstration 

of the process of diffusion in liquid environments in weightlessness. These educational projects 

involve hundreds, if not thousands, of students from all regions of Russia. Like all of our space 

station global, regional and national education programs, these serve to inspire and motivate 

generations to study and consider careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

Image taken by the reception and processing Centre 

MAI, Courtesy of ROSCOSMOS.