Still other studies of Earth from space could help scientists understand long-term changes to Earth's climate and environment. Scientists also will study how flames, fluids and metals react in space and whether tests on certain materials in weightlessness can help improve earthbound industrial processes. What the station offers most, he said, is a new environment in which to study the world just as the invention of the microscope in the 16th century opened new doors into scientific research. Her experiments on seed growth have been flown both on Mir and the shuttle's Spacelab module. The Mir and Spacelab programs provided only a glimpse.
Critics doubt that it can.
NASA argues that the nascent station someday will yield plenty of scientific breakthroughs in areas ranging from medicine to engineering. They just can't say what those might be or when they will come. As supporters see it, that sort of hedging is no different than the expectations for any general research laboratory on Earth. Some results are fairly dramatic and come early. Other times, it takes a long time.