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Five of the most important International Space Station experiments

From artificial retinas to ageing mice, here are five of the most promising results from research performed on the ISS – and what they might mean for humans on Earth and in space

By Jon Cartwright

6 August 2024

It’s not all eating bits of food floating in mid-air and introducing suction toilets to fascinated Earthlings – crews on the International Space Station (ISS), which will be coming to an end soon , have serious work to do.

Since the station’s inception, astronauts and cosmonauts have performed more than 3000 experiments in the microgravity and heightened radiation of low-Earth orbit. These have ranged from confirming that fertility levels remain unaltered (in mice, not crew members) to testing the prospects of using lunar soil to make concrete to help build future moon bases. Here are four more of the most impressive bits of ISS research.

Artificial retinas

For millions of people with degenerative conditions affecting the retina – the layer of light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye – there is no cure, only treatments that slow progression. However, an implant that mimics the function of the retina might be the solution, and US-based company LambdaVision has had some success making one by depositing layer upon layer of a light-activated protein known as bacteriorhodopsin. On Earth, solutions of it tended to clump together, leading to poor deposition, but much better results came early this decade in the microgravity aboard the ISS . LambdaVision is now trying to scale up space manufacturing of the artificial retinas and claims these are among the first technologies evaluated on the ISS that have the potential for clinical use.

Astronauts could drink their own urine with water-recycling spacesuit

Invisible flames

When you light a match, the wood burns, reacting with oxygen to produce heat and light, as well as some other products such as carbon…

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Five space station research results contributing to deep space exploration, space station research integration office, closing the water loop for exploration, mixing cement in space to learn to construct moon bases, a new way to grow plants in space, communicating back home, studying effects of space radiation on fertility.

More than 3,000 experiments have been conducted aboard the International Space Station during the 21 years humans have been living and working in space. These experiments have provided insights helping improve life back on Earth and explore farther into the solar system. Researchers have shared these results in thousands of scientific publications.

Over the past few months, scientists shared the outcomes of space station studies that could help us recover more water from life support systems, construct Moon bases, grow plants in space, and more.

Here are some of the important new discoveries made and inventions created thanks to space station research and technology demonstrations:

What We Learned: Additional water can be recovered from the brine produced in the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA), part of the station’s environmental control and life support system (ECLSS).

Why It Matters: Future deep space exploration missions will require spacefarers to have a nearly self-contained water system in which they can recover, recycle, and reuse more than 98% of the water loaded aboard their spacecraft from the beginning of their mission.  The UPA aboard the space station can achieve close to 94% recovery, but some water remains in the brine waste product after urine is processed, and that water has potential to be recovered.  The new Brine Processor Assembly (BPA) is a technology demonstration system that is now recovering that water on station.

The Details: The BPA technology demonstration flew to station aboard the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft and has now completed five de-watering cycles.  Bladders from these operational runs are planned to return to Earth on the SpaceX Dragon capsule and will be analyzed to confirm BPA efficiency.  All indications from in-orbit telemetry are that the BPA is functioning as intended.

What We Learned: Cement mixed in space has different properties than cement mixed on Earth. Using simulated lunar soil to inform how to construct structures on the Moon looks promising.

Why it matters: Now that researchers know those properties, they are more prepared to create materials that are better construction tools in space.

The Details: Lunar regolith simulant (JSC-1A), mock lunar soil that emulates the properties of material from the Moon, has been used to create metals, glasses, and cement on Earth. The Microgravity Investigation of Cement Solidification (MICS) study conducted aboard the International Space Station recently published results examining JSC-1A for its potential use as a lunar construction material. Researchers found a fine portion of lunar soil simulant can be used as a cement supplement, a coarse portion can be used as filler, and that mixing the lunar regolith simulant, cement, and water results in a hardy mortar. These results indicate it might be feasible to use lunar dust as a material for building lunar bases. The Redwire Regolith Print study launched aboard the Northrop Grumman Cygnus on its 16th commercial resupply services mission builds on these results, using JSC-1A to see if regolith can be used for 3D printing to study the feasibility of printing structures on the Moon or Mars.

The MICS study also investigated the effect of microgravity on the reaction that occurs when cement and water are mixed together. Results recently published in ScienceDirect showed that the cement mixed in space had a microstructure marked by long lines and more trapped air than cement created on Earth. By learning this aboard the space station, scientists can better anticipate the strength of cement structures in space, and the results will contribute to the development of new materials for the construction of extraterrestrial habitats.

What We Learned: A newly patented system tested aboard station can provide plants water and nutrients they need to grow in space without the use of electricity.

Why It Matters: On future deep space missions, astronauts could use this method to grow fresh vegetables to supplement their packaged diet.

The Details: The Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System (PONDS) is a newly patented plant growth approach that was tested aboard the space station to water plants both in Earth’s gravity and microgravity. The system provides reliable water delivery to seeds, transports water from a reservoir, and provides nutrients and aeration to roots. PONDS is passive, meaning it operates with no electricity, no pumps and no moving parts. On future deep space missions, astronauts could use this method to grow fresh vegetables to supplement their diet as they venture deeper into space.

What We Learned: A successful technology demonstration aboard the space station verified a communications technique that could enable larger amounts of data to be transmitted much faster between space and Earth.

Why It Matters: This promising test demonstrated a new technology that could be used for faster data transmission to Earth and could support deep space mission communications.

The Details: SOLISS, a small Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) communication terminal attached to the space station, was tested for its laser pointing accuracy. The SOLISS team published their results detailing how they succeeded in establishing a bidirectional optical Ethernet link between low-Earth orbit and the ground. This technology transmits information faster than ever before, potentially supporting Earth’s needs while supplying needed capabilities as humans travel farther from Earth.

What We Learned: Space radiation did not affect mouse sperm DNA or its fertility and yielded normal offspring on Earth with the same success rate as ground controls.

Why It Matters: Sustaining life beyond Earth either on space stations or other planets requires a clear understanding of how the space environment affects mammalian fertility. Before this experiment, only non-mammalian reproductivity had been studied in space.

The Details: The Space Pup experiment sent mouse sperm samples to the International Space Station and returned the samples to Earth at different times, first at nine months, then two years and nine months, and finally after 5 years and 10 months (the longest time period any samples have been preserved in station biological research). The intent was to determine the effects of space radiation on DNA mutations. New results published in Science Advances from the experiment indicate that space radiation did not affect mouse sperm DNA or fertility and yielded normal offspring on Earth with the same success rate as ground controls.

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20 years of human research on the International Space Station

As the world celebrates two decades of humans in orbit around Earth on the International Space Station, this month’s science summary will look back not at four weeks of European research in space, but 20 years – with a focus on human research, naturally.

In November 2000 the first human entered the two-module International Space Station and ESA ran its first experiment just three months later.

ESA's human spaceflight research coordinator Jennifer Ngo-Anh explains the benefits of Space Station research, “We typically run three types of experiments, research that cannot be done on Earth, research to understand and improve astronaut health and research that exploits the unique aspect of sending perfectly healthy and fit humans into a new and stressful environment.”

“As you will see from the list below, this research is helping us explore farther into our Solar System, but it benefits people on Earth with new knowledge, new technology and new techniques – spaceflight is a motor for ingenuity.”

Here are 20 of our favourite experiments from two decades of habitation:

• Brain-DTI This study took brain scans of astronauts to measure ‘plasticity’ or how quickly their brains adapt to new inputs. The reassuring conclusion is that brains adapt surprisingly well, though research is hinting that the effects of floating in weightlessness mark the brain forever.
• 42 is the answer The Biolab facility in Columbus was used to investigate the time it takes for mammal immune cells to adapt to microgravity: 42 seconds, coincidentally the meaning of life according to Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the number of the Space Station Expedition that performed the experiment!
• Circadian Rhythms This experiment monitors an astronaut's body temperature to learn about our internal clock. A novel non-invasive thermometer was designed and marketed on Earth to get results that amazed researchers as it showed a sustained increase in body temperature.
• Endothelial cells Research into the cells that line our blood vessels is helping understand how and why they contract and expand, and why they have reduced functionality in old age on Earth.

• Growing blood vessels Not content with just observing blood vessels, how about growing new ones in space? This experiment exploited weightlessness to see if we can grow new three-dimensional organs. On Earth, gravity pulls the cells down making 3D-structures harder to achieve in the lab.
• Better sleep Sleep is important, and being alert even more so if you are about to dock two spacecraft many millions of kilometres away from Earth. But how do you ensure astronauts get a good night sleep when the Sun sets 16 times a day seen from the International Space Station? Structure, light and chemical aids if necessary is the answer (so far), and these findings apply to you on Earth too.
• Vessel-ID This experiment is not research into humans, but it did literally save lives. The Vessel-ID global traffic monitoring receiver was tested outside the Columbus laboratory and picked up a distress beacon from a fishing ship; search and rescue authorities were then notified. What we learnt from this experiment is now flying as a stand-alone satellite .
• Stressed immune systems The Immuno experiment took a holistic approach to investigating stress by utilising questionnaires, blood samples and temperature readings from the astronauts showing that the immune system goes haywire. Through necessity, researchers developed new ways of analysing small quantities of blood, so as not to drain the astronauts’ already-depleted supplies. Now, the hardware and the methods used are being shared with the medical community to aid the care of at-risk new-borns, who have even less blood to spare for analysis.

• Osteoporosis – salt ain’t good Astronaut bones go through accelerated osteoporosis during spaceflight. This disease costs Europe around €25 billion a year and typically affects the elderly, resulting in brittle and fragile bones and broken hips and arms from falls. Studying astronauts in space showed that acidity in the body accelerates bone loss, and you can counteract the acidity by eating less salt or taking bicarbonate pills as a simple preventive measure. On Earth a study would take decades to see results, but the accelerated ageing seen in astronauts allows researchers to fast-track ideas.
• 3D bone scanner To follow up on the above study in more detail, the EDOS-1 and 2 experiments required better medical scanners to see the finer structure of astronaut bones – so they created just that. The Xtreme CT scanner ESA helped develop can show the microscopic architecture of bones and their strength to monitor bones of everyone on and around Earth.
• Yeast Another experiment in Biolab investigated yeast strains that have been used to make bread and brew drinks for centuries. Unsurprisingly, in microgravity the yeast showed signs of stress and had problems building cell walls. The cells diverted their energy to repair themselves and grew less quickly. By analysing the strains that performed better in microgravity, researchers could identify genes that could be used for longer space missions. Space-faring yeasts can be cultured for future missions to far-away planets – space bakery anyone?
• 5-LOX The 5-LOX enzyme regulates life expectancy of human cells. Most human cells divide and regenerate, but the number of times they replicate is limited. Italian researchers wanted to find out how this enzyme was affecting astronauts’ health in space and found that cells flown in space showed more 5-LOX activity than the centrifuged samples, giving scientists a target enzyme that could play a role in the weakening of immune systems. The enzyme can be blocked with existing drugs, so using these findings to improve human health is a close reality. Who knows what life-prolonging pills could be developed in the future, all thanks to a two-day space experiment.

• Finding the key A similar experiment put immune cells through artificial gravity in space and showed that a specific transmitter in the cells, called the Rel/NF-kB pathway, stops working in weightlessness. Finding which gene does what is like looking for the right key to fit a keyhole, without having found the keyhole yet. Studying cells that have flown on the International Space Station is putting researchers on the right path to finding the key to how our immune system works. The pharmaceutical industry could also find the genes that need to be active to fight specific illnesses and market tailored antibodies.
• Laser eyes Where do astronauts look in space? A simple question for science, but to answer it the research team behind this experiment needed to track the astronauts’ eyes at all times. New hardware was developed for this space research and it is now found in almost all laser-eye surgeries in Europe where surgical precision is key.
• Remote diagnosis Keeping an astronaut fit and healthy from a distance is the flight surgeon’s task on Earth. Not all astronauts can be medical doctors, so small, easy-to-use machines are required for diagnosis but also for research into human health. Great strides have been made over the last two decades in ultrasound machines, heart-rate monitors, thermometers as well as in operating and sending the data to medical professionals many thousands of kilometres away. The Tempus Pro machine is the culmination of this and can be used equally effectively all over our planet.
• Stay strong Strong muscles are hard work on Earth – and even harder in space where certain muscles used to walk or sit are not needed in weightlessness, the “antigravity muscles”. Studies have shown that astronauts experience up to a 20% loss of muscle mass in short-duration missions alone, which is worrying for an astronaut about to land on Mars after a nine-month flight. The Muscle Biopsy experiment is investigating how cells communicate (called signalling pathways). Researchers suspect cell communication is tied to gravity-sensing and that the cells communicate less in space. The study is still in progress but the science team already have images from muscle biopsies that show enlarged intramuscular tissue spaces after a flight, an initial confirmation of their hypothesis.

• Lung health How do lungs adapt to spaceflight? This Swedish-led study put astronauts in the Space Station’s airlock and pumped out air to reduce the pressure, showing surprising results in the nitric oxide levels exhaled. Researchers developed a drug with a uniquely selective effect in lung circulation. The drug widens the blood vessels and counteracts life-threatening increases of local blood pressure. On the Moon and Mars, astronauts’ lungs may become easily irritated or inflamed by dust particles as they don’t settle to the ground but circulate endlessly.
• Old age Our brains change all the time – nerves and connecting cells rearrange to every new experience, but become less good at it in old age. Scientists peered inside astronauts’ heads for the Neurospat experiment to understand how they adapt to their new environments and developed new tools for testing spatial cognition that will be of great help to our ageing brains.
• Humans are cleaner than we thought For twenty years humans have been living in the closed International Space Station – without a shower to wash in. There is no place on Earth where researchers can investigate how bacteria evolve and live in such a tight-knit environment. Concern about rampant bacteria growth is always here, but it turns out that it is not that bad, with around 55 types of bacteria finding healthy equilibrium around the Space Station. This doesn’t mean that research is being done into easy-clean materials that will keep bacteria in check .
• Mix it up This series of experiments is physics-based, but looking at how liquids mix on a molecular level is improving shelf-life of medicine on Earth. The SODI experiments in essence observe two liquids together in weightlessness. As the two liquids constantly mingle and interfere with each other, the results are interesting for companies developing anti-body-based medicine that is notoriously known to be unstable liquids.

This is just a small selection of the European experiments run on the International Space Station that focus on human research. Around 400 ESA investigations have been performed since the first module was launched and thousands more are led by the four other space agencies that work together to keep the Space Station aloft: NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos, Japan’s JAXA, and the Canadian Space Agency.

With the Space Station set to continue running for many more years, the future is bright for research in our unique laboratory. “We listened to researchers and companies and are making space research more accessible, for example with companies offering services to design, build, fly and run experiments in one package deal,” says Jennifer.

“Research run on the Space Station almost always delivers surprising results, advancing our knowledge of the world, humankind and benefiting people on Earth. For 20 years we have been working on the forefront of where science and engineering meet, and I am looking forward to seeing many more years of interesting experiments and results.”

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International Space Station Welcomes Trio of Experiments Focused on Enhancing Life Beyond Earth

NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division is sending three physical sciences and space biology experiments and equipment to the International Space Station aboard Northrop Grumman’s 20th commercial resupply services mission. These experiments aim to pioneer scientific discovery, enable sustainable deep space exploration, and support transformative engineering.

The launch is scheduled to take place no earlier than Tuesday, January 30, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Using Microbes to Improve Plant Growth in Space

Plants will play a crucial role in space exploration because they provide a source of fresh food for astronauts, revitalize habitat air, and help recycle resources. However, to use plants effectively for space exploration, it is important to understand how they grow under the harsh environments of space.  Many microbes that are intimately associated with plants are known to improve the plant’s ability to tolerate environmental stresses on Earth. These beneficial microbes could also confer similar advantages to plants in space; however, we do not know how exposure to the space environment alters these associations.

Plant-Microbe Interactions in Space (Advanced Plant Experiments in Space; APEX-10 ) tests whether the beneficial microbe Trichoderma harzianum increases stress resilience and improves seedling growth of tomato plants (Lycopersicum esculentum) when the two are grown together in microgravity on the International Space Station. If so, this knowledge could help increase plant productivity on Earth as well as in space. The principal investigator for APEX-10 is Dr. Simon Gilroy with the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Understanding Microgravity-Associated Bone Loss

Despite rigorous exercise, astronauts face a major health problem in space travel: significant bone loss. The Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Microgravity Induced Bone Loss - Part A ( MABL-A ) research assesses the effects of microgravity on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), specifically their capacity to secrete bone-forming and bone-dissolving cytokines (small secreted proteins that affect other cells).

MSCs are known to play a role in making and repairing skeletal tissues. Results could provide a better understanding of the basic molecular mechanisms of bone loss caused by spaceflight and normal aging on Earth. The principal investigator for MABL-A is Dr. Abba Zubair with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

Studying Bacterial Growth in Space

Microbes, such as bacteria, cause numerous human diseases on Earth. It is possible that these same microbes could adversely affect the health of astronauts as they embark on future space missions. Therefore, a deeper understanding of how the spaceflight environment influences microbial growth could help develop strategies to counter their harmful effects.

Biological Research in Canisters-25 ( BRIC-25 ) studies how microgravity affects the Accessory Gene Regulator (Agr) quorum-sensing system of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterial pathogen that infects almost every human tissue and organ. The Agr quorum-sensing system is a key communication tool used by bacteria to form biofilms, regulate physiology, and affect their ability to cause disease.

By investigating the Agr system on the International Space Station, BRIC-25 researchers hope to uncover new insights into bacterial behavior in space. This knowledge could not only safeguard astronauts' health, but also improve our understanding of bacterial adaptations on Earth. The principal investigator for BRIC-25 is Dr. Kelly Rice , with the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.

NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division  pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomena under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.

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• Biological & Physical Sciences
• International Space Station (ISS)
• ISS Research
• Science & Research
• Space Biology
• Space Biology Program

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• 03 November 2020

Astronauts have conducted nearly 3,000 science experiments aboard the ISS

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Twenty years ago this week, on 2 November 2000, one astronaut and two cosmonauts opened the door to the newly constructed International Space Station (ISS) and floated in. It was the beginning of two decades of humans permanently living and working aboard the orbiting outpost.

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