Scientific research on the International Space Station

Scientific research on the International Space Station is a collection of experiments that require one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit. The primary fields of research include human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology. The 2005 NASA Authorization Act designated the American segment of the International Space Station as a national laboratory with the goal of increasing the use of the ISS by other federal agencies and the private sector.

Contents

• ISS science facilities
• Columbus ISS module
• Destiny ISS module
• Kibo ISS module
• Poisk ISS module
• ISS small hardware
• Experiments
• Applied research fields
• Human space technology development fields
• Educational and cultural utilization fields
• Commercial utilization fields
• Exposed facility experiments
• Cardiovascular and pulmonary systems
• Crew healthcare systems
• Human behaviour and performance
• Immune system
• Integrated physiology
• Neurological and vestibular systems
• Radiation
• Other experiments
• Animal biology
• Cellular biology and biotechnology
• Microbiology
• Plant biology
• Protein crystalization
• Combustion science
• Fluid physics
• Materials science
• Characterizing the microgravity environment on ISS
• Environmental monitoring of ISS
• Picosatellites and control technologies
• Spacecraft materials
• Spacecraft systems
• Spacecraft and orbital environments
• Earth science
• Space science
• Other monitors and observatories from the field
• Crew initiated science
• Educational activities
• Medical monitoring of ISS crew members
• Station development test objective
• Supplementary Medical Objective
• ESA reported ISS research and science activity
• Other
• References

Research on the ISS improves knowledge about the effects of long-term space exposure on the human body. Subjects currently under study include muscle atrophy, bone loss, and fluid shift. The data will be used to determine whether space colonisation and lengthy human spaceflight are feasible. As of 2006, data on bone loss and muscular atrophy suggest that there would be a significant risk of fractures and movement problems if astronauts landed on a planet after a lengthy interplanetary cruise (such as the six-month journey time required to fly to Mars). Large scale medical studies are conducted aboard the ISS via the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI). Prominent among these is the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity study in which astronauts (including former ISS Commanders Leroy Chiao and Gennady Padalka) perform ultrasound scans under the guidance of remote experts. The study considers the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions in space. Usually, there is no physician on board the ISS, and diagnosis of medical conditions is a challenge. It is anticipated that remotely guided ultrasound scans will have application on Earth in emergency and rural care situations where access to a trained physician is difficult.

Researchers are investigating the effect of the station's near-weightless environment on the evolution, development, growth and internal processes of plants and animals. In response to some of this data, NASA wants to investigate microgravity's effects on the growth of three-dimensional, human-like tissues, and the unusual protein crystals that can be formed in space.

The investigation of the physics of fluids in microgravity will allow researchers to model the behaviour of fluids better. Because fluids can be almost completely combined in microgravity, physicists investigate fluids that do not mix well on Earth. In addition, an examination of reactions that are slowed by low gravity and temperatures will give scientists a deeper understanding of superconductivity.

The study of materials science is an important ISS research activity, with the objective of reaping economic benefits through the improvement of techniques used on the ground. Other areas of interest include the effect of the low gravity environment on combustion, through the study of the efficiency of burning and control of emissions and pollutants. These findings may improve our knowledge about energy production, and lead to economic and environmental benefits. Future plans are for the researchers aboard the ISS to examine aerosols, ozone, water vapour, and oxides in Earth's atmosphere, as well as cosmic rays, cosmic dust, antimatter, and dark matter in the universe.