research of space

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst working on fire experiment on Station

About research in space

Gravity affects everything we do on Earth but we know surprisingly little about how it works and how it affects life. Until recently scientists had no way of experimenting without gravity to understand what life would be like without it.

Orbiting our planet in an extended free-fall, astronauts on the International Space Station live in microgravity. Through the astronauts up there, scientists are conducting pioneering investigations, testing theories, and pushing the boundaries of our knowledge.

Research in space improves our life on Earth. Space research brings knowledge, discoveries, improvements to our daily life and – one day – the daily lives of explorers of our solar system.

Exploring nature

Fluorescent microscopic view of bone cancer cells

The studies of life and physical sciences in space are well established fields that complement terrestrial research programmes.

Biology, physiology, fluid physics and combustion, material sciences, fundamental physics and astrobiology are all studied in space, observing how gravity affects basic phenomena on Earth and expanding our knowledge of the world around us.

Improving health

Space offers unique possibilities to study health problems related to diseases, ageing and immobility.

Research focuses on osteoporosis, muscle atrophy and nutrition, and tries to understand the effects of physiological adaptations for health and safety and ways to counteract unwanted changes in the human body. Spaceflight is a driving force behind developing advanced medical instruments for monitoring and diagnostics.

Innovating technologies

Studies in weightlessness can reveal properties that are important for energy production or environmental protection. Space research has already increased knowledge on combustion, liquids in porous substances and how dust particles behave.

These studies are expected to lead to low-pollution high-efficiency combustion for power plants, aircraft and cars, as well as improved crude oil-recovery and innovative air and water purification techniques. Increased knowledge of life-support technology used in spaceflight will make our diets safer.

Caring for the environment

These studies are expected to lead to low-pollution high-efficiency combustion in for power plants, aircraft and cars as well as improved crude oil-recovery and innovative air and water purification techniques. Increased knowledge of life-support technology used in spaceflight will make our diets safer.

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International Space Station science reports

International Space Station Benefits for Humanity

Erasmus Space Exhibition Centre

Space Exploration

Suspected Space-Junk Strike in Florida Signals New Era of Orbital Debris

Three years ago astronauts threw out the largest piece of trash ever tossed from the International Space Station. Now some of it seems to have punched a hole through a house in Naples, Fla.

Leonard David

A Solar Eclipse Is Too Special to See Through Your Smartphone

To make the most of any total solar eclipse, put down your gadgets and bask in one of our solar system’s most glorious spectacles

NASA’s New Asteroid Sample Is Already Rewriting Solar System History

Scientists have scarcely begun studying pristine material from asteroid Bennu brought back to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx mission, but have already found several surprises

Robin George Andrews

Earth Has More Than One Moon

Quirks of orbital mechanics make a cadre of sun-orbiting asteroids appear to be moons of Earth

‘Interstellar’ Meteor Signal May Have Been a Truck—So What Was Collected from the Ocean Floor?

New analyses cast doubt on claims that a meteor witnessed over the South Pacific in 2014 came from another star system and raise questions about a high-profile expedition to recover the fireball’s fragments from the seafloor

Jonathan O'Callaghan

The Great Debate: Could We Ever Travel through Time?

Our space and physics editors go head-to-head over a classic mind-bending question.

Clara Moskowitz, Lee Billings

Most Astronauts Get ‘Space Headaches.’ Scientists Want to Know Why

Headaches are a common and recurring problem in space, even for astronauts that don’t experience them on Earth

Joanna Thompson

SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Reached Record Heights before It Was Lost

SpaceX lost both the booster and vehicle in a test launch of its massive Starship rocket. But the third try was the charm for Starship, which smoothly separated in its most successful flight to date

Josh Dinner, SPACE.com

In NASA’s Push for the Moon, Commercial Partners Soar—And Stumble

NASA’s partnership with private industry to accelerate the U.S.’s return to the moon is delivering lunar payloads—and mixed results

Voyager 1’s Immortal Interstellar Requiem

NASA is reaching across more than 15 billion miles to rescue its malfunctioning Voyager 1 probe—but this hallowed interstellar mission can’t live forever

Nadia Drake

Japan’s Lunar Landing Was Lopsided—And Transformative

Japan’s SLIM lander has sparked a new era of precision landings, with big implications for lunar science and exploration

Jatan Mehta

The Scale of Space Will Break Your Brain

The scale of the cosmos exceeds the bounds of human comprehension. But that doesn’t mean the universe is beyond our understanding

ISS Research Program

NASA’s Physical Sciences Research Program at the International Space Station (ISS) has conducted striking fundamental and applied research leading to improved space systems and new, advantageous products on Earth.

International Space Station Environments, Power and Research

NASA’s experiments in the various disciplines of physical science, reveal how physical systems respond to the near absence of gravity. They also reveal how other forces that on Earth are small compared to gravity, can dominate system behavior in space. The International Space Station (ISS) is an orbiting laboratory that provides an ideal facility to conduct long-duration experiments in the near absence of gravity and allows continuous and interactive research similar to Earth-based laboratories. This enables scientists to pursue innovations and discoveries not currently achievable by other means. NASA’s Physical Sciences Research Program also benefits from collaborations with several of the ISS international partners—Europe, Russia, Japan, and Canada—and foreign governments with space programs, such as France, Germany and Italy. The scale of this research enterprise promises new possibilities in the physical sciences, some of which are already being realized both in the form of innovations for space exploration and in new ways to improve the quality of life on Earth. Test

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The 10 biggest space science stories of 2021

The universe revealed more of its secrets this year, and new missions will further explore our solar system and beyond.

An image taken by the Dark Energy Survey shows Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein.

The year 2021 was one of major scientific expansion. Thanks to a variety of exploratory missions and their cutting-edge instruments, astronomers have been able to peer into the cosmos like never before.

Researchers have turned the Earth into a giant telescope to view powerful jets from a black hole. Solar system surveys have revealed new moons and massive comets previously lurking undetected by scientists. The sun has also been a main attraction for research as it reawakens from its recent slumber.

Here's our look back at the 10 biggest space stories of 2021.

1. Discovery of Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein

Two researchers unexpectedly discovered the largest-known comet to date .

Graduate student Pedro Bernardinelli was looking through Dark Energy Survey data to find objects that live beyond Neptune's orbit when he noticed an object significantly farther from the sun than the objects he planned to study. He asked his advisor, cosmologist Gary Bernstein, to have a look.

They had actually detected a comet that is much larger than any of the ones known so far to science: It may be 10 times wider and 1,000 times more massive than a typical comet.

On top of that, this comet has not swung around the sun since the hominid ancestor Lucy walked on the Earth approximately 3 million years ago.

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Their finding was officially designated a comet on June 23, 2021 and named Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein after its discoverers.

In a big sweep of scientific luck, astronomers will only have to wait a decade to see this comet approach the sun. Comets come from very far away, originating from one of the outermost regions of the solar system known as the Oort Cloud . Comets journey through our cosmic neighborhood in long elliptical orbits and can take thousands of years to complete one trip around the sun.

Scientists should be able to get a more accurate reading of Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein's size and composition when the comet makes its closest to Earth in the year 2031, although it will still be beyond Saturn's average orbit when it swings nearby.

2. Amateur astronomer discovers a new moon around Jupiter

In 1974, NASA's Pioneer 11 spacecraft viewed Jupiter from above its north pole.

A previously-unknown moon has been detected around the largest planet in the solar system.

Jupiter is a giant, so it gravitationally attracts many objects into its vicinity. Earth has one major moon, Mars has two: but Jupiter boasts at least 79 moons, and there may be dozens or hundreds more of them that astronomers have yet to identify.

The latest discovery was made by amateur astronomer Kai Ly, who found evidence of this Jovian moon in a data set from 2003 that had been collected by researchers using the 3.6-meter Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) on Mauna Kea. Ly they confirmed the moon was likely bound to Jupiter's gravity using data from another telescope called Subaru.

The new moon, called EJc0061, belongs to the Carme group of Jovian moons. They orbit in the opposite direction of Jupiter's rotation at an extreme tilt relative to Jupiter's orbital plane.

3. NASA will return to Venus this decade

Venus is swathed in a thick atmosphere that is difficult for scientists to peer through.

Mars is a popular target for space agencies, but Earth's other neighbor has been garnering more attention recently.

In 2020, researchers announced that they had detected traces of phosphine in Venus' atmosphere. It is a possible biosignature gas, and the news certainly reawakened interest in the planet.

In early June 2021, NASA announced it will launch two missions to Venus by 2030. One mission, called DAVINCI+ (short for Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging, Plus) will descend through the planet's atmosphere to learn about how it has changed over time. The other mission, VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) will attempt to map the planet's terrain from orbit like never before.

Venus has been visited by robotic probes, but NASA has not launched a dedicated mission to the planet since 1989.

The interest in Martian exploration may be one reason why Venus has been neglected in recent decades, but the second planet from the sun is also a challenging place to study. Although it may have once been a balmy world with oceans and rivers, a runaway greenhouse effect took hold of Venus around 700 million years ago and now the planet's surface is hot enough to melt lead.

4. The sun is reawakening

An artist's depiction of the sun releasing a coronal mass ejection.

The sun was experiencing a quiet time in its roughly decade-long cycle, but it is now exiting that phase.

The sun has had very little activity in recent years, but the star's surface is now erupting in powerful events that spew out charged particles towards Earth. In early November, for instance, a series of solar outbursts triggered a large geomagnetic storm on our planet.

This eruption is known as a coronal mass ejection, or CME. It's essentially a billion-ton cloud of solar material with magnetic fields, and when this bubble pops, it blasts a stream of energetic particles out into the solar system. If this material heads in the direction of Earth, it interacts with our planet's own magnetic field and causes disturbances. These can include ethereal displays of auroras near Earth's poles, but can also include satellite disruptions and energy losses.

5. James Webb Space Telescope flies into space

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope separates from its Ariane 5 rocket with the bright blue Earth in the background in this view captured after its launch on Dec. 25, 2021.

A whole new era of space science began on Christmas Day 2021 with the successful launch of the world's next major telescope.

NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency are collaborating on the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a project more than three decades in the making. Space telescopes take a long time to plan and assemble: The vision for this particular spacecraft began before its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, had even launched into Earth orbit.

Whereas Hubble orbits a few hundred miles from Earth's surface, JWST is heading to an observational perch located about a million miles from our planet. The telescope began its journey towards this spot, called the Earth-sun Lagrange Point 2 (L2), on Dec. 25, 2021 at 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT) when an Ariane 5 rocket launched the precious payload from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

The telescope will help astronomers answer questions about the evolution of the universe and provide a deeper understanding about the objects found in our very own solar system.

6. Event Horizon Telescope takes high-resolution image of black hole jet

A jet emerging from the black hole at the center of the Centaurus A galaxy photographed by the Event Horizon Telescope.

In July 2021, the novel project behind the world's first photo of a black hole published an image of a powerful jet blasting off from one of these supermassive objects.

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a global collaboration of eight observatories that work together to create one Earth-sized telescope. The end result is a resolution that is 16 times sharper and an image that is 10 times more accurate than what was possible before.

Scientists used EHT's incredible abilities to observe a powerful jet being ejected by the supermassive black hole at the center of the Centaurus A galaxy, one of the brightest objects in the night sky. The galaxy's black hole is so large that it has the mass of 55 million suns.

7. Scientists spot the closest-known black hole to Earth

Artist's illustration of the tiny black hole candidate known as "The Unicorn" tugging on its companion, a red giant star.

Just 1,500 light-years from Earth lies the closest-known black hole to Earth, now called " The Unicorn ."

Tiny black holes are hard to spot, but scientists managed to find this one when they noticed strange behavior from its companion star, a red giant. Researchers observed its light shifting in intensity, which suggested to them that another object was tugging on the star.

This black hole is super-lightweight at just three solar masses. Its location in the constellation Monoceros ("the unicorn") and its rarity have inspired this black hole's name.

8. Earth's second 'moon' flies off into space

An object dropped into Earth's orbit like a second moon, and this year, it made its final close approach of our planet.

It is classified as a "minimoon," or temporary satellite. But it's no stray space rock — the object, known as 2020 SO, is a leftover fragment of a 1960s rocket booster from the American Surveyor moon missions.

On Feb. 2, 2021, 2020 SO reached 58% of the way between Earth and the moon, roughly 140,000 miles (220,000 kilometers) from our planet. It was the minimoon's final approach, but not its closest trip to Earth. It achieved its shortest distance to our planet a few months prior, on Dec. 1, 2020.

It has since drifted off into space and away from Earth's orbit, never to return.

9. Parker Solar Probe travels through the sun's atmosphere

An artist's depiction of NASA's Parker Solar Probe at work observing the sun.

This year, NASA's sun-kissing spacecraft swam within a structure that's only visible during total solar eclipses and was able to measure exactly where the star's "point of no return" is located.

The Parker Solar Probe has been zooming through the inner solar system to make close approaches to the sun for the past three years, and it is designed to help scientists learn about what creates the solar wind, a sea of charged particles that flow out of the sun and can affect Earth in many ways.

The spacecraft stepped into the sun's outer atmosphere, known as the corona , during its eight solar flyby. The April 28 maneuver supplied the data that confirmed the exact location of the Alfvén critical surface: the point where the solar wind flows away from the sun, never to return.

The probe managed to get as low as 15 solar radii, or 8.1 million miles (13 million km) from the sun's surface. It was there that it passed through a huge structure called a pseudostreamer, which can be seen from Earth when the moon blocks the light from the sun's disk during a solar eclipse . In a statement about the discovery, NASA officials described that part of the trip as "flying into the eye of a storm."

10. Perseverance begins studying rocks on Mars

This wind-carved rock, seen in the first 360-degree panorama taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, shows just how much detail is captured by the camera system.

Last but not least, this year marked the arrival of NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars.

The mission has been working hard to find traces of ancient Martian life since it reached the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021. Engineers have equipped Perseverance with powerful cameras to help the mission team decide what rocks are worth investigating.

One of Perseverance's most charming findings has been " Harbor Seal Rock ," a curiously-shaped feature that was probably carved out by the Martian wind over many years. Perseverance has also obtained several rock samples this year, which will be collected by the space agency for analysis at some point in the future.

Perseverance is taking its observations from the 28-mile-wide (45 kilometers) Jezero Crater, which was home to a river delta and a deep lake billions of years ago.

Follow Doris Elin Urrutia on Twitter @salazar_elin. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Doris is a science journalist and Space.com contributor. She received a B.A. in Sociology and Communications at Fordham University in New York City. Her first work was published in collaboration with London Mining Network, where her love of science writing was born. Her passion for astronomy started as a kid when she helped her sister build a model solar system in the Bronx. She got her first shot at astronomy writing as a Space.com editorial intern and continues to write about all things cosmic for the website. Doris has also written about microscopic plant life for Scientific American’s website and about whale calls for their print magazine. She has also written about ancient humans for Inverse, with stories ranging from how to recreate Pompeii’s cuisine to how to map the Polynesian expansion through genomics. She currently shares her home with two rabbits. Follow her on twitter at @salazar_elin.

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Space and Astronomy

Nasa searching for new ideas for its mars rocks return mission.

The agency will seek new ideas for its Mars Sample Return program, expected to be billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.

By Kenneth Chang

An artist’s conception of multiple robotic vehicles teaming up to return samples of rocks and soil, collected from the Martian surface by NASA's Mars Perseverance rover, to earth.

She Dreams of Pink Planets and Alien Dinosaurs

Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University, hunts for aliens in space by studying Earth across time.

By Becky Ferreira

Lisa Kaltenegger, founding director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University. “I think a lot of people might not be so aware of where we are right now, and that they are living in this momentous time in history,” she said. “We can all be a part of it.”

A Tantalizing ‘Hint’ That Astronomers Got Dark Energy All Wrong

Scientists may have discovered a major flaw in their understanding of that mysterious cosmic force. That could be good news for the fate of the universe.

By Dennis Overbye

James Dean, Founding Director of NASA Art Program, Dies at 92

He arranged for artists to have access to astronauts, launchpads and more. “Their imaginations enable them to venture beyond a scientific explanation,” he once said.

By Richard Sandomir

James Dean, who believed that artists offered a perspective that could not be found in photographs.

A Fiery Finale for a Rocket That Brings the Heat

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Cosmic Forecast: Blurry With a Chance of Orbital Chaos

Astronomers have gotten better at tracking the motions of stars just beyond the solar system. But that’s made it harder to predict Earth’s future and reconstruct its past.

Researchers discovered that a sunlike star named HD 7977, found 247 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia, could have passed close enough to the sun about 2.8 million years ago to alter the orbits of the Earth and other planets.

One Satellite Signal Rules Modern Life. What if Someone Knocks It Out?

Threats are mounting in space. GPS signals are vulnerable to attack. Their time-keeping is essential for stock trading, power transmission and more.

By Selam Gebrekidan , John Liu and Chris Buckley

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NASA Is Recruiting a New Class of Astronauts

Victor Glover, a nine-year veteran of the astronaut corps who will fly around the moon in 2025, said the search for excellence and diversity were not mutually exclusive.

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The Night Sky Will Soon Get ‘a New Star.’ Here’s How to See It.

A nova named T Coronae Borealis lit up the night about 80 years ago, and astronomers say it’s expected to put on another show in the coming months.

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Why It’s So Challenging to Land Upright on the Moon

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Jeff Bezos’ Big Rocket Moves Into View and Closer to Launch

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When Eyes in the Sky Start Looking Right at You

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Ingenuity, the NASA Helicopter Flying Over Mars, Ends Its Mission

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Space Station

Station Orbits into Eclipse, Crew Works Research and Spacesuits

The Moon's shadow, or umbra, on Earth was visible from the space station as it orbited into the path of the solar eclipse over southeastern Canada.

The International Space Station soared into the Moon’s shadow during the solar eclipse on Monday afternoon. The Expedition 71 crew members had an opportunity to view the shadow at the end of their workday filled with cargo transfers, spacesuit maintenance, and microgravity research.

The windows on the cupola, the orbital outpost’s “window to the world,” were open and NASA Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps were inside photographing and videotaping the Moon’s shadow on Earth, or umbra, beneath them. They were orbiting 260 miles above southeastern Canada as the Moon’s umbra was moving from New York state into Newfoundland.

The space station experienced a totality of about 90% during its flyover period. Views of the solar eclipse itself, the Moon orbiting directly between the sun and the Earth, were only accessible through a pair of windows in the space station’s Roscosmos segment which may not have been accessible due to cargo constraints.

Before the eclipse activities began on Monday, Dominick worked on orbital plumbing, serviced a pair of science freezers and swapped cargo in and out of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Dominick then joined NASA astronaut Mike Barratt inspecting spacesuit tethers and organizing spacewalking tools.

Epps installed a small satellite orbital deployer inside the Kibo laboratory module ’s airlock and also participated in the Dragon cargo work. NASA Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson assisted Epps with the small satellite installations and cargo transfers. Dyson also reviewed operations with the BioFabrication Facility and prepared research hardware for an upcoming session to print cardiac tissue cell samples.

Station Commander Oleg Kononenko spent Monday on inspection tasks in the aft end of the Zvezda service module and Progress 87 resupply ship. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub focused his attention on electronics and ventilation maintenance. Chub also spent a few moments assisting Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin as he attached sensors to himself measuring his heart activity for a long-running Roscosmos space cardiac investigation. He later turned on an ultrasound device and scanned surfaces inside Zvezda.

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JPL's charter is to conduct robotic space missions for NASA, to explore our own and neighboring planetary systems, understand the origin and evolution of the universe and make critical measurements to understand our home planet and help protect it. We do this by developing integrated capabilities in engineering, science and technology, in a unique environment that strives for excellence in any of the three areas. To be successful in our ability to implement missions for NASA, we foster research in those areas of space-based science that establish our leadership in the science community and those technologies that allow the innovations that are crucial to maintaining our competitive edge. Our science, technology and engineering research covers many areas of planetary, astrophysics and Earth science, both as basic research leading to new observations and mission concepts, as well as research based on the data acquired by JPL flight projects. Our technology research covers areas ranging from robotic systems, a range of in-situ and remote sensing instruments, deep space communications and navigation, information systems, precision flying and planetary protection and survivability.

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Published: 14 September 2021

Open science in space

Nature Medicine volume 27 , page 1485 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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Scientific and medical research conducted in space can bring benefits for all humankind, but this will require commercial space flight companies to embrace open data principles.

The recent lift off of two billionaires on their respective private spacecraft was not quite the giant leap seen in 1969, but has still been heralded as the start of a new golden era of space flight. Astronomers have observed the stars for millennia, but modern space research is interdisciplinary, and includes life sciences and medicine. For people on Earth to benefit from space science, data from research in space must be open, regardless of the interests of commercial companies .

Space flight is one of humanity’s greatest achievements and has a unique ability to amaze and inspire future generations of mathematicians, scientists, engineers and doctors. Indeed, an increasing number of astronauts are medically or scientifically trained, including virologist Kate Rubin, astrophysicist, engineer and physician David Saint-Jacques, and Serena Auñón-Chancellor, board-certified in internal and aerospace medicine. Medical research in space has two goals: to enable people to travel safely in low Earth orbit, to the Moon, and then to Mars and back; and to improve health on Earth through discoveries made in space.

Several aspects of human biology are uniquely affected by the conditions and exposures of space travel. Microgravity, radiation and isolation each take their toll on the human body and mind. Muscle volume and bone mass both decrease during time in microgravity, with astronauts losing around 1% of their bone density each month. At 0.38 g , the gravity on Mars may be enough to regenerate bone cells lost during the 7-month trip. If not, a ticket to Mars may be one-way, or vertebrae could be crushed during re-entry to Earth. Cosmic rays regularly pass through astronauts, causing blinding flashes when traveling through the eye, and leading to an increased risk of cancer and cataracts. With no electromagnetic field on Mars to divert harmful radiation, people may need to live underground. The eye is also affected by microgravity, leading to far-sightedness in many astronauts.

Space science can also offer insights on aspects of human health on Earth. Everyone who has lived through lockdowns knows the mental-health effects of isolation. Space agencies have such extensive experience in dealing with isolation that they have assisted with crises on Earth, providing support, for example, to the 33 trapped Chilean miners in 2010, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic . A voyage that goes boldly to Mars may need a ship’s counselor.

Space research could also provide a model for sustainable living on Earth, such as how to deal with water shortages (Scott Kelly drank 730 litres of his own recycled sweat and urine ), use of telemedicine in remote communities, and 3D printing of organs and medical supplies. The geographic information system (GIS) has been used to map the deforestation of the Amazon, track outbreaks of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, and identify remote villages for polio vaccinations. Digital image processing , which was invented to enhance pictures of the Moon, is used on images from CT and MRI scans, and forms an essential part of medical diagnostics. Vibration platforms , originally developed by the USSR for cosmonaut training, are now used to treat muscle atrophy and osteoporosis in older people

Supply trips for the International Space Station (ISS) are provided by commercial companies, as part of a growing number of public private partnerships, and bring new experiments for the astronauts. In August, the crew of the ISS received a 3D printer, cardiac muscle cells, a new CO 2 removal system or ‘scrubber’, and some slime mold.

The cardiac muscle cells will be used to model the skeletal muscle disorder sarcopenia , which can lead to falls and functional decline, particularly in older people. Sarcopenia is also seen in astronauts, and so researchers hope that microgravity will have a similar effect on myocytes in vitro, and allow the development of a myotube model for pre-clinical drug screening. With no currently approved treatments, this would benefit people in space and on Earth.

The CO 2 scrubber traps carbon dioxide from the spacecraft atmosphere in a mineral known as zeolite, with the CO 2 then either vented or converted into water — technology that could be used in closed environments on Earth, as well as for removing greenhouse gases . The slime mold is in orbit for education and inspiration, as part of a French school’s science project.

Any trip into space should not just inspire, but should also tangibly benefit all humanity. The principles of open science should be embraced by commercial space flight companies. Proprietary information is unavoidable, especially with regards to propulsion systems, but scientific research conducted on space stations, whether publically or privately operated , should be published and widely disseminated.

The greatest benefit will come if health data from all space tourists and astronauts are stored, with their consent, in electronic health records in a single database or trusted research environment, so that the space science community can access and analyze the data. As the number of people in space increases, this unique dataset will be an invaluable tool for further understanding and mitigating the effects of space flight on the human body. As with all health data, diversity is also key and is currently lacking, notwithstanding China and India’s space ambitions, the ESA’s parastronaut feasibility project, and NASA’s Artemis mission. This increased diversity is late but welcome.

Scientific and medical research in space has been an exemplar of international cooperation and openness. Companies have an important role for innovation and for reducing costs, but without data sharing, important scientific advances will have a limited effect and a narrow benefit. As the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin, said, Earth is “too small for conflict and just big enough for cooperation”. Cooperation, and not conflict, should also embody space science.

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The Nine Planets

What are the benefits of Space Research?

What are the benefits of space research?
Why do governments spend billions of taxpayers money on exploring the solar system and beyond?
Aren’t there better things to spend money on?
Shouldn’t our top scientists and engineers be doing better things?

Many people would say so. Certainly, there is a lot of hunger in the world. The money that has been spent on the Hubble Space Telescope, for instance, would certainly have made a big difference if it were spent instead on relieving poverty in a third world country.

Nevertheless, apart from extending our knowledge of what is out there-there are a number of significant benefits of space research. Here are a few (not necessarily in order of importance).

Medical Research – many of the experiments that were done in the shuttle and other space stations have led to the development of new drugs and surgical techniques.
Materials Technology – some of the new materials that have been developed have proved enormously useful in other fields, e.g. the super heat resistant tiles used on the space shuttle.
Electronics – Because of the limited space inside a spacecraft, there has always been the desire to make electronic components smaller and smaller. This has led to the development of semiconductors and integrated circuits.
Telecommunications – Satellite television, GPS and other communications across the globe would not have been possible were it not for space research.
Environmental studies – From space, we can observe the Earth. We can study the surface of the Earth and its atmosphere. This can help us to understand and protect the Earth and its ecosystems.

Although the benefits above it is important that scientific research should not always be with profit in mind. Some research should be just for the sake of extending our knowledge if commercial benefits result from this then so be it. Astronomy is the oldest science. Since mankind could think it gazed up at the stars and wondered what is out there. It may be, in the distant future, that space travel will ultimately save mankind. We will journey out to find new worlds to colonise.

We will go boldly where no man has gone before.

13 min read

Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications SpaceX-20 Experiments and Payloads

Research on physical science and life sciences in space allows humans to both expand their knowledge of space and enhance their economic vitality on Earth. A series of physical science experiments testing micro gravity properties in space are driving global advances in science and technology. Through a number of innovative biological experiments, NASA is also finding new ways to help plants, animals and humans survive and thrive in spaceflight conditions. Investigations launching to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 20th contracted commercial resupply services mission include the following:

Physical Sciences

Combustion research from fuel efficiency to flammability.

Several experiments will study combustion focusing on three primary goals: How can we improve fuel efficiency? How can we reduce combustion pollutants? How can we better prevent a fire inside a spacecraft? The Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments (ACME) project is a series of six independent studies of gaseous flames that will be conducted in the Combustion Integrated Rack on board the orbiting laboratory.

This is a photo of a flame under microgravity conditions. It is bulbous, compared to a long, tapered flame that would be found on Earth.

Five of the experiments are focused on improving how we use fuel on Earth. By developing computational models, scientists hope to improve the efficiency and reduce the pollutant emission in combustion machines. In addition, the computational simulation capability resulting from ACME could lead to reductions in the time and cost to design the next generation of combustion engines. Other ACME goals are to improve our understanding of combustion during limited fuel conditions where both optimum performance and low emissions can be achieved, as well as soot control and reduction – that is, oxygen-enriched combustion which would capture carbons before they were released into the air, and ﬂame stability and extinction limits, as well as the use of electric ﬁelds for combustion control.

The objective of the sixth experiment is focused on spacecraft ﬁre prevention. Scientists want to improve their fundamental understanding of materials ﬂammability such as extinction behavior and the microgravity conditions needed for sustained combustion. It will also help them assess the relevance of existing ﬂammability test methods as they screen and select materials for future spacecraft.

Principal Investigators: Richard Axelbaum, Ph.D. Washington University in St. Louis, Derek Dunn-Rankin, Ph.D. University of California, Irvine, Irvine, Chung (Ed) Law, Ph.D. Princeton University, Marshall Long, Ph.D. Yale University, James Quintiere, Ph.D. University of Maryland

Developers: NASA Glenn Research Center ZIN Technologies Incorporated

Turning up the Temperature on Materials Science with Liquid Meta l

For thousands of years, humans have produced glass, metal alloys, and other materials by placing a mixture of raw materials in a container - called a crucible – and heating them to a high temperature. But, as melting begins, a chemical reaction can occur between the materials and the crucible, causing imperfections and contaminations. So what if you could avoid using the crucible? You can – in space.

NASA Flight Engineer monitors a Japanese resupply ship.

Aboard the International Space Station, NASA will use the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) handles materials using a containerless processing technique. This allows researchers to reduce imperfections, provide enhanced fidelity of results, and investigate the behavior of high-temperature manufactured materials including oxides, semiconductors, insulators and alloys which are only possible in the microgravity environment of space.

The ELF will soon perform two new experiments: The Thermophysical Property Measurement investigation will study small (~2mm) spheres of metal to provide a better understanding of how to measure liquid metal properties. The knowledge gained will help researchers better understand how to maximize the levitators of each. NASA is part of an international team of researchers for the Origin Of Fragility In High-Temperature Oxide Liquids experiment that will, on the other hand, investigate what happens when high temperatures are applied to those same small spheres of various metal oxides. Oxides are a class of chemical compounds in which oxygen is combined with another element, in this case a metal. The spheres are heated by multiple laser beams to a high temperature, where the metal becomes a liquid. Metal oxides are developed for products such as thermal conductors and electrical insulators, and these liquids formed from these materials are expected to serve as precursors to products that are useful in advanced sensors, beneﬁting manufacturers and scientists designing new materials and manufacturing techniques that can be used both on Earth and in Space.

ELF Thermophysical Property Measurement Experiment

Principal Investigator: Douglas M. Matson, Ph.D., Tufts University

Co-Investigator: Mikhail Krivilev, Ph.D., Udmurt State University, Russia

High-Temperature Oxide Liquids Experiment

Principal Investigator: Shinji Kohara, Ph.D., National Institute for Materials Science, Japan

Co-Investigator: Richard Weber, Ph.D., Materials Development Inc.

Developer: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Space Environment Utilization Center

A Closer Look at Complex Nanostructures for Future New Materials

Take a close look at an object – any object – through an electron microscope, and you’ll see how it’s composed of micron-scale particles. How do those particles form and blend with each other to become that object? Welcome to the world of colloids and nanostructures. In chemistry, a colloid is a mixture in which one substance of microscopically dispersed insoluble or soluble particles is suspended throughout another substance, much like tapioca pudding. Scientists know temperature is a factor in determining how these microscopic particles bond with their surfaces and with each other. But another factor that’s been difficult to measure is the effect gravity has on these particles – until now.

A photo of NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg conducting a session with the Advanced Colloids Experiment (ACE)-1 sample preparation at the Light Microscopy Module in the Fluids Integrated Rack / Fluids Combustion Facility.

The Advanced Colloids Experiment Temperature-2 (ACE-T-2) experiment will look at the complex structures of these micron-scale colloidal particles, and how they assemble in micro gravity conditions. Using the electron microscope on board the station, scientists will observe these particle interactions when different temperatures are applied to them.

The experimental work emanates from an increasing demand for ever more complex, speciﬁcally designed micro and nano-scale structures for photonic and electric devices. Controlling how these complex 3D structures are assembled, however, is highly challenging. Through these experiments, and assisted by complex algorithms, scientists hope to gain a basic understanding of the assembly process to better grow complex nanostructured materials.

These Colloidal and nano-particles are good candidates to become the building blocks of some of tomorrow’s new materials. Applications of nano and micro materials are rapidly growing: this new particulate matter ﬁnds increasing applications in all parts of modern life ranging from food and drug industry to coating and painting to everyday electronic devices.

Principal Investigator: Peter Schall, Ph.D

Co-Investigators: Gerard Wegdam, Ph.D., University of Amsterdam, Institute of Physics Simon Stuij, University of Amsterdam, Institute of Physics Piet Swinkels, University of Amsterdam, Institute of Physics Marco A. C. Potenza, Ph.D., University of Milan

Developers: NASA Glenn Research Center Zin Technologies Incorporated

There’s a relatively new technique that allows scientists to design and assemble complex three-dimensional structures from colloids. Those are particles of different sizes that are suspended in a fluid, similar in concept to how microbeads are suspended in liquid soap. The technique is known as nanoparticle haloing (NPH) which uses highly charged nanoparticles to stabilize much larger, non charged particles. It is thought that the nanoparticles create a charge layer by forming a cage, or Halo, around the larger particles.

A photo of ACE Modules taken during the ACE-T12 Module Configuration onboard the International Space Station.

On Earth, gravity plays a role in how well particles are suspended in a fluid. But, by allowing these structures to form in the microgravity on board the International Space Station for the Advanced Colloids Experiment-Nanoparticle Haloing (ACE-T-12) experiment, scientists hope to gain new insights into the relationship between the shape surface charge and concentrations of particles and the particle interactions.

Microgravity allows for the monitoring of particle behavior for longer time periods than on Earth, and this experiment will allow the ﬁrst observation of 3D aggregations formed by NPH. The resulting structure and its stability address fundamental issues in the science of condensed matter.

Since self-assembled colloidal structures are vital to the design of advanced materials, this investigation will contribute to a fundamental understanding of nanoparticle haloing and the colloidal structures it creates. That lays the foundation for applying this technique to creating the next generation colloidal materials, including optically-based energy platforms and sensors, for use on Earth.

Principal Investigators: Stuart J. Williams, Ph.D. University of Louisville Suzanne Smith, Ph.D. University of Kentucky

Co-Investigator: Gerold Willing, Ph.D. University of Louisville

Space Biology

Understanding plant defenses in space.

Crews on future long-term space missions need to be able to grow their own food, and studies of how plants respond to microgravity are an important step toward developing that capability. The Biological Research in Canisters-Light Emitting Diode-002 (BRIC-LED)-002 investigation tests whether spaceflight affects the ability of plants to defend themselves against pathogens. Arabidopsis thaliana is a weed commonly found abutting the pavement on the back roads of Africa or Eurasia, popularly known as thale cress or mouse-ear cress. Arabidopsis is a model organism, commonly used by biologists due to its relatively small genome, making it ideal for research. Even though it has a complex multicellular frame, this particular weed is well-understood by scientists.

A photo of NASA astronaut Jack Fischer installing the Biological Research In Canisters (BRIC) Light Emitting Diode (LED) box for future BRIC-LED experiments.

While this particular plant does well in defending itself against pathogens on Earth, the results of this investigation could have important implications for any plant grown on board as part of a crew’s life support system. Specifically, researchers will grow the A rabidopsis plants in orbit grown for a period of up to 14 days. Then, crew members will apply a bacterial compound that triggers the plant’s defense responses. After one hour, they preserve the plant samples, and after a period of 12-24 hours, they freeze the samples using the ultra-cold freezer on the station. The plants are stored there until they return to Earth for analysis.

Research on plant function in microgravity also contributes to a better understanding of basic plant processes, which could support development of better agricultural practices on Earth.

Principal Investigator: Simon Gilroy, Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison

Testing Hardware for Space Gardens

Future long-duration space missions will require crew members to grow their own food. Before they do, they’ll need to better understand how plants respond to microgravity and other challenges not found on Earth, and also refine the systems and procedures to support plant growth.

A photo of Howard Levine, Ph.D., a research scientist at NASA's Kennedy Space Center reviewing the growth of several tomato plants growing in the Veggie Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System (PONDS).

VEG-PONDS-03 will evaluate how plants - in this case lettuce - grow in a newly developed plant growth system known as PONDS, or Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System. On Earth, gravity naturally forces rainwater down into the ground to nourish a plant’s roots. The PONDS units have features that are designed to bypass the lack of gravity in order to distribute water. They are also able to increase the plant’s oxygen exchange and provide sufficient room for root growth.

Red romaine lettuce was chosen for the testing because it has a baseline for its growth from several previous experiments in the Vegetable Production System (Veggie) where crew members grew and ate it in space. The plants are grown in mixtures of arcillite, a porous material. Prior to launch, the PONDS units are packed with arcilite and time-release fertilizer, just like you use in potting soil at home. In space, the PONDS units are placed in the Veggie facility and supplied with water to initiate plant growth. Observations on plant tissue samples will provide insight regarding any growth differences when compared with control plants grown on Earth. Additional tests aim to monitor the microbial changes that are present in space grown crops, providing baseline data for future food production eﬀorts.

VEG-PONDS-03 is a direct follow-on to the VEG-PONDS-01 and VEG-PONDS-02 hardware and plant growth validation tests. VEG-PONDS-01 tested growth of a single organism: Mizuna mustard. VEG-PONDS-03 now includes Dragoon Lettuce, Red Russian Kale, Extra Dwarf Pak Choi, Wasabi Mustard, and Red Romaine Lettuce. By demonstrating plant growth in this newly developed system, crew members may soon be able to grow even more crops, from new leafy greens to dwarf fruit plants in space.

Back on Earth, scientists are already exploring how the technology used in the Veggie plant growth facility could be adapted for use in roof top gardens in densely populated areas where there is little room for growing plants.

Principal Investigators: Howard G. Levine, Ph.D. NASA Kennedy Space Center Ye Zhang, Ph.D. NASA Kennedy Space Center

Developer: NASA Kennedy Space Center

Researching Cellular Response to Radiation

Of all the risks associated with long term space travel, one of the most hazardous is exposure to radiation – these invisible particles have sufficient energy to change or break DNA, which can damage or kill a cell. Too much exposure can lead to health problems ranging from short to long term effects. Radiation particles emanate from galactic cosmic rays originating outside our solar system, and by the Sun during solar flares. Crew members aboard the space station receive some protection from Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field, but radiation will become are much bigger challenge when they travel to the Moon or Mars

This illustration depicts the two main types of radiation and how the magnetic field around Earth affects the radiation in space near Earth. This life science and physical science research was funded by, or in collaboration with, the Space Life and Physical Science Research and Applications division at NASA headquarters.

To better understand the biological impact of space radiation on cells, NASA launched a long-term radiation exposure experiment called Evaluation of ISS Environmental Radiation Damage on Cryopreserved Mammalian Cells (Rad-Dorm) to the space station in late 2018 and will return aboard Dragon in April. Prior to launch, cryopreserved cells were placed into biological canisters. On board the space station, the canisters containing the frozen cells were placed in the Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer (MELFI) and then transferred to another even colder freezer at minus 160C. Scientists will analyze DNA damage and other cellular features to better understand how different cells respond to long duration exposure to space radiation.

This data will provide valuable information for evaluating the biological impact of true space radiation and assisting in radiation risk assessments. Also, it potentially will beneﬁt other radiation research on Earth, giving researchers a better understanding of how cells respond to exposure of different radiation sources.

Principal Investigator: Ye Zhang, Ph.D. NASA Kennedy Space Center

Co-Investigators: Abba C. Zubair, Ph.D. Mayo Clinic Jacksonville Honglu Wu, Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center

Hardware Developer: NASA Kennedy Space Center Jacobs (Test and Operations Support Contract)

Payload Developer: Jacobs (Test and Operations Support Contract) MEI Technologies

This life science and physical science research was funded by, or in collaboration with, the Space Life and Physical Science Research and Applications division at NASA headquarters.

Stay informed on other exciting SLPSRA research initiatives: https://science.nasa.gov/biological-physical

For daily updates, follow @ ISS_Research, Space Station Research and Technology News or our Facebook.

Follow the ISS National Lab for information on its sponsored investigations.

For opportunities to see the space station pass over your town, check out Spot the Station .

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International Space Station welcomes biological and physical science experiments

Compact robot takes flight to support ceriss initiative.

A grey space vehicle consisting of several attached sections; purple solar panels protrude from several of the sections.

Zero-Boil-Off Tank Experiments to Enable Long-Duration Space Exploration

Do we have enough fuel to get to our destination? This is probably one of the first questions that comes to mind whenever your family gets ready to embark on a road trip. If the trip is long, you will need to visit gas stations along your route to refuel during your travel. NASA is grappling with similar issues as it gets ready to embark on a sustainable mission back to the Moon and plans future missions to Mars.

Discover More Topics From NASA

James Webb Space Telescope

$The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.$

Perseverance Rover

Parker Solar Probe

Humans in Space

Earth & climate, the solar system, the universe, aeronautics, learning resources, news & events.

The top right corner of the image shows a nearly quarter-circle shaped piece of land, which is a brown-orange color. There are speckles of clouds covering the top right-most corner of the land. The rest of the image is taken up by ocean, showing the coast of the ocean where it meets the land. The ocean is split up into three segments, each colored differently, with the middle section the largest. The section to the left shows the ocean in true color. There are white wispy clouds covering parts of the ocean from top to bottom at the left-most side. The ocean itself is primarily a dark blue color, though at the top of the section, near the coastline, swirls of light blue, teal, and green begin to form – part of a phytoplankton bloom. The middle section of the image is shown in pink and green. The swirls of green are closer to the coastline, but spread outwards into the ocean, mixing in with the pink. The swirls of pink are farther away from the coast. The right section of the image is shown in several colors of the rainbow. Reds, yellows, and greens are closer to the shore while dark blues and purples are further out in the ocean.

NASA’s PACE Data on Ocean, Atmosphere, Climate Now Available

An Orion spacecraft is suspended by a crane mounted inside a building and hoisted for stacking atop another spacecraft component.

Altitude Chamber Gets Upgrade for Artemis II, Spacecraft Testing Begins

The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft sailing over Earth as the sun "rises" in the distance.

NASA Next-Generation Solar Sail Boom Technology Ready for Launch

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Water depths in Death Valley’s temporary lake ranged between about 3 feet (or 1 meter, shown in dark blue) to less than 1.5 feet (0.5 meters, light yellow) from February through early March. By measuring water levels from space, SWOT enabled research to calculate the depth.

SWOT Satellite Helps Gauge the Depth of Death Valley’s Temporary Lake

Black and white image of Earth with swirling white clouds and a dark shadow over North America from the Moon eclipsing the Sun.

NASA’s LRO Observes 2024 Solar Eclipse Shadow

NASA Selects New Crew for Next Simulated Mars Journey

A view of the cockpit of the Kraken, a device that can be configured to disorient those strapped inside. The parallel tracks on the left and right allow the cockpit to lurch forward and backward while it independently spins.

NASA Motion Sickness Study Volunteers Needed!

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Mission Overview

The Ocean Touches Everything: Celebrate Earth Day with NASA

Earth Day Poster 2024

The next full Moon is the Pink Moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon, Fish Moon, the Pesach or Passover Moon

The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA

Hubble Spots a Galaxy Hidden in a Dark Cloud

NASA’s TESS Temporarily Pauses Science Observations

NASA Names Finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge

Jake Revesz, an electronic systems engineer at NASA Langley Research Center, is pictured here prepping a UAS for flight. Jake is kneeling on pavement working with the drone. He is wearing a t-shirt, khakis, and a hard hat.

NASA Langley Team to Study Weather During Eclipse Using Uncrewed Vehicles

Illustration showing several future aircraft concepts flying over a mid-sized city with a handful of skyscrapers.

ARMD Solicitations

A silver aircraft model with eight propellors hovers in this image with green circles showing the motion of air moving around the propellor and blue waves flowing below showing the motion of air coming from the propellors down to the ground.

NASA Noise Prediction Tool Supports Users in Air Taxi Industry

Artists depiction of the Starshade spacecraft concept, showing a space telescope next to an unfurled light-blocking device

Tech Today: Folding NASA Experience into an Origami Toolkit

In this black-and-white photo, two male NASA employees wearing white protective gear work on a large piece of space hardware with thrusters attached. They are inside a large vacuum chamber.

NASA’s SERT II: ‘A Genuine Space Success Story’

Earth Day 2024: Posters and Virtual Backgrounds

NASA Partnerships Bring 2024 Total Solar Eclipse to Everyone

midframe portrait of Shawnta Ball against a gray backdrop

Shawnta M. Ball Turns Obstacles into Opportunities in Goddard’s Education Office

Emma Friedman, a NASA intern, is pictured here observing the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Emma is standing on a grassy field wearing a black shirt and special eclipse sunglasses. A blue sky can be seen behind her.

A Langley Intern Traveled 1,340 Miles to View a Total Solar Eclipse. Here’s What She Saw.

La presentación del X-59 de la NASA personifica la tradición aeronáutica

Nathan Cranford

Primary crew, alternate crew.

NASA has selected a new crew of four volunteers to participate in a simulated mission to Mars within a habitat at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekara will step into the agency’s Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA , on Friday, May 10. Once inside, the team will live and work like astronauts for 45 days. The crew will exit the facility on June 24 after they “return” to Earth. Jose Baca and Brandon Kent are this mission’s alternate crew members.

HERA enables scientists to study how crew members adapt to isolation, confinement, and remote conditions before NASA sends astronauts on deep space missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Crew members will carry out scientific research and operational tasks throughout their simulated mission to the Red Planet, including a “walk” on Mars’s surface using virtual reality. They will also experience increasing communication delays lasting up to five minutes each way with Mission Control Center as they “near” Mars.

This crew is the second group of volunteers to participate in a simulated Mars mission in HERA this year. The most recent crew completed its HERA mission on March 18. Two other missions will follow this year, with the final HERA crew slated to wrap up on Dec. 20.

In a first for HERA, one crew member, Shareef Al Romaithi, hails from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and will participate in the mission through a partnership between NASA and the UAE’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC).

As with the previous HERA mission this year, NASA’s Human Research Program is conducting 18 human health studies during the mission. The experiments will evaluate the physiological, behavioral, and psychological responses of crew members in an environment similar to what astronauts will face on a trip to Mars. Seven of these studies are collaborations with the MBRSC and the European Space Agency (ESA). Insights gleaned from the studies will allow researchers to develop and test strategies aimed at helping astronauts overcome obstacles on long missions deep into space.

The primary crew of the upcoming mission is:

Lee holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and master’s and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. His graduate research focused on manufacturing processes involving heat transfer and the characterization of heat shielding materials. He completed a postdoctoral degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studying high-strength nanofibers.

Lee lives in Boston. In his spare time, he enjoys running, martial arts, chess, and indoor rock climbing. He also likes to watch movies and plays, try new cuisines, spend time with friends, and visit his nephew and nieces.

Stephanie Navarro

Navarro earned her bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. While pursuing her undergraduate studies, she served the constituents of Florida as a congressional intern for both the U.S. House and Senate. She recently completed a model-based systems engineering certificate program from Caltech and is working toward a master’s degree in cybersecurity from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Born and raised by Ecuadorian parents in Miami, Navarro has strong ties to her cultural heritage. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling the world, studying for her pilot’s license, and immersing herself in various culinary experiences. During her spare time, she is either working out, at the beach, or in the air flying a Cessna 172. She lives in Orlando, Florida.

Shareef Al Romaithi

Al Romaithi received a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and three master’s degrees from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, focusing on aerospace and aviation management, safety systems, and space operations, respectively. He went on to earn a doctorate degree in aviation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2014, specializing in safety systems and human factors. These degrees were based at the university’s Dayton Beach campus, except for the master’s focusing on space operations, which was from the university’s worldwide campus. He is the world’s youngest and eighth graduate to attain a doctorate degree in aviation.

Al Romaithi currently lives in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He joins HERA through a partnership between NASA and MBRSC. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, reading, and traveling.

Piyumi Wijesekara

Wijesekara earned her bachelor’s degree in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego, and her master’s and doctorate degrees in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn. Her doctoral research focused on stem cell and organ engineering, with an emphasis on engineering lung models that mimic human lung physiology, to study respiratory diseases.

Wijesekara currently lives in San Francisco. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, running along the San Francisco Bay, reading, hiking, volunteering at the food pantry, and attending concerts and musicals.

Baca received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Instituto Tecnologico de Matamoros in Mexico. He then earned a master’s degree in mechatronics from the University of Applied Science of Aachen, Germany, and a doctorate degree in automation and robotics from the Universidad Politecnica in Madrid, Spain.

Baca went on to work as a postdoctoral researcher in the computer science department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. There, he became involved in a research project funded by NASA that sought to develop a reconfigurable robotic system capable of transforming itself to overcome obstacles and explore unknown scenarios. Through this work, he also began undertaking projects aimed at supporting astronauts during long-duration space missions.

In his free time, Baca promotes science, technology, engineering, and math activities for students in elementary school through college, with a particular focus on engineering and robotics. He lives in Corpus Christi, Texas and enjoys exercising, exploring new places, experiencing new cultures and cuisines, and spending time with family.

Brandon Kent

Kent holds bachelor’s degrees in both biochemistry and biology from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He earned his doctorate in biomedicine from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where his work primarily focused on how genetic factors regulate early embryonic development and cancer development.

Following graduate school, Kent moved into scientific and medical communications consulting in oncology, with a primary focus on clinical trial data disclosures, scientific exchange, and medical education initiatives.

Kent and his wife have two daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his daughters, flying private aircraft, hiking, staying physically fit, and reading. He lives in Kinnelon, New Jersey.

NASA’s Human Research Program

NASA’s Human Research Program , or HRP, pursues the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. Through science conducted in laboratories, ground-based analogs, and the International Space Station, HRP scrutinizes how spaceflight affects human bodies and behaviors. Such research drives HRP’s quest to innovate ways that keep astronauts healthy and mission-ready as space travel expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Explore More

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The ‘Wild West’ of space research

By jonathan o'callaghan | february 2024, as it stands, unregulated medical experiments could be conducted aboard the coming class of privately run space stations and capsules. a cadre of scientists and ethicists is sounding the alarm and suggesting solutions. jonathan o’callaghan looks at the issue..

Egbert Edelbroek wants to grow a baby in space. More specifically, his company, SpaceBorn United based in the Netherlands, wants to enable human conception in space by first growing human embryos off Earth.

“The long-term goal is to enable the full of cycle of nine months, floating childbirth in space,” says Edelbroek, the company’s founder and CEO. “But there’s a lot of homework before we can do something like this.”

Currently, the regulations around such experiments are vague. If conducted through NASA on the International Space Station, researchers would need to follow a set of rules to ensure scientific rigor. But the growing fleet of private space missions is opening up new avenues of unregulated, nongovernmental research — most notably on humans — and scientists and ethicists are beginning to take note.

“Unless there are public funds being used for that research, you can pretty much do what you want to humans,” says Dorit Donoviel, a space medicine academic and an associate professor in the Center for Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. Now, a group of 25 experts that includes legal scholars, a commercial space executive and Donoviel is calling for rules to be put in place to prepare for endeavors like SpaceBorn’s and those of other companies.

“We need ethics and we need guidelines,” says Donoviel. Otherwise, “It’s going to be the Wild West.”

For sure, the world of space research has shifted away from purely governmental research. Of the 12 spaceflight missions in 2023 that carried 57 humans to space, only five were government-led or sponsored. The rest were private spaceflights, conducted without the auspices of a body such as NASA. With private space missions continuing to come thick and fast, “now is the moment to begin to set up standards,” says Paul Wolpe, a member of the concerned group along with Donoviel and former senior bioethicist at NASA, who is now at the Emory University Center for Ethics in Georgia.

The proliferation of these nongovernmental missions raises “a bunch of different concerns,” says Michelle Hanlon, another member of the group and executive director of the Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi’s School of Law. “What if a commercial company says they’ll give you half price if you agree to this particular test on brainwaves?” says Hanlon. “That is epically alarming. What if a person says ‘I want to die in space’? What is the role of the state in terms of that person?”

While nothing quite so dramatic has happened yet, scientific research is already being conducted on private spaceflight missions without oversight. On the Inspiration4 orbital mission aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon in 2021, funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, the four astronauts — later awarded commercial space astronaut wings by FAA — took their own blood samples in space, among other experiments. The fact that this mission did not have to adhere to any ethical standards was a “watershed moment,” says Donoviel.

Research on private spaceflights continues to take place without oversight, though so far none of the experiments has particularly alarmed scientists. In November, a participant on a Virgin Galactic flight wore a sensor to monitor his own vital signs during the flight. In January, a SpaceX rocket and Crew Dragon capsule carried a crew of four European private sector astronauts and some 30 experiments to orbit for a docking with ISS. Axiom Space, whose chief scientist Lucie Low is one of the group of 25, said on its website that the experiments on the Ax-3 mission will “prioritize government-sponsored research.” The company also has plans to build a commercial space station, Axiom Station.

Other companies also are planning their own space stations, including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin with Sierra Space and the Denver startup Voyager Space with Airbus and Northrop Grumman. These, as well as Axiom Station, are partially funded by NASA and intended to replace ISS when it is retired around 2030, enabling both government and private astronauts to conduct research on board. That means research could take place again without oversight, like that which is already happening on private orbital and suborbital missions.

Traditionally, U.S. government-sponsored astronauts who conduct human biology research in space do so under the “Common Rule,” a federal policy that is actually a collection of multiple rules established to ensure science is both fair on human subjects and of a high standard.

“The Common Rule sets out very carefully how you do human subjects research,” says Wolpe. “You have to experiment on animals first. You have to do a risk benefit analysis. And you have to give astronauts the right to refuse participation without penalty.”

However, notes Wolpe, “none of those rules necessarily apply to a commercial space company because they don’t get federal money.” This means there is no current set of rules or guidelines, the Common Rule or otherwise, in place for such companies to follow to ensure their research is ethical and accurate. That could mean, for example, that a commercial space company could deny a flight for a would-be customer if that customer refused to partake in scheduled research. Wolpe says it was common for astronauts to request removal from certain experiments on NASA flights, with no penalty.

“It didn’t happen that often, but it did happen,” he says.

For their part, those space companies that responded to my inquiries suggested that they can be trusted to exercise proper judgment about ethics. Virgin Galactic said in emailed responses to my questions that all researchers it flies “are required to be affiliated with a credible research institute or government organization to ensure the research has been vetted and is credible.” The company added that “no spaceflight participants are required to undertake research on condition of flight” and ensures any research conducted “follows best ethical practices, is safe for spaceflight, and has the best possible chance of success.”

Axiom’s Low responded to my question in a November press conference as follows: “Axiom is extremely committed, not only to the health and safety of all our crew, but in upholding the most rigorous ethical principles for all of our research,” she said.

Blue Origin, SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, Sierra Space and Voyager Space did not respond to my queries on how they would address these issues.

The group of 25 suggests that sound ethical standards don’t just emerge from good will. In October, Donoviel, Hanlon, Low, Wolpe and 21 other experts published an opinion piece, “Ethically cleared to launch? Rules are needed for human research in commercial spaceflight,” in the journal Science, and it was shared on NASA’s website.

The article, stemmed from a meeting in New York earlier in 2023 arranged by Baylor College of Medicine, “is about developing an ethical framework for the responsible conduct of research with humans in space,” says Vasiliki Nataly Rahimzadeh, an assistant professor at the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor and the article’s lead author. “It’s an industry that’s currently in regulatory flux in the U.S.”

That flux comes from not only the rise in commercial spaceflights, but a 20-year moratorium that prevented FAA from establishing regulations related to the safety of passengers aboard private spacecraft. That moratorium expired Jan. 1, but a bill introduced in the House of Representatives in September by then-U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) proposes to restore the moratorium and extend it to 2031.

In the article, Rahimzadeh and her colleagues say an “ethical framework based on terrestrial human research” is needed to ensure that commercial research in space is socially responsible, takes the consent of the participant into account, and maximizes its benefit to society. Scientific excellence must also be ensured. “Poorly designed, duplicative, and low-priority studies beget poor-quality data,” the authors say.

Donoviel puts it more succinctly: “There’s a lot of garbage science that people do in space,” she told me.

Donoviel is aware of the desire by companies such as SpaceBorn to explore embryo growth and conception in space. “Having a baby in space concerns me quite a bit,” she wrote in a follow-up email. “‘Normal’ embryonic development will likely require gravity. How much gravity is minimally needed is yet to be determined. And even if an embryo develops ‘normally’ in space, we may not see abnormalities until later. Will we be creating a new race of humans that are adapted to space only and have a difficult time living on Earth?”

Yet there is research that could be conducted on private spaceflights that would prove more obviously worthwhile to Donoviel. One such area is on SANS, Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome.

“What astronauts have noticed is as they go to space, their vision changes, the shape of their eyeball changes,” says Donoviel. “It’s got to do with fluids and pressures and the lack of gravity basically redistributing how the body deals with extra fluid.”

The ailment can be researched but involves an injection into the spine, which is not possible in space without proper equipment and a skilled neurologist. On missions to ISS, it would not be possible to do the injection before launch; such missions last for six months, which carries a risk of infection for the astronaut if the injection is left untreated. But on shorter private missions, lasting days, such an experiment is more viable.

“If you’re a company flying a private individual not going to the ISS, you could do this experiment,” says Donoviel.

In Wolpe’s view, it would make sense for companies to proactively adopt the guidelines and standards in the Common Rule to outflank any potential issues that may arise from using spaceflight participants to conduct research in space.

“A smart company will follow the Common Rule voluntarily,” he says. “Because if they are sued, they’ll be able to say, ‘We followed the standard procedures.’ If they don’t, a plaintiff will be able to say they cut corners.”

Another question is whether research conducted on commercial missions will be open to the scientific community or kept proprietary and under wraps, whether those are medical or other experiments.

“Now you’ve got multiple actors competing against each other,” says Wolpe. “There’s no law that you can’t rent a flight to do experiments on and keep that information proprietary forever.” (Virgin Galactic, for its part, says it is the role of the researchers it flies to “determine whether their science is open access or not.”)

Yet there are potential benefits to encouraging robust science to take place on commercial missions. Wolpe notes that our immune system, digestion and more are all affected by microgravity, and studying these processes on more and more missions can better prepare humans for a continued presence off Earth.

“Our bodies were not made to be in space,” he says.

Even growing embryos in space could have its uses. Edelbroek notes that by studying embryo development in orbit, it might be possible to improve the chances of successful in vitro fertilization on the ground.

“We want to improve life on Earth,” he says. “The different gravity levels in space are expected to result in benefits that are transferable to improve IVF treatments and hardware.”

For the time being, practically anything is open for consideration for commercial spaceflight missions. The goal now for the group of 25 is to make sure proper procedures are in place, whether voluntarily or more formally, to protect both commercial spaceflight participants and the scientific process.

“We cannot afford to waste resources on less-than-rigorous science,” says Rahimzadeh.

About Jonathan O'Callaghan

Jonathan is a London-based space and science journalist who specializes in covering commercial spaceflight, space exploration and astrophysics. A regular contributor to Scientific American and New Scientist, his work has also appeared in Forbes, The New York Times, Wired and elsewhere.

Lessons from the space shuttle

Cat hofacker, february 1, 2024.

Collision avoidance for air taxis

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Solar eclipse 2024: Follow the path of totality

Solar eclipse, hundreds of balloons go airborne to witness the eclipse from the edge of space.

Geoff Brumfiel

Hundreds of balloons are being launched into the path of the eclipse as part of a program to educate students. Meredith Rizzo for NPR hide caption

Hundreds of balloons are being launched into the path of the eclipse as part of a program to educate students.

For millions of Americans, spring weather is making this eclipse a nail-biter: Will clouds spoil their view?

But that's not the case for the roughly 650 balloons being launched today by the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project . The high-altitude balloons are traveling at altitudes anywhere between 70,000 and 115,000 feet. Those altitudes are more than twice that of commercial airlines and far above the cloud tops. (The balloons are also made of biodegradable latex, so they won't harm the environment).

On eclipse day, hundreds of students will send up balloons for science

On board are instruments built primarily by undergraduate science and engineering students. Teams from more than 75 institutions are launching balloons from points all along the path of totality.

The eclipse offers a unique opportunity to study the atmosphere, says Mary Bowden, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Maryland. The moon's shadow cools a column of air that will move from south to north across the U.S., mixing things up.

"The eclipse itself is kind of stirring up the atmosphere as it traverses across the country," Bowden says. "What we're looking for is the signature, or the effect, of the movement of the shadow."

Students prepare a practice balloon for launch late last month. The ballooning project offers an opportunity for them to learn many skills they might someday use for space probes and satellites. Meredith Rizzo for NPR hide caption

Students prepare a practice balloon for launch late last month. The ballooning project offers an opportunity for them to learn many skills they might someday use for space probes and satellites.

The balloon project also offers a unique opportunity for students to learn how to build things that must operate in extreme environments, work in a large group and troubleshoot problems on the fly — all skills that could someday be used for everything from satellites to deep space exploration.

The Maryland team will launch its balloons from Portland, Ind. It hopes to share views from above on a livestream .

"Hopefully we'll have livestream video from the balloon in flight," says Daniel Grammer, a junior who will direct today's balloon launch for the team. "You'll see the shadow move across the Earth, and it'll be super cool to look at."

NPR will be sharing highlights from across the NPR Network throughout the day if you're unable to get out and see it in real time.

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University of Maryland

College of Engineering

Georgia tech ai makerspace.

Using an approach unlike any other in higher education, Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering has created a digital sandbox for students to understand and use artificial intelligence in the classroom.

The AI Makerspace is a supercomputer hub that gives students access to computing resources typically available only to researchers or tech companies. It means hands-on experience for our students, deepening their skills and preparing them to be the new generation of AI professionals.

With the resources in the AI Makerspace, the College can redesign courses to incorporate practical AI tools and develop new ones that impart the essential principles of AI to all students.

The initiative is in collaboration with NVIDIA , one of the country’s largest suppliers of AI hardware and software — and a substantial investment. Students and faculty receive support through NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute resources, including faculty-run NVIDIA workshops, certifications, a university ambassador program, curriculum-aided teaching kits, and a developer community network.

The AI Makerspace also enables Georgia Tech to enhance or redesign courses to incorporate practical AI tools, along with develop new courses — both foundational and advanced — that impart the essential principles of AI to all students. The partnership between Georgia Tech and NVIDIA signifies a substantial investment. The allocated funds will be utilized for technology, including NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs), and infrastructure. S tudents and faculty will receive support through NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute resources, including faculty-run NVIDIA workshops, certifications, a university ambassador program, curriculum-aided teaching kits, and a developer community network.

The collaboration is part of the College’s commitment to nurturing a vibrant AI-powered university that will shape the future generation of AI professionals.

Dean Raheem Beyah looks at computer servers in the AI Makerspace

Georgia Tech Unveils New AI Makerspace

By giving students access to powerful supercomputers, Georgia Tech will teach AI to undergraduates in a way unlike any other university in the nation.

What Sets the Georgia Tech AI Makerspace Apart?

person typing on computer with graphics of AI

Educational Empowerment

In an era where AI is increasingly ingrained in our daily lives, the AI Makerspace democratizes access to heavyweight computing resources.

Training the AI Workforce

The AI Makerspace takes a dedicated approach to workforce development through curriculum-based study as well as independent exploration.

National Security

Harnessing the power of AI is a strategic imperative for national security. As nations strive to secure their positions as global leaders in the field, investing in AI education is critical for U.S. competitiveness.

student and faculty member working with simulator

Interdisciplinary Focus

The AI Makerspace offers a unique opportunity for students to harness the power of AI technologies in ways that extend beyond traditional computing applications.

The Georgia Tech AI Makerspace is a dedicated computing cluster paired with NVIDIA AI Enterprise software. The software technology resides on an advanced AI infrastructure that is designed, built, and deployed by Penguin Solutions , providing a virtual gateway to a high-performance computing environment.

The first phase of the endeavor is powered by 20 NVIDIA HGX H100 systems, housing 160 NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs, one of the most powerful computational accelerators capable of enabling and supporting advanced AI and machine learning efforts. The system is interconnected with an NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking platform, featuring in-network computing.

Infrastructure support is led by Georgia Tech’s Partnership for an Advanced Computing Environment (PACE) .

It would take a single NVIDIA H100 GPU one second to come up with a multiplication operation that would take Georgia Tech’s 50,000 students 22 years to achieve.

20 NVIDIA H100-HGX servers, each with:

8 x NVIDIA H100 GPUs (SXM5 form-factor)
2 x 32-Core Intel Sapphire Rapids CPUs (2.8 GHz)
2TB 4800 MHz DDR5 DRAM
3 x 3.84 TB NVMe storage
1 x ConnectX-7 IB NIC (400 Gbps)

Total System:

160 NVIDIA H100 GPUs
1,280 Intel Sapphire Rapids CPU cores
40TB 4800 MHz DDR5 DRAM
230.4 TB NVMe storage

Frequently Asked Questions

What are gpus and cpus.

GPUs (graphics processing units) are specialized processors designed to handle certain complex computations efficiently, commonly used in tasks such as rendering high-resolution graphics and performing parallel computations in fields like machine learning and artificial intelligence. CPUs (central processing units) are the central component of a computer responsible for executing instructions, managing tasks, and coordinating the operation of various hardware components, serving as the brain of the computer.

GPUs have become prominent due to their exceptional parallel processing capabilities, which make them highly efficient for high-performance computing (HPC) tasks. Additionally, advancements in GPU technology have led to significant improvements in graphics rendering, gaming experiences, and visual computing applications, further driving their prominence in various industries and fields.

How many GPUs are in the Georgia Tech AI Makerspace and what makes them important?

Phase I of the Georgia Tech AI Makerspace comprises a total of 160 NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs. 20 NVIDIA H100-HGX servers contain 8 GPUs each. The benefit of GPUs is that they provide extremely performant accelerators designed specifically for AI, with a very large unified memory space that can accommodate very big models.

It’s also noteworthy that an important capability of AI is low-precision performance. These nodes provide roughly 640 petaflops (PF) of theoretical 8-bit floating-point for 8-bit integer (FP8/INT8) capability, combined with the 640 gigabytes of GPU memory per server.

Why are there both GPUs and CPUs in the Georgia Tech AI Makerspace?

CPUs and GPUs are optimized for different kinds of calculations, so it’s useful to have both available. Optimized software will perform certain steps of code on the CPU and others on the GPU to maximize performance.

CPUs are “standard” general-purpose chips that work well for many calculations. GPUs are specialized. A server cannot run without a CPU. The CPU handles all the tasks required for all software on the server to run correctly.

GPUs are accelerators with more focused computational hardware that rely on a separate host system to operate.

Who will manage the infrastructure of the AI Makerspace?

The AI Makerspace infrastructure will be supported by Georgia Tech’s Partnership for an Advanced Computing Environment (PACE). PACE provides sustainable leading-edge Research Computing and Data (RCD) cyberinfrastructure, software, and support for research and education requiring high performance computing and other advanced research computing infrastructure.

PACE is a collaboration between Georgia Tech faculty and the Office of Information Technology (OIT) focused on HPC.

Is the AI Makerspace scalable?

Yes. Each GPU can be physically partitioned into 7 GPUs (with 1/8 the capability of the whole). With 160 total GPUs, the AI Makerspace can provide 1,120 concurrent GPUs to allow large numbers of students access simultaneously.

How much power does the AI Makerspace require?

The new servers will draw about 140kW of power, compared to the 800kW PACE’s five existing clusters draw.

The theoretical 64-bit performance of the new hardware is 5.5 PF (petaflops, a measurement of computer speed of performing calculations). The existing PACE clusters altogether have about 4-4.5 PF of performance. This means that the new servers are significantly more energy efficient for the same computational capability than older systems.

Minor Degree in AI and Machine Learning Available Summer 2024

The new minor degree program is a partnership between the College of Engineering and the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, teaching AI technical skills alongside ethics and policy considerations.

College Adds, Reimagines AI Courses for Undergraduates

In response to demand from its students, initiatives within faculty research, and increasing needs from industry, the College has created and reimagined more than a dozen courses to strengthen its AI and machine learning education.

IMAGES

Research
Science in Short: A Milestone in Human Research
Twins Double the Data for Space Station Research
February 2016
ISRO: The Indian Space Research Organization
NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 6 August, 2020

COMMENTS

Space research
Space research is scientific study carried out in outer space, and by studying outer space. From the use of space technology to the observable universe, space research is a wide research field. Earth science, materials science, biology, medicine, and physics all apply to the space research environment.
Why Go to Space
An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the International Space Station, and two dozen countries have signed the Artemis Accords, signaling their commitment to shared values for long-term human exploration and research at the Moon. Through space exploration, we gain a new perspective to study Earth and the ...
NASA Astrophysics
The universe is everything. It includes all of space, matter, energy, time, and you. NASA's Astrophysics Division is dedicated to exploring the universe, pushing the boundaries of what is known of the cosmos, and sharing its discoveries with the world. The Division continues expanding humanity's understanding of how the universe began and evolved, how it […]
NASA
Earth Information Center. For more than 50 years, NASA satellites have provided data on Earth's land, water, air, temperature, and climate. NASA's Earth Information Center allows visitors to see how our planet is changing in six key areas: sea level rise and coastal impacts, health and air quality, wildfires, greenhouse gases, sustainable energy, and agriculture.
Latest News from Space Station Research
Optical fibers are used on Earth and in space for applications in medicine, defense, cybersecurity, and telecommunications. Parabolic research showed that optical fibers produced in microgravity can be higher quality than those made in normal gravity, and the International Space Station provides a potential platform for commercial production of these fibers.
NASA Science
Welcome to our NASA Science website. A gateway to our missions, research, and engagement efforts. The Science Mission Directorate inspires the learners of today and develops the leaders of tomorrow. One of our key strategies is to purposefully and actively engage with audiences and learners of all ages to share the story of NASA's integrated ...
ESA
About research in space. Orbiting our planet in an extended free-fall, astronauts on the International Space Station live in microgravity. Through the astronauts up there, scientists are conducting pioneering investigations, testing theories, and pushing the boundaries of our knowledge. Research in space improves our life on Earth.
NASA's Webb Probes an Extreme Starburst Galaxy
A team of astronomers has used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to survey the starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82). Located 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, this galaxy is relatively compact in size but hosts a frenzy of star formation activity. For comparison, M82 is sprouting new stars 10 times faster than the Milky Way galaxy.
Space Exploration
SpaceX lost both the booster and vehicle in a test launch of its massive Starship rocket. But the third try was the charm for Starship, which smoothly separated in its most successful flight to ...
ISS Research Program
The International Space Station (ISS) is an orbiting laboratory that provides an ideal facility to conduct long-duration experiments in the near absence of gravity and allows continuous and interactive research similar to Earth-based laboratories. This enables scientists to pursue innovations and discoveries not currently achievable by other means.
Space exploration
Space exploration, investigation, by means of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft, of the reaches of the universe beyond Earth's atmosphere and the use of the information so gained to increase knowledge of the cosmos and benefit humanity. ... In the years after World War II, governments assumed a leading role in the support of research that ...
The 10 biggest space science stories of 2021
Solar system surveys have revealed new moons and massive comets previously lurking undetected by scientists. The sun has also been a main attraction for research as it reawakens from its recent ...
Space
Space During the awe of totality, scientists studied our planet's reactions Earth's atmosphere was a big area of focus for scientists studying the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
Sounds of the stars: how scientists are listening in on space
Research funders and publishers need to take note, and support interdisciplinary efforts that are simultaneously more innovative and inclusive. Sonification and sound design for astronomy research ...
Space and Astronomy
Breaking news, videos and photos on space and astronomy, including NASA, SpaceX, black holes, the moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the International Space Station, the ...
Space News, Exploration & Discoveries
Space News. Find all the latest space news right now on SciTechDaily, your ultimate gateway to the cosmos and its countless wonders. We provide you with up-to-date information on the latest discoveries, innovations, and research in space exploration, astronomy, and astrophysics. Our expertly curated content covers a diverse range of topics ...
What We Learned from Scientific Investigations on the Space ...
The International Space Station, in its third decade of continuous human presence, has far-reaching impact as a microgravity lab hosting technology demonstrations and scientific investigations from a range of fields. Between Oct. 1, 2021 and Sept. 30, 2022, researchers published more than 400 scientific papers based on studies conducted aboard ...
Station Orbits into Eclipse, Crew Works Research and Spacesuits
The International Space Station soared into the Moon's shadow during the solar eclipse on Monday afternoon. The Expedition 71 crew members had an opportunity to view the shadow at the end of their workday filled with cargo transfers, spacesuit maintenance, and microgravity research.
Research Topics List
Research Topics List. JPL's charter is to conduct robotic space missions for NASA, to explore our own and neighboring planetary systems, understand the origin and evolution of the universe and make critical measurements to understand our home planet and help protect it. We do this by developing integrated capabilities in engineering, science ...
Orbital Reef and commercial low Earth orbit destinations—upcoming space
As the International Space Station comes to the end of a transformative era of in-space research, NASA's Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destinations (CLD) Program aims to catalyze a new ...
Space Exploration and Satellites
Space travel and exploration have opened up new frontiers and possibilities for humanity, from the first manned mission to the moon in 1969 to the ongoing efforts to send humans to Mars. In addition to manned missions, we have also sent satellites into orbit around the Earth. These satellites serve various purposes that have revolutionized our ...
Open science in space
Medical research in space has two goals: to enable people to travel safely in low Earth orbit, to the Moon, and then to Mars and back; and to improve health on Earth through discoveries made in ...
What are the benefits of Space Research?
Medical Research - many of the experiments that were done in the shuttle and other space stations have led to the development of new drugs and surgical techniques. Materials Technology - some of the new materials that have been developed have proved enormously useful in other fields, e.g. the super heat resistant tiles used on the space ...
Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications SpaceX-20
Research on physical science and life sciences in space allows humans to both expand their knowledge of space and enhance their economic vitality on Earth. A series of physical science experiments testing micro gravity properties in space are driving global advances in science and technology. Through a number of innovative biological experiments, NASA is also […]
NASA Selects New Crew for Next Simulated Mars Journey
NASA has selected a new crew of four volunteers to participate in a simulated mission to Mars within a habitat at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston.. Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekara will step into the agency's Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, on Friday, May 10.Once inside, the team will live and work like astronauts for 45 days.
Advances in Space Research
The Official Journal of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), an interdisciplinary scientific committee of the International Science Council (ISC). The COSPAR publication Advances in Space Research (ASR) is an open journal covering all areas of space research including: space studies of the Earth's surface, meteorology, climate, the Earth-Moon system, planets and small bodies of the solar ...
The 'Wild West' of space research
Otherwise, "It's going to be the Wild West.". For sure, the world of space research has shifted away from purely governmental research. Of the 12 spaceflight missions in 2023 that carried 57 humans to space, only five were government-led or sponsored. The rest were private spaceflights, conducted without the auspices of a body such as NASA.
Hundreds of balloons go airborne to witness the eclipse from the edge
Hundreds of balloons go airborne to witness the eclipse from the edge of space : Solar eclipse 2024: Follow the path of totality A NASA-backed program to launch research balloons is designed to ...
Georgia Tech AI Makerspace
The Georgia Institute of Technology, also known as Georgia Tech, is a top-ranked public college and one of the leading research universities in the USA. Georgia Tech provides a technologically focused education to more than 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students in fields ranging from engineering, computing, and sciences, to business, design, and liberal arts. Georgia Tech's wide variety ...