2.01.2021

It has been a busy year of research aboard the International Space Station. In November, we celebrated the 20th year of continuous human presence aboard the space station, which so far has hosted 242 people and more than 3,000 science experiments. During the past year, research has ranged from growing radishes in microgravity to capturing 360-degree footage of life aboard station to monitoring our planet. The crew aboard station increased to a record number of seven concurrent long-duration crew members thanks to the Commercial Crew Program. This increase creates more time for conducting research which benefits people on Earth while helping prepare us to explore farther into space.

Look at some of the breakthrough investigations crew members worked on in 2020:

A 360 view of space station life

 

The crews aboard the space station this past year have been both the videographers for and subjects of a virtual reality production known as The ISS Experience. The ISS Experience has captured life aboard the orbiting laboratory to create a cinematic virtual reality experience. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir can be seen in the background swapping media that nourishes bone samples inside the Life Science Glovebox.

Buzzing around station

 

The astronauts and cosmonauts are not the only busy bees on the orbiting laboratory. The space station also is abuzz with robotic assistants – Astrobees. Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy powered up two of three free-flying robots to perform readiness tests for the Kibo Robot Programming Challenge. The challenge gives students the chance to try out their own computer code on these autonomous robots. The Astrobees are equipped with cameras and sensors to help with on-orbit operations such as monitoring, sampling, and other routine tasks to free up more crew time for critical science.

Peeking out the window

 

Meir and NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan take photos of Earth through the space station’s WORF window. WORF provides a facility for remote sensing instruments that study our planet as well as hand-held astronaut photography.

A tool for testing

 

This image shows the deployment of the STPSat-4 satellite. The satellite includes space weather sensors, solar panels, an antenna array, and devices for tracking the location of satellites and their astronomic surroundings. This project demonstrates how nanosatellite platforms can integrate a range of new technologies.

Turned around

 

Cassidy prepares the VECTION investigation, a study examining how lack of gravity disrupts a person’s ability to visually interpret motion, orientation, and distance. A better understanding of the vestibular system of astronauts and its involvement in sensory perception – learning when and how to trust their eyes, touch, and other senses – could help humans in a range of environments.

Keeping it cool

 

One of the final experiments NASA astronaut Christina Koch worked on before returning to Earth on her record breaking mission, the Cold Atom Lab enables research into the quantum effects of gases chilled to nearly absolute zero. This study can provide insight into fundamental laws of quantum mechanics and support the development of technologies such as ultraprecise sensing and timekeeping.

Bubbles that could improve medicine delivery

 

While many experiments on the space station can be conducted without astronaut monitoring, others require crew members to swap out pieces throughout the process. Cassidy, alongside Demo-2 astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, worked on numerous sample switch outs for the Electrolysis Measurement experiment, which looks at bubbles created using electrolysis. Bubbles may seem simple, but using this method to better understand how they grow could improve devices like medicine delivery skin patches.

Get a GRIP

 

Only a few days after arriving on the space station, NASA astronaut Victor Glover performs the ESA (European Space Agency) GRIP experiment. The investigation studies effects of long-duration spaceflight on astronauts’ ability to regulate grip force and the paths of their upper limbs when manipulating objects. Data from the GRIP experiments may be used to identify potential hazards for astronauts as they move between gravitational environments.

Have a heart

 

 

Meir and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins both worked on heart research during their time on station. Meir conducted the Engineered Heart Tissues experiment, which could be an effective tool for better understanding cardiac function and may prove useful for drug development and other applications related to cardiac dysfunction on Earth. Rubins conducted the Cardinal Heart study, which seeks to help scientists understand the aging and weakening of heart muscles in order to provide new treatments for humans on Earth and astronauts in space.

Picturing our planet

 

Crew Earth Observations uses photos taken by astronauts to record how the planet changes over time from human-caused changes, such as urban growth and reservoir construction, to natural dynamic events. Images like this can also assist with disaster response back on Earth. The top image taken by Morgan shows the Dead Sea from the perspective of the space station. The bottom image taken by Cassidy shows Hurricane Laura off the coast of the Texas-Louisiana border.

Creating droplets in microgravity

 

Behnken conducts the Droplet Formation study inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox. This experiment evaluates water droplet formation and water flow from Delta Faucet’s H2Okinetic showerhead. Research in microgravity could help improve the technology, creating better performance and improved user experience while conserving water and energy.

A rad(ish) harvest

 

 

Over the course of 27 days, Rubins tended to and harvested a crop of radishes as a part of the Plant Habitat-02experiment. The study could help optimize plant growth in the unique environment of space as well as evaluation of nutrition and taste of the plants. Radishes were selected because they are a model plant that is nutritious and edible, has a short cultivation time, and is genetically similar to Arabidopsis, a plant frequently studied in microgravity.

Safe robotic storage

 

Launched aboard the 19th SpaceX commercial resupply mission, RiTS serves as a protective storage unit for critical robotic tools. Cassidy worked alongside Behken and Hurley to prepare RiTS for installation during a spacewalk. RiTS’s first residents are two Robotic External Leak Locators (RELL).  A RELL is a “sniffer” designed to help mission operators detect the location of external ammonia leaks on space station and rapidly confirm a successful repair. RELL is a result of a successful technology demonstration aboard station. The technology proved fully capable, so a second RELL was also launched to be stored in RiTS.

Future space travel

 

Roscosmos cosmonauts Ivan Vagner (foreground) and Anatoly Ivanishin are pictured inside the Zvezda service module. Vagner is wearing Neurolab hardware for the Russian Pilot-T experiment that explores how space travelers may pilot future spacecraft on planetary missions.

Putting materials to the test

 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi reviews procedures for external experiment hardware for the MISSE Flight Facility from inside the Kibo laboratory module's airlock. The platform provides the ability to test materials, coatings, and components or other larger experiments in the harsh environment of space,

Decoding DNA

 

NASA astronaut and Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy works inside the Harmony module servicing microbial DNA samples for sequencing and identification. Rubins first sequenced DNA aboard the space station in 2016. Work by Cassidy and Rubins this year built on that research.

A new Dragon arrives

 

SpaceX’s upgraded Dragon cargo capsule made its inaugural trip to the space station in December, carrying numerous new science experiments to microgravity. This 21st SpaceX cargo resupply mission carried a new airlock and studies of heart tissue, brain organoids, biomining in space, and more. The upgraded capsule enables an increase in the research that can be carried to and returned from station.

Scientific samples

 

Cassidy shows off the blood, saliva, urine, and fecal samples he collected as a part of the Food Physiologyexperiment. This investigation aims to document the effect of dietary improvements on human physiology and the ability of those improvements to enhance adaptation to spaceflight.

Echo echo echo

 

The walls of some blood vessels may become thicker and stiffer in space. To better understand the effects of spaceflight on this process, Meir used an ultrasound to monitor her blood vessels as a part of the Vascular Echoexperiment.

Want to see more space station pictures? Check out our science photo highlights from 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Erin Winick

International Space Station Program Research Office

Quelle: NASA