A Year of Space-Based Innovation: ISS National Lab Sponsored More Than 100 Payloads in 2024, Advancing R&D in Low Earth Orbit
The ISS National Lab supported 110 payloads that launched to the orbiting outpost over seven missions this year, enabling discoveries for terrestrial benefit
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a robust year for space-based research, the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory supported the launch of 110 payloads across seven missions, facilitating science and technology research and development (R&D) that pushes the limits of innovation. Projects sponsored by the ISS National Lab this year enabled advancements in biotechnology, fundamental science, advanced materials, in-space manufacturing, and other areas. Companies, academic institutions, and government agencies continue to leverage the unique space environment to conduct R&D that brings value to humanity, validates new technologies and capabilities in space, and drives business models in low Earth orbit.
ISS National Lab-sponsored payloads launched to the space station on four NASA-funded Commercial Resupply Services missions, two astronaut crew missions through NASA, and one private astronaut mission from Axiom Space.
Below are a few highlights from the year in space:
-- Several projects that launched in 2024 focused on in-space
manufacturing, an area of strategic importance for the ISS National Lab
and NASA.
-- Building on the successful 3D printing of a human meniscus on the
ISS, Redwire Corporation's BioFabrication Facility (BFF) printed
test patches of cardiac tissues that could one day be used for drug
testing and tissue repair for patients on Earth.
-- Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly and Company utilized a
manufacturing platform Redwire developed called the Pharmaceutical
In-space Laboratory (PIL) Bio-crystal Optimization eXperiment (BOX)
to crystallize small organic molecules in microgravity with
promising results. Essentially a "lab-in-a-box," the PIL-BOX
facility enables pharmaceutical companies and researchers to grow
small-batch crystals for protein-based pharmaceuticals that may lead
to more effective therapeutics for patients on Earth.
-- Flawless Photonics launched technology for manufacturing high-value
ZBLAN optical fiber in microgravity. ZBLAN can perform up to 100
times better than the silica fibers commonly used to connect our
digital world today. The company produced more than seven miles
(11.9 km) of optical fiber on station that is now being evaluated on
Earth.
-- Researchers from LambdaVision continued to leverage the ISS National
Lab in their quest to manufacture an artificial retina to restore
significant vision in patients with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare
genetic disorder that causes vision loss. LambdaVision sent its
ninth investigation to the space station earlier this year. The
company is one of the growing number of organizations launching
multiple investigations that build on previous space-based results.
-- Several projects that launched this year validated valuable new
technologies.
-- The ArgUS platform, developed by Airbus U.S. Space and Defense,
Inc., launched to the space station and supported its first projects
in the Bartolomeo external hosting platform. ArgUS expands access to
the space station's unprecedented vantage point and extreme
environment for materials and remote sensing projects, enabling
multiple missions related to Earth observation, robotics, materials
science, and astrophysics.
-- NASA's Astrobees, three free-flying robots on the space station
designed to test technology and assist astronauts with routine
duties, had a busy year. For example, Kall Morris used the Astrobees
to simulate an active debris removal mission using its REACCH
capture system, while Boeing and CSIRO (an Australian government
agency responsible for scientific research) tested a novel 3D
mapping technology to produce detailed maps of remote environments.
-- The Malta College of Arts, Sciences, and Technology tested its
ASTROBEAT cold welding technology in an investigation designed to
simulate the repair of a spacecraft hull damaged from a
hypervelocity impact in space. The project seeks to establish cold
welding as a new tool for in-space repair, significantly boosting
the durability of spacecraft and the safety of crewed missions while
addressing the growing concern of space debris.
-- Axiom Space launched its third private astronaut mission (Ax-3) in 2024,
demonstrating the expansion of R&D on station with new participants in
the growing low Earth orbit economy. The mission featured a variety of
projects sponsored by the ISS National Lab.
-- The Sanford Stem Cell Institute at the University of California, San
Diego continued to build on stem cell research conducted on previous
Axiom Space missions by studying tumor organoids in microgravity.
The team seeks to identify early cancer warning signs for better
diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
-- An investigation from the National Stem Cell Foundation evaluated 3D
brain models derived from induced pluripotent stem cells of patients
with Parkinson's disease and primary progressive multiple sclerosis.
The project studied the mechanisms behind these and other
neurodegenerative diseases, and results may help lead to new
therapeutics for patients on Earth.
-- The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has a longstanding
partnership with the ISS National Lab to advance fundamental research on
station that could lead to valuable future applications. In 2024, NSF
funded 12 investigations that flew to the orbiting laboratory, ranging
from tissue engineering to transport phenomena and fluid dynamics.
-- A project from Florida International University studied the behavior
of tiny, engineered particles dispersed in a liquid to form an
active colloid. Results could inform a variety of applications, from
targeted drug delivery to disease screening, water desalination, and
photothermal therapies to treat cancer and other diseases.
-- An investigation from the University of Connecticut leveraged
microgravity conditions on the space station to test an innovative
DNA-inspired Janus base nanomaterial that may help repair cartilage.
Results from this investigation could lead to improved treatments
for patients with degenerative joint diseases.
-- A team from the University of Notre Dame launched the third in a
series of experiments to understand bubble formation in microgravity
to develop extremely sensitive biosensors for detecting trace
substances in liquids. Results from this research could lead to new
sensor technology for detecting early cancer markers in blood.
-- The ISS National Lab continued its mission to prepare the scientists and
engineers of the future by supporting science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM) educational programs and workforce development
with a number of projects that launched to the space station in 2024.
-- Genes in Space launched its 11(th) student investigation, a gene
editing experiment from Isabel Jiang, now a freshman at Yale
University. The project investigated the effects of radiation and
the space environment on gene editing mechanisms. Results could shed
light on genetic risks for certain diseases during spaceflight.
-- The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program sent its 18(th) mission
to the orbiting laboratory, engaging students from 38 communities in
the scientific process to spark an interest in STEM career fields.
2024 proved to be an exciting year of launches and research on the space station. The ISS National Lab and NASA continue to work in tandem to launch payloads that benefit humanity and bring value to our nation. To learn more about research and technology development projects sponsored by the ISS National Lab, including how to propose concepts for future space-based research, visit our website.
Download a high-resolution image for this release: The International Space Station
About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory:
The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Laboratory(®) allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve quality of life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology, and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space(TM) (CASIS(®)) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative Agreement with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit our website.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, CASIS(®) accepts corporate and individual donations to help advance science in space for the benefit of humanity. For more information, visit our donations page.
Media Contact:
Patrick O'Neill
904-806-0035
PONeill@ISSNationalLab.org
International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory
Managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS)
1005 Viera Blvd., Suite 101, Rockledge, FL 32955 -- 321.253.5101 -- www.ISSNationalLab.org
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-year-of-space-based-innovation-iss-national-lab-sponsored-more-than-100-payloads-in-2024-advancing-rd-in-low-earth-orbit-302336489.html
SOURCE International Space Station National Lab
