posted 09-10-2009 01:55 PM               

NASA Publishes Report about Space Station Science

Advances in the fight against food poisoning, new methods for delivering medicine to cancer cells, and better materials for future spacecraft are among the results published in a NASA report detailing scientific research accomplishments made aboard the International Space Station during its first eight years.

The report includes more than 100 science experiments ranging from bone studies to materials' research.

"This report represents a record of science accomplishments during assembly and summarizes peer-reviewed publications to date," said Julie Robinson, program scientist for the station at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "As we enter the final year of station assembly, this report highlights the capabilities and opportunities for space station research after assembly is complete."

One of the most compelling results reported is the confirmation that the ability of common germs to cause disease increases during spaceflight, but that changing the growth environment of the bacteria can control this virulence. The Effect of Spaceflight on Microbial Gene Expression and Virulence experiment identified increased virulence of space-flown Salmonella typhimurium, a leading cause of food poisoning. New research on subsequent station missions will target development of a vaccine for this widespread malady.

Another experiment produced a potential medical advance, demonstrating a new and powerful method for delivering drugs to targets in the human body. Microgravity research on the station was vital to development of miniature, liquid-filled balloons the size of blood cells that can deliver medicine directly to cancer cells. The research was conducted for the Microencapsulation Electrostatic Processing System experiment.

One of the most prolific series of investigations aboard the station tests how spacecraft materials withstand the harsh space environment. The results of the Materials International Space Station Experiment already have been used to develop solar cells for future commercial station cargo ships. This experiment has significantly reduced the time needed to develop new satellite systems, such as solar cells and insulation materials, and paved the way for materials to be used in new NASA spacecraft such as the Orion crew capsule.

The report compiles experiment results collected from the first 15 station missions, or expeditions, from 2000 to 2008. Results of some of the summarized investigations are complete. Preliminary results are available from other continuing investigations.

NASA's research activities on the station span several scientific areas, including exploration technology development; microgravity research in the physical and biological sciences; human physiology research; Earth science and education.

The report details 22 different technology demonstrations; 33 physical science experiments; 27 biological experiments; 32 experiments focused on the human body; Earth observations and educational activities. In addition to science important to long-duration human spaceflights, most findings also offer new understanding of methods or applications relevant to life on Earth.

In 2008, station laboratory space and research facilities tripled with the addition of the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's three Kibo scientific modules, adding to the capabilities already provided in NASA's Destiny Laboratory. In 2009, the number of crew members increased from three to six, greatly increasing crew time available for research.

The stage is set for increased station scientific return when assembly and outfitting of the research facility is completed in 2010 and its full potential as a national and international laboratory is realized. Engineers and scientists from around the world are working together to refine operational relationships and build on experiences to ensure maximum use of the expanded capabilities.

The International Space Station Program Scientist Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center published the report, which provides an archival record of U.S.-sponsored research through Expedition 15.

posted 02-20-2010 12:02 PM               

Space Station Primed for New Era of Scientific Discoveries

NASA and its international partners are looking forward to unprecedented scientific opportunities aboard the International Space Station, or ISS. With station assembly nearing completion, the ISS Partnership is looking forward to using the station to its fullest capacity. The U.S. administration's fiscal year 2011 budget proposal calls for continuing station operations to at least 2020, which will create new opportunities for advancing microgravity science research.

"This is a really exciting week for the space station and for the scientists that want to use these laboratories," said Julie Robinson, program scientist for the station at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "We've already had some important findings on station during its construction. With this strong support for continued space station lifetime to 2020 or beyond, we will have amazing discoveries from the science and technology research that can be accomplished."

NASA senior managers from the space station program and counterparts at Russia's Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency and Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology met to discuss the implications of continuing station operations and utilization and recently issued a joint statement about the station's future.

They noted, "ISS continuation could bring great benefit to all partners and humankind by demonstrating significant and sustained return on the partnership's investment in the ISS program, primarily through the enhanced research and usage opportunities."

The entire statement is available here.

The ISS Partnership is scheduled to meet again at the Heads of Agency level on March 11 in Tokyo to further discuss partner efforts to undertake their own decisions for space station extension and the opportunity it will provide to use this unique platform for scientific, technological, diplomatic and educational purposes.

The continued use of the station will open the window for more studies that can only be done in the unique environment of space. Specifically, scientists can discover how cells reproduce and differentiate in microgravity with applications to areas such as tissue generation and wound repair. Also, there are opportunities for more human physiology research to learn about systems such as heart, muscle and bone, which can benefit space explorers and ill or injured patients.

Studies of fluid physics that benefit from lack of buoyancy in microgravity will provide new understanding of soft matter, supercritical fluids and two phase flow. Technology tests will advance areas such as robotics, life support and spacecraft servicing.

Station construction began in Dec. 1998 and will be completed during 2010. Once complete, the station will transition to a new "full usage" phase, where continuous scientific research will be conducted aboard the multinational orbiting laboratory.

During the past decade, scientific research accomplishments made aboard the station included advances in the fight against food poisoning and new methods for delivering medicine to cancer cells. Studies of salmonella bacteria identified the controlling gene responsible for its increased virulence in microgravity, and a commercial company has used changes in virulence of microbes to screen for candidate vaccines.

Results of an early station experiment led to improvements in a method for delivering drugs to targets in the human body. The research led the way for better methods of micro-encapsulation, a process of forming miniature, liquid-filled balloons the size of blood cells that can deliver treatment directly to cancer cells.

NASA has a new Web feature that provides examples of space station research dividends including cancer treatment, food poisoning vaccine development, air purification, remote ultrasound tests and many more.

posted 02-20-2010 12:03 PM               

Maybe the glowing plants will alert you that our space garden is not garden variety.

Not that long ago, the idea of an orbiting laboratory that would circle the Earth every 90 minutes and carry hundreds of multidisciplinary experiments impossible to perform in gravity was pure science fiction. But after a tremendous global effort, the International Space Station is now 90 percent complete and has just been given a tremendous boost. The president's 2011 budget for NASA extends the life of this extraordinary world resource, likely to 2020 or beyond. It's a most welcome aspect of a bold plan for NASA's future....

posted 07-06-2010 05:06 AM               

• Ultrasound from a Distance

  Ultrasound training methods developed for space flight have been used by the American College of Surgeons to teach ultrasound to surgeons, and could be adapted for diagnosis of injuries and illnesses in remote locations on Earth, including rural areas, disaster areas and the battlefield.

  This technology has already been adapted and put into use by the U.S. Olympic Committee during the last Olympic games, as well by expeditions on Mt. Everest and in the High Arctic, and in natural disaster response situations.

• Cancer Treatment Delivery

  The microgravity environment on ISS led the way for better methods of micro-encapsulation on Earth, which is a process of forming micro-balloons containing various drug solutions, providing better drug delivery for several diseases including cancer and diabetes.

• Vaccine Development

  Studies of Salmonella bacteria on ISS have identified the controlling gene responsible for its increased virulence in microgravity, resulting in the discovery of a candidate vaccine. Salmonella is one of the most common forms of food poisoning and a major cause of childhood death worldwide.

  AstroGenetix, the company behind this research and among the first to use the ISS as a National Laboratory under a commercial agreement with NASA, said earlier that it was looking to begin human trials of the salmonella vaccine this year. AstroGenetix has also conducted research on the ISS into a vaccine for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSRA), a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans.