As Neil Armstrong quoted, "One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap For Mankind," for the last 24 years, NASA has been conducting research and developing findings in a variety of areas that could contribute to improving life on our planet. As intriguing as it may seem, the findings from these studies have met the anticipated outcomes.
Research Over The Years
The astronauts on the International Space Station have carried out scientific experiments that are impossible to perform elsewhere. Hovering approximately 250 miles above Earth, the space station serves as the sole laboratory for conducting long-term experiments in microgravity.
Over the last 20 years, the space station has enabled many findings, research papers, special chances, and important advancements. This study not only allows us to delve deeper into space but also brings advantages to us here on Earth.
Why To Research In Space?
In order to advance scientific studies, it is crucial to examine them from a perspective beyond Earth and the familiar realm of gravity. This type of research not only led to the exploration of new aspects of the study but also contributed to the comprehension of Earth's gravity influence.
Importance Of Research In Space
Throughout time, NASA has initiated numerous projects that have produced incredible outcomes not only in space exploration but have also advanced our knowledge on bacteria, physics of fluids, drugs and detection of different illnesses, space agriculture, and much more.
Objectives Of These Research
Research conducted in space is aimed at determining the station's ability to support different types of instruments, both inside and outside, making it a strong platform for studying Earth's water, air, land masses, vegetation, and more, and offering researchers new perspectives beyond NASA's usual Earth remote-sensing satellites.
Experimenting Human Anatomy:
Fighting Diseases: Alzheimer’s Disease. A medical condition known as Parkinson’s Disease. Disease characterised by abnormal cell growth. A respiratory condition called asthma. Cardiovascular illness. Space station research has impacted your life if any of these conditions have influenced you.
Medicinal Understanding: Experiments on protein crystal growth carried out on the space station have offered valuable information on multiple disease treatments, such as cancer, gum disease, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Research on space has greatly improved our understanding of bone and muscle deterioration in astronauts and ways to reduce these impacts. The information acquired is also relevant for individuals on Earth tackling conditions like osteoporosis.
Experimenting With Tissue Chips: Tissue chips are small devices similar in size to a thumb drive, that hold human cells in a 3D matrix, mimicking the functionality of an organ. Chips have been delivered to the station in order to study how microgravity affects human health and use that knowledge to enhance health on Earth.
Resolving Natural Issues:
Innovative water filtration systems: Water is essential for the existence of humans. Regrettably, numerous individuals worldwide do not have access to clean water. Areas susceptible to danger can utilise cutting-edge filtration and purification systems derived from space station technology, allowing astronauts to recycle 93% of their water.
Reacting to natural disasters: The station is actively involved in collecting orbital data to aid in disaster response efforts using crew handheld camera images, both domestically and internationally.
Experimenting With Physics:
Investigating the fifth state of matter: A quarter of a century ago, researchers successfully created a fifth state of matter known as a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) here on our planet. In 2018, NASA’s Cold Atom Lab achieved the historic milestone of creating the first state of matter in space. This accomplishment could offer an understanding of the basic principles of quantum physics.
Discovery of consistently burning cold flames: During the Flame Extinguishing Experiment (FLEX) study, researchers discovered a surprising phenomenon when burning fuel droplets. A droplet of heptane fuel seemed to go out, but actually kept burning without a flame at temperatures 2.5 times lower than a regular candle.
The development of fluid physics investigation: Fluids are abundant on Earth, but studying their behaviour in space can enhance our understanding of their dynamics. Research on fluids in space has evolved from basic studies to testing technology applications like medical devices and heat transfer systems.
Expanding the field of colloid research: Toothpaste, 3D printing, pharmaceuticals, and identifying moving sands on Mars may appear unrelated, but all can see advancements from studies on colloids conducted on the space station.
NASA Astronaut Tracy Dyson & Crewmates Head Back To Earth Today After Conducting Record-Breaking Research In Space
3D printing in zero gravity: The initial object was created through 3D printing aboard the space station in 2014. From that point on, we have delved into 3D printing with recycled materials and also printed human tissue.
Challenging Nature:
Agriculture In Microgravity: The capability to produce extra food can enable humans to venture further away from Earth. Several methods for cultivating plants have been tested on the space station in anticipation of upcoming missions. On August 10, 2015, astronauts tried their first salad grown in space; currently, astronauts are cultivating radishes in space.
Study AlienMicrobes: The ability to identify microbes instantly in space, without having to bring them back to Earth for identification, would be groundbreaking for the fields of microbiology and space exploration. The team of Genes in Space-3 made that possibility a reality in 2017.
Space Studies:
Gathering Information From Over 100 Billion Cosmic Particles: The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02 has supplied scientists worldwide with data that can assist in understanding the composition of the universe and its origins.
Enhanced Comprehension Of Pulsars And Black Holes: NICER and MAXI, two instruments attached to the exterior of the space station, have collaborated to further our understanding of these astronomical phenomena.
Student Access To Space: Not only companies and professors, but also students have access to conduct microgravity research on the space station. The station has provided primary to university students with the chance to learn about science in space and research the impacts of microgravity.