National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Research in Space: Facilities on the International Space Station National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The International Space Station (ISS) is an unprecedented achievement in global human endeavors to conceive, plan, build, operate, and utilize a research platform in space. As we near completion of the ISS on-orbit assembly, including all Partner laboratories and elements, we now turn to the real multifaceted purpose of the ISS. We will use the ISS as a human-tended laboratory in low-Earth orbit to conduct multidiscipline research and technology development and as an outpost to conduct human exploration. The ISS is uniquely capable of unraveling the mysteries of life on Earth; from biomedical research, to material sciences, to technology advancement, to research on the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body. The ISS is the first step in exploration, from research and discovery, to international cooperation, to commercial development, and to exploring beyond low-Earth orbit. We look forward to sharing this booklet outlining our ISS research capabilities and potential as we usher in this new phase of on-orbit research.