A comparison between fire on Earth (left) and fire in a microgravity environment (right), such as that found on the ISS.
One of the main goals of the ISS is to provide a place to conduct experiments that require one or more of the unusual conditions present on the station. The primary fields of research include biology, physics, astronomy, and meteorology.The 2005 NASA Authorization Act designated the US segment of the International Space Station as a national laboratory with a goal to increase the use of the ISS by other Federal entities and the private sector.
One research goal is to improve the understanding of long-term space exposure on the human body. Subjects currently under study include muscle atrophy, bone loss, and fluid shift. The data will be used to determine whether space colonisation and lengthy human spaceflight are feasible. As of 2006, data on bone loss and muscular atrophy suggest that there would be a significant risk of fractures and movement problems if astronauts landed on a planet following a lengthy space cruise.
Researchers are investigating the relation of the near-weightless environment on the ISS to the evolution, development and growth, and the internal processes of plants and animals. In response to some of this data, NASA wants to investigate microgravity's effects on the growth of three-dimensional, human-like tissues, and the unusual protein crystals that can be formed in space.
The physics of fluids in microgravity is being investigated, enabling researchers to better model the behaviour of fluids in the future. Because of the ability to almost completely combine fluids in microgravity, physicists are interested in investigating the combinations of fluids that will not normally mix well on Earth. In addition, by examining reactions that are slowed down by low gravity and temperatures, scientists hope to gain new insight regarding superconductivity.
Materials science is an important part of the research activity aboard the station, with the goal of reaping economic benefits by improving techniques used on the ground. Experiments are intended to provide a better understanding of the relationship between processing, structure, and properties so the conditions required on Earth to achieve desired materials properties can be reliably predicted.
Other areas of interest include the effect of the low gravity environment on combustion, studying the efficiency of burning and control of emissions and pollutants. These findings may improve our understanding of energy production, and in turn have an economic and environmental impact. There are also plans to use the ISS to examine aerosols, ozone, water vapour, and oxides in Earth's atmosphere, as well as cosmic rays, cosmic dust, antimatter, and dark matter in the universe.
One component assisting in these various studies is the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier (ELC). Developed by NASA, four of these units are set to be launched to the ISS. As currently envisioned, the ELCs will be delivered on three separate Space Shuttle missions. They will allow experiments to be deployed and conducted in the vacuum of space, and will provide the necessary electricity and computing to process experimental data locally. Delivery is currently scheduled for STS-129 in November 2009, STS-133 in May 2010 and STS-134 in September 2010.
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a particle physics experiment, is scheduled to be added to the station. This device will be launched on STS-134 in 2010, and will be mounted externally on the Integrated Truss Structure. The AMS will search for various types of unusual matter by measuring cosmic rays. The experiments conducted will help researchers study the formation of the universe, and search for evidence of dark matter and antimatter.
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