About ISS National Lab
In an effort to expand the research opportunities of this unparalleled platform, the ISS was designated as a U.S. National Laboratory in 2005 by Congress, enabling space research and development access to a broad range of commercial, academic, and government users.
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News
Up to date information on award announcements, research heading to the space station, educational opportunities and much more!
Press Releases and Updates![Female astronaut services donor cells inside the orbital laboratory's science glovebox](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/iss065e026994/iss065e026994~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1280&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)
Areas of Research
The International Space Station National Laboratory is a functioning research laboratory with the tools and facilities needed to translate traditional ground-based experiments into flight-ready payloads.
Browse Areas of Research![image of a researcher testing hardware in a lab](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/grc-2019-c-00467.jpg?w=1024)
Solicitations
The International Space Station National Laboratory is a crewed low Earth orbit (LEO) platform for research, development, and education that inspires innovation and provides opportunities for discovery to benefit humankind.
Find Opportunities![image of a researcher doing a quality check of a plant experiment inside a plant habitat](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ksc-20170824-ph_lch01_0065.jpg?w=1024)
ISS National Lab Reports
As part of strategic initiatives to enable science in space for life on Earth, the ISS National Lab hosts workshops in the life and physical sciences, remote sensing, and technology to explore research areas with high likelihood for rapid knowledge advancement and the potential to support commercialization of low Earth orbit.
Read and Download Reports![The space station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/iss066e080440_0.jpg?w=1024)
ISS National Lab Contact
If you have any questions or require general information from the ISS National Laboratory, here are some ways you can contact them.
Find Contact Information![The space station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/iss066e080651_0.jpg?w=1024)
Space-Based Study Aims for Osteoarthritis Relief
More than 650 million people worldwide are affected by osteoarthritis, and few treatment options exist. However, new promising results from an International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory-sponsored experiment detail a tissue chip model that accurately reproduces the conditions under which osteoarthritis (PTOA) is initiated.
Learn More![Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques of Expedition 59 works on the Multi-use Variable-g Platform (MVP) hardware. MVP enables space biology research into a variety of small organisms such as fruit flies, flatworms, plants, fish, cells, protein crystals and many others.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/csa-astronaut-david-saint-jacques-works-on-space-biology-hardware-47120612704-o.jpg?w=1024)
Space Research Uses Satellites to Capture Images of Earth
Using satellite-based hyperspectral sensors that can capture images of Earth beyond the visible light we can see with our eyes, startup Orbital Sidekick provides valuable global monitoring services to customers around the world.
Learn More![A pair of the International Space Station's solar arrays, a roll-out solar array, and a small satellite orbital deployer attached to the Japanese robotic arm seemingly criss-cross each other in this photograph as the orbiting lab soared 265 miles above the African nation of Namibia. At far right, is a portion of the Kibo laboratory module with its exposed facility that houses space station hardware and external research experiments.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/the-african-nation-of-namibia-52632710582-o-1.jpg?w=1024)
Nanomaterials Research To Help Life-Saving Aids, Precision Drug Delivery
Arthritis is a crippling disease, affecting approximately one in four adults. It wreaks havoc on our joints by breaking down cartilage, the cushioning between bones. Once that cartilage deteriorates, there’s no way to replace it. However, all this might soon change, thanks to a new investigation led by biomedical engineering researchers at the University of Connecticut.
Learn More![](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/CRS-26-Liftoff-2.jpg?w=1024)
NASA Astronaut Woody Hoburg to Deliver Keynote Address at ISSRDC
NASA astronaut Warren “Woody” Hoburg will deliver a keynote address at the International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC) in Boston on Thursday, August 1, 2024. Hoburg has close ties to Boston as a graduate and former assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
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