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Station Research News

The latest news on scientific research, crew activities, and milestones on the space station.

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NASA’s CODEX Captures Unique Views of Sun’s Outer Atmosphere

The CODEX instrument, located on the International Space Station, is a coronagraph — a scientific tool that creates an artificial eclipse with physical disks — that measures the speed and temperature of solar wind using special filters.

A person in a blue clean suit and white hood is visible to the left of and a little behind a large instrument that looks like a telescope, with a wide base and a large arm at an angle on top of it. The instrument has several silver panels, and much of it is covered in white protective fabric.

The COronal Diagnostic EXperiment (CODEX) instrument undergoing final flight preparation at the Kennedy Space Flight Center Space Station Processing Facility. Credit: CODEX team / NASA

NASA

NASA Sensor on Space Station Eyes Contamination off California Coast

An instrument built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to map minerals on Earth is now revealing clues about water quality. A recent study found that EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) was able to identify signs of sewage in the water at a Southern California beach.

Plumes flowing into the Pacific Ocean from the heavily polluted Tijuana River, seen here with the San Diego sky-line to the north

Instruments in space are helping scientists map wastewater plumes flowing into the Pacific Ocean from the heavily polluted Tijuana River, seen here with the San Diego sky-line to the north.

NOAA

Studying storms from Space Station

Scientists use instruments on the International Space Station to study phenomena in Earth’s ionosphere or upper atmosphere including thunderstorms, lightning, and transient luminous events (TLEs). TLEs take many forms, including blue jets, discharges that grow upward into the stratosphere from cloud tops, and colorful bursts of energy above storms called Stratospheric/Mesospheric Perturbations Resulting from Intense Thunderstorm Electrification or SPRITES.

An artist’s impression of a blue jet as observed from the International Space Station.

An artist’s impression of a blue jet as observed from the International Space Station.

Mount Visual/University of Bergen/DTU

NASA, ISRO Research Aboard Fourth Private Astronaut Mission to Station

NASA and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) are collaborating to launch scientific investigations aboard Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. These studies include examining muscle regeneration, growth of sprouts and edible microalgae, survival of tiny aquatic organisms, and human interaction with electronic displays in microgravity.

The official crew portrait of the Axiom Mission-4 private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. From left are, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India, Commander Peggy Whitson from the U.S., and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

From left are, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India, Commander Peggy Whitson from the U.S., and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

Axiom Space

Spacewalk Research and Technology

Crew members on the International Space Station periodically conduct spacewalks to perform a variety of tasks such as installing, upgrading, and repairing equipment.

NASA astronaut Anne McClain prepares spacesuits ahead of the May 2025 spacewalk.

Unearthly Plumbing Required for Plant Watering in Space

NASA is demonstrating new microgravity fluids technologies to enable advanced “no-moving-parts” plant-watering methods aboard spacecraft.

Williams, wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt and glasses, looks at the camera and holds a large plastic syringe in both hands. In front of her is a worktable holding a large orange panel that has two clear chambers of red liquid and multiple connecting hoses. A camera mounted on the worktable faces the panel.

Microgravity affects how water and nutrients are delivered to plants. NASA astronaut Suni Williams works on the Plant Water Management 5/6 investigation, which studies the physical properties of fluids, such as surface tension, in space. Results could support design of systems for improved plant growth in reduced gravity.

NASA

Station Research Features and Articles

6 min read

June 24, 2025 NASA’s NICER Telescope Suspends Science Operations NASA’s NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope on…

Article

2 min read

June 2025 Edition Most materials are formed from a partially or totally fluid sample, and the transport of heat and…

Article

3 min read

Science in Space June 2025 Scientists use instruments on the International Space Station to study phenomena in Earth’s ionosphere or…

Article

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Astronaut Nicole Mann works on the BioNutrients-2 investigation

Astronaut Nicole Mann works on the BioNutrients-2 investigation to provide nutrients on demand in space.

NASA

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