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What We Do

Scientists and Engineers in Space Biosciences examine how the unique environment of space affects living organisms. We engineer specialized ground and flight research facilities to study life in space and altered gravity environments. We develop advanced technologies to sustain life in space. We explore how bioengineered organisms can enable human spaceflight by providing essential resources such as food, clean air and water, and biofuels.

iss062e039026 (Feb. 21, 2020) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 62 Flight Engineer Jessica Meir works with research hardware to support the OsteoOmics-02 bone investigation. The experiment is helping doctors to compare bone cells in space with samples on Earth that are levitated magnetically. Observations from the study could provide deeper insights into bone ailments on Earth, including osteoporosis.

Learn More about the Programs, Projects and Missions Performed by Space Biosciences

AI and Machine Learning

AI & Machine Learning

Learn more about the Artificial Intelligence for Life in Space (AI4LS) Working Group.

NASA Ames Life Sciences Data Archive – Open Science for Life in Space

ALSDA

The Ames Life Sciences Data Archive (ALSDA) is the official repository of non-human science data generated by NASA's Space Biology Program and Human Research Program, located at NASA Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. 

Bionutrients-1 mission patch.

Bionutrients

The BioNutrients system uses a small storage pack containing a dried, edible growth substrate and microorganisms genetically engineered to rapidly produce controlled quantities of essential nutrients.

Biospecimen Sharing Program

The NASA Space Biology Biospecimen Sharing Program (BSP) collects biospecimens to maximize the scientific return from biological spaceflight and associated ground investigations and to encourage and broaden participation from the scientific community in space biology-related research.

CapiSorb Visible System

The CapiSorb Visible System (CVS) demonstrates replacing gravity with capillary forces to control liquids that can absorb carbon dioxide inside a spacecraft. 

Center for Gravitational Biology Research

Ames' ground-based hyper-gravity facilities can be used to study how life responds to different gravity loads.

GeneLab

GeneLab is a comprehensive space-related omics database; users can upload, download, share, store, and analyze spaceflight and spaceflight-relevant data from experiments using model organisms.

NASA Biological Institutional Scientific Collection (NBISC) - Open Science for Life in Space

NBISC

The NASA Biological Institutional Scientific Collection (NBISC) at Ames Research Center is a biorepository of non-human samples collected from NASA-funded spaceflight investigations and correlative ground studies.

Open Science

NASA Open Science Data Repositories expands scientists' access to space-related experiments that explore the biological response of terrestrial biology to spaceflight environments.

Research Areas

Learn more about the research we develop and conduct in the Space Biosciences Division.

Space Microbial Culture Collection

Space Microbial Collection

The NASA Space Microbial Culture Collection (SMCC) is a repository for collections of space microbes originated by NASA scientists and researchers and offers digital (genomic, phenotypic, and rich metadata) and physical formats (the isolates themselves) of space microbes which can be requested for non-commercial research purposes.