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ISS National Laboratory

Fostering scientific and technological innovation, advancing US leadership in commercial space, and inspiring the next generation.

The International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking. NASA astronauts Andrew Feustel and Ricky Arnold and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev executed a fly around of the orbiting laboratory to take pictures of the station before returning home after spending 197 days in space. The station will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the launch of the first element Zarya in November 2018. Credit: NASA/Roscosmos

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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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.

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The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon cargo spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 26, 2022, on the company’s 26th commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 2:20 p.m. EST.
NASA

Path to Sustainable Low Earth Orbit Economy Beyond Station

This piece is part of our Forging the Path series in which CASIS experts share knowledge and insight from their experience managing a national lab in space.

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Close-up view of Cupola windows (with earth visible) as documented by the Expedition 36 crew.
NASA

Research to Grow Tumors in Microgravity to Test Chemo Effectiveness

Researchers from Connecticut-based startup Encapsulate are turning to the microgravity conditions available through the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory to explore how to mitigate the effects of cancer and improve the lives of patients on Earth.

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Thrusters on the white SpaceX Dragon appear as four straight white lines coming from behind the spacecraft against the black background of space.
Thrusters on the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft fire automatically while adjusting the vehicle’s slow, methodical approach toward the International Space Station for a docking to the Harmony module’s forward port.
NASA

ISS National Lab Study Tests Novel Gene Therapy for Vision Loss

Set to launch on SpaceX’s 30th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) contracted by NASA, an investigation to test the therapy in space may open new avenues for treating vision loss with this novel ocular gene therapy. 

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Taken with a specialized camera, images of a mouse retina before spaceflight (left) and a fluorescein angiogram, captured using a fluorescent dye, of the microvascular circulation of a mouse retina (right) are shown here.
Taken with a specialized camera, images of a mouse retina before spaceflight (left) and a fluorescein angiogram, captured using a fluorescent dye, of the microvascular circulation of a mouse retina (right) are shown here.
 Image courtesy of Oculogenex

Registration Opens for 2024 Space Station R&D Conference in Boston

This July, the 13th annual International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC) returns to Boston, where leaders from the commercial sector, U.S. government agencies, and academic communities will assemble to highlight innovations and opportunities through our nation’s orbiting outpost.

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ISS National Laboratory

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.

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The space station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon
The International Space Station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a flyaround of the orbiting lab.
NASA
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