ISS National Laboratory
Fostering scientific and technological innovation, advancing US leadership in commercial space, and inspiring the next generation.
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.
News
Up to date information on award announcements, research heading to the space station, educational opportunities and much more!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Upward Magazine
Upward magazine shares the results of ISS National Lab R&D with the broad scientific community through features that bring these success stories to life. Follow the link to browse and download past issues of Upward to learn more!
Learn More
What a Spacefaring Arctic Microbe Reveals About Life in Alien Oceans
Colwellia psychrerythraea is, as organisms go, almost aggressively hard to kill. Which makes what happened to it onboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2025 genuinely strange. The bacterium had everything it needed, afloat in nutrient-rich water at a temperature it could tolerate. Yet for weeks, it acted as if it were paralyzed and starving to death.
Learn More about What a Spacefaring Arctic Microbe Reveals About Life in Alien Oceans
An Unexpected Space Discovery May Improve Vaccines for Older Adults
For a team of researchers at the global pharmaceutical company Sanofi, unexpected findings from research on the International Space Station (ISS) may help scientists develop more effective vaccines, particularly in a key population: older adults.
Learn More about An Unexpected Space Discovery May Improve Vaccines for Older Adults
