[meteorite-list] NASA and International Partners Discuss New Uses for Space Station

[Ron Baalke]

July 26, 2011

Joshua Buck 
Headquarters, Washington                                         
202-358-1100 
jbuck at nasa.gov 
RELEASE: 11-249

NASA AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS DISCUSS NEW USES FOR SPACE STATION

WASHINGTON -- The Multilateral Coordination Board (MCB) for the 
International Space Station partner agencies met Tuesday, July 26, to 
discuss how to use the space station as a test bed for technologies 
that will enable missions beyond low Earth orbit. 

The board will begin identifying several specific technology 
collaboration initiatives based on possible future missions suggested 
by the International Space Exploration Coordination Group. These 
technology developments and demonstrations on the station could 
support voyages to an asteroid or Mars or the development of lunar 
habitats. 

The MCB also discussed efforts to increase station use and reported on 
the status of standardization efforts for rendezvous and proximity 
operations, interfaces for replaceable items and payloads and command 
protocols for spacecraft. The recently released revision of the 
International Docking Systems Standard can be downloaded at: 

http://www.internationaldockingstandard.com 

Ongoing space station research includes: 
- The uses of the International Space Station as a national laboratory 
are growing. Memorandums of understanding are in place between NASA 
and other U.S. government agencies such as the National Institutes of 
Health, which is now in its second year of selecting experiments 
related to human health research. 

Space Act Agreements also are active with private firms and 
universities in the areas of vaccine development for bacterial 
pathogens, gene differentiation for production of new plant 
cultivars, nanocube scale experiment systems, hyper-spectral imaging 
for agricultural applications and advanced propulsion technologies. 
Earlier this month, NASA formally selected the Center for the 
Advancement of Science in Space for negotiation of a cooperative 
agreement to stimulate, develop and manage uses of the station by 
organizations other than NASA. 

- The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer has collected more than 2 billion 
observations of galactic cosmic rays since its launch and 
installation on the space station in May. The astrophysics instrument 
is a partnership of hundreds of scientists and sixteen countries led 
by Nobel laureate Samuel Ting. 

- Robotic technologies developed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) 
for the station have been used to improve the dexterity of surgeons 
in fine scale surgery. NASA will be testing a humanoid robot, 
Robonaut, developed in partnership with General Motors in the coming 
months. The first test of robotically controlled refueling in orbit, 
developed jointly by NASA and CSA, launched earlier this month aboard 
Atlantis' STS-135 flight. 

- The space station partnership is working to share data from remote 
sensing instruments mounted on the orbiting outpost and to increase 
the application of such data to disaster response. The Hyperspectral 
Imager for the Coastal Ocean has collected more than 3,510 images, 
providing unprecedented spectral resolution of difficult-to-map 
coastal waters. The International Space Station Agricultural Camera 
collected its first images on June 10. Its data is used to assess 
crop health and rapid changes during the growing season. 

- NASA's studies of crew health have identified relationships between 
diet and bone loss that offer important insights for future studies. 
Recently published data on chemical changes in pharmaceuticals 
identified that low-dose ionizing radiation in orbit degrades many 
medications, and that additional development of space-hardy 
medications will be needed for human spaceflight beyond Earth orbit. 

- The Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, continues experiments 
aimed at human adaptation to future long-term expeditions. Effects of 
the flight conditions on the cardiovascular system, the respiratory 
system and bones are being investigated in dedicated medical 
experiments. Wheat and vegetables are being planted, followed by 
genetic, microbiological and biochemical tests of the plants. Four 
different long-duration Russian astrobiology experiments from 
Expose-R returned after two years of open space exposure. 

- In addition to astronomical and Earth observations, Japan promotes 
biotechnological research by analyzing structures of high-quality 
protein crystals created on the station leading to treatments for 
muscular dystrophy. Japan also continues experiments related to 
future long-term human spaceflight missions such as investigating 
bone loss mechanism, the effects of radiation and countermeasures of 
those. Scientists have gained insight to the fields of fundamental 
life and materials science from research conducted in the Kibo 
laboratory. 

- With the return of European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Paolo 
Nespoli in May, ESA successfully concluded a focal set of research 
known as the "MagISStra" mission. Recently returned long-duration 
experiments include: a year-long radiation exposure experiment 
conducted with Roscosmos, nine different European astrobiology 
experiments after two years of open space exposure and the CFS-A 
study of fungi after five months in space. The completion of the ZAG 
and Otolith experiments by shuttle crew members gives new, unexpected 
insight into human balance. The Materials Science Laboratory now has 
the ability to cool rapidly metal alloy samples, with new cartridges 
expanding its use by the research community. These experiments are 
being performed in collaboration with the station's international 
partners. 

- Educational activities on the station reach thousands of students 
around the world. In May and June, hundreds of thousands of students 
watched the adaptation of spiders to a space environment and compared 
their behavior to spiders in classrooms on Earth through the website 
BioEdOnline.org. The spiders returned to Earth on Thursday, July 21. 
Students in the U.S., Europe and Japan had the opportunity to propose 
investigations for the space station and astronauts conducted the 
winning activities. 

The MCB includes senior representatives from NASA, CSA, ESA, Roscosmos 
and the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and 
Technology. The MCB meets periodically to ensure coordination of 
station operations and activities among the partners. The board is 
working to tabulate station utilization metrics and document 
accomplishments for a publication to be released by September. 

For more information about the International Space Station, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/station 

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov 

For more information about the Canadian Space Agency, visit: 

http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng 

For more information about the European Space Agency, visit: 

http://www.esa.int/spaceflight 

For more information about the Russian Federal Space Agency, visit: 

http://www.federalspace.ru 

For more information about Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, 
Sports, Science and Technology, visit: 

http://www.mext.go.jp/English 
	
-end-