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By NASA
4 Min Read Science in Orbit: Results Published on Space Station Research in 2024
NASA and its international partners have hosted research experiments and fostered collaboration aboard the International Space Station for over 25 years. More than 4,000 investigations have been conducted, resulting in over 4,400 research publications with 361 in 2024 alone. Space station research continues to advance technology on Earth and prepare for future space exploration missions.
Below is a selection of scientific results that were published over the past year. For more space station research achievements and additional information about the findings mentioned here, check out the 2024 Annual Highlights of Results.
Making stronger cement
NASA’s Microgravity Investigation of Cement Solidification (MICS) observes the hydration reaction and hardening process of cement paste on the space station. As part of this experiment, researchers used artificial intelligence to create 3D models from 2D microscope images of cement samples formed in microgravity. Characteristics such as pore distribution and crystal growth can impact the integrity of any concrete-like material, and these artificial intelligence models allow for predicting internal structures that can only be adequately captured in 3D. Results from the MICS investigation improve researchers’ understanding of cement hardening and could support innovations for civil engineering, construction, and manufacturing of industrial materials on exploration missions.
European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Alexander Gerst works on the Microgravity Investigation of Cement Solidification (MICS) experiment in a portable glovebag aboard the International Space Station.NASA Creating Ideal Clusters
The JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Colloidal Clusters investigation uses the attractive forces between oppositely charged particles to form pyramid-shaped clusters. These clusters are a key building block for the diamond lattice, an ideal structure in materials with advanced light-manipulation capabilities. Researchers immobilized clusters on the space station using a holding gel with increased durability. The clusters returned to Earth can scatter light in the visible to near-infrared range used in optical and laser communications systems. By characterizing these clusters, scientists can gain insights into particle aggregation in nature and learn how to effectively control light reflection for technologies that bend light, such as specialized sensors, high-speed computing components, and even novel cloaking devices.
A fluorescent micrograph image shows colloidal clusters immobilized in gel. Negatively charged particles are represented by green fluorescence, and positively charged particles are red. JAXA/ Nagoya City University Controlling Bubble Formation
NASA’s Optical Imaging of Bubble Dynamics on Nanostructured Surfaces studies how different types of surfaces affect bubbles generated by boiling water on the space station. Researchers found that boiling in microgravity generates larger bubbles and that bubbles grow about 30 times faster than on Earth. Results also show that surfaces with finer microstructures generate slower bubble formation due to changes in the rate of heat transfer. Fundamental insights into bubble growth could improve thermal cooling systems and sensors that use bubbles.
High-speed video shows dozens of bubbles growing in microgravity until they collapse.Tengfei Luo Evaluating Cellular Responses to Space
The ESA (European Space Agency) investigation Cytoskeleton attempts to uncover how microgravity impacts important regulatory processes that control cell multiplication, programmed cell death, and gene expression. Researchers cultured a model of human bone cells and identified 24 pathways that are affected by microgravity. Cultures from the space station showed a reduction of cellular expansion and increased activity in pathways associated with inflammation, cell stress, and iron-dependent cell death. These results help to shed light on cellular processes related to aging and the microgravity response, which could feed into the development of future countermeasures to help maintain astronaut health and performance.
Fluorescent staining of cells from microgravity (left) and ground control (right).ESA Improving Spatial Awareness
The CSA (Canadian Space Agency) investigation Wayfinding investigates the impact of long-duration exposure to microgravity on the orientation skills in astronauts. Researchers identified reduced activity in spatial processing regions of the brain after spaceflight, particularly those involved in visual perception and orientation of spatial attention. In microgravity, astronauts cannot process balance cues normally provided by gravity, affecting their ability to perform complex spatial tasks. A better understanding of spatial processes in space allows researchers to find new strategies to improve the work environment and reduce the impact of microgravity on the spatial cognition of astronauts.
An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan of the brain shows activity in the spatial orientation regions.NeuroLab Monitoring low Earth orbit
The Roscomos-ESA-Italian Space Agency investigation Mini-EUSO (Multiwavelength Imaging New Instrument for the Extreme Universe Space Observatory) is a multipurpose telescope designed to examine light emissions entering Earth’s atmosphere. Researchers report that Mini-EUSO data has helped to develop a new machine learning algorithm to detect space debris and meteors that move across the field of view of the telescope. The algorithm showed increased precision for meteor detection and identified characteristics such as rotation rate. The algorithm could be implemented on ground-based telescopes or satellites to identify space debris, meteors, or asteroids and increase the safety of space activities.
The Mini-EUSO telescope is shown in early assembly.JEM-EUSO Program For more space station research achievements and additional information about the findings mentioned here, check out the 2024 Annual Highlights of Results.
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By NASA
4 Min Read Five Facts About NASA’s Moon Bound Technology
A view of the Moon from Earth, zooming up to IM-2's landing site at Mons Mouton, which is visible in amateur telescopes. Credits: NASA/Scientific Visualization Studio NASA is sending revolutionary technologies to the Moon aboard Intuitive Machines’ second lunar delivery as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign to establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface.
As part of this CLPS flight to the Moon, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate will test novel technologies to learn more about what lies beneath the lunar surface, explore its challenging terrain, and improve in-space communication.
The launch window for Intuitive Machines’ second CLPS delivery, IM-2, opens no earlier than Wednesday, Feb. 26 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After the Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C class lunar lander reaches Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau near the Moon’s South Pole region, it will deploy several NASA and commercial technologies including a drill and mass spectrometer, a new cellular communication network, and a small drone that will survey difficult terrain before returning valuable data to Earth.
Caption: The Intuitive Machines lunar lander that will deliver NASA science and technology to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign is encapsulated in the fairing of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: SpaceX Here are five things to know about this unique mission to the Moon, the technologies we are sending, and the teams making it happen!
1. Lunar South Pole Exploration
IM-2’s landing site is known as one of the flatter regions in the South Pole region, suitable to meet Intuitive Machines’ requirement for a lit landing corridor and acceptable terrain slope. The landing location was selected by Intuitive Machines using data acquired by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
An illustration of Mons Mouton, a mesa-like lunar mountain that towers above the landscape carved by craters near the Moon’s South Pole.Credit: NASA/Scientific Visualization Studio 2. New Technology Demonstrations
NASA’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment, known as PRIME-1, is a suite of two instruments – a drill and mass spectrometer – designed to demonstrate our capability to look for ice and other resources that could be extracted and used to produce propellant and breathable oxygen for future explorers. The PRIME-1 technology will dig up to about three feet below the surface into the lunar soil where it lands, gaining key insight into the soil’s characteristics and temperature while detecting other resources that may lie beneath the surface.
Data from the PRIME-1 technology demonstration will be made available to the public following the mission, enabling partners to accelerate the development of new missions and innovative technologies.
The Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) will help scientists search for water at the lunar South Pole.Credit: NASA/Advanced Concepts Lab 3. Mobile Robots
Upon landing on the lunar surface, two commercial Tipping Point technology demonstrations will be deployed near Intuitive Machines’ lander, Tipping Points are collaborations between NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and industry that foster the development of commercial space capabilities and benefit future NASA missions.
The first is a small hopping drone developed by Intuitive Machines. The hopper, named Grace, will deploy as a secondary payload from the lander and enable high-resolution surveying of the lunar surface, including permanently shadowed craters around the landing site. Grace is designed to bypass obstacles such as steep inclines, boulders, and craters to cover a lot of terrain while moving quickly, which is a valuable capability to support future missions on the Moon and other planets, including Mars.
Artist rendering of the Intuitive Machines Micro Nova Hopper.Credit: Intuitive Machines 4. Lunar Surface Communication
The next Tipping Point technology will test a Lunar Surface Communications System developed by Nokia. This system employs the same cellular technology used here on Earth, reconceptualized by Nokia Bell Labs to meet the unique requirements of a lunar mission. The Lunar Surface Communications System will demonstrate proximity communications between the lander, a Lunar Outpost rover, and the hopper.
Artist rendering of Nokia’s Lunar Surface Communication System (LSCS), which aims to demonstrate cellular-based communications on the lunar surface. Credit: Intuitive Machines 5. Working Together
NASA is working with several U.S. companies to deliver technology and science to the lunar surface through the agency’s CLPS initiative.
NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate plays a unique role in the IM-2 mission by strategically combining CLPS with NASA’s Tipping Point mechanism to maximize the potential benefit of this mission to NASA, industry, and the nation.
NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative and Game Changing Development program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate led the maturation, development, and implementation of pivotal in-situ resource utilization, communication, and mobility technologies flying on IM-2.
Join NASA to watch full mission updates, from launch to landing on NASA+, and share your experience on social media. Mission updates will be made available on NASA’s Artemis blog.
A team of engineers from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and Honeybee Robotics in Altadena, California inspect TRIDENT – short for The Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain – shortly after its arrival at the integration and test facility.Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz Artist’s rendering of Intuitive Machines’ Athena lunar lander on the Moon. Credit: Intuitive Machines
Artist conception: Earth emerges from behind Mons Mouton on the horizon.Credit: NASA/Scientific Visualization Studio Explore More
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NASA Partners with American Companies on Key Moon, Exploration Tech
NASA has selected 11 U.S. companies to develop technologies that could support long-term exploration on the Moon and in space…
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Last Updated Feb 24, 2025 EditorStefanie PayneContactAnyah Demblinganyah.dembling@nasa.govLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Space Technology Mission Directorate Artemis Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Game Changing Development Program Kennedy Space Center Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative Missions NASA Headquarters Research and Technology at Kennedy Space Center Science Mission Directorate
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The Project F.I.R.E. team, part of Falcon Research Labs and current students at Cerritos Community College in California, is researching the use of drones to extinguish fires as part of a NASA research award called the University Student Research Challenge. From left, Logan Stahl, Juan Villa, Angel Ortega, Larisa Mayoral, Jenny Escobar, and Paola Mayoral-Jimenez.Falcon Research Labs Great ideas, and the talent and passion that bring them to life, can be found anywhere.
In that spirit, NASA’s University Student Research Challenge (USRC) in 2024 selected its first group of community college students to contribute original research to the agency’s transformative vision for 21st century aviation.
The student-led group, from Cerritos Community College in California, is researching a new method of safely extinguishing wildfires using eco-friendly pellets dropped from uncrewed drones they call Project F.I.R.E. (Fire Intervention Retardant Expeller).
“Wildfires are a major problem we’re facing today,” said Angel Ortega, project technical director and lead research engineer for Project F.I.R.E. at Cerritos Community College. “The goal of our research is to demonstrate that our prototype drone with biodegradable fire retardant can successfully put out a controlled fire.”
A Community College First
Until now, USRC has only selected participants from traditional four-year institutions, compared to a two-year community college. This award exemplifies the activity’s goal of giving all of tomorrow’s aeronautical innovators a shot at NASA support for their research ideas.
“The University Innovation (UI) project provides a number of different avenues for students to contribute to aeronautics,” said Steven Holz, who manages the USRC award process. “All of the opportunities are different and help build knowledge and skills that would be advantageous to those wanting to continue working on UI opportunities or within NASA.”
This award is one of two from NASA’s USRC selected in 2024. The team received the USRC award prior to the devastating Los Angeles fires of January 2025.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy,” members of the team said in a statement. “As a team, we are deeply committed to advancing innovative solutions to enhance safety and resilience, working toward a future where communities are better protected against such disasters.”
Innovating a Solution
The six team members of Project F.I.R.E. are driven by an ethic of public service. As fires continue to affect communities in their native southern California, they are applying their skills to finding a way to help.
“We want to get the public inspired that there are possible solutions at hand,” Ortega said. “And the work we’re doing now can hopefully build towards that bigger goal of a widespread solution.”
The research they are pursuing involves dropping biodegradable pellets into fires from uncrewed, autonomous drones. The pellets, upon reaching the ground, combine chemical ingredients which create a foamlike solution of fire retardant that will not contaminate the environment after the fire is extinguished.
Project F.I.R.E.’s innovative idea for fire suppression involves releasing eco-friendly foam pellets from uncrewed drones.Falcon Research Labs The team is keen to support firefighters and wildland fire managers and keep them safe while managing these natural disasters. The group has met with firefighters, discussed the idea with them, and received useful feedback on how to make the technology work best in the field.
Though the group is only at the outset of the research, their idea has existed for longer.
Blue Skies Forever
Prior to applying for a USRC, Project F.I.R.E. also presented at NASA’s 2024 Gateway to Blue Skies competition, in which they won the “Future Game-Changer” award.
Through Gateway to Blue Skies, NASA challenges college students to research climate-friendly technologies and applications related to the future of aviation and present them at an annual forum.
Following Project F.I.R.E.’s participation in the forum, they applied for a USRC grant to begin turning their vision into reality.
“Our experience with NASA has been incredibly supportive and inspiring,” said Logan Stahl, the project’s operations director. “We thought competing against some of the other schools would be intimidating, but the experience we’ve had is the complete opposite. Everyone was very welcoming, and the NASA representatives communicated with us and asked questions.”
The USRC support will allow the team to build on their earlier foundations, they said.
“Because Gateway to Blue Skies is more conceptual, it let us bring our idea to the table. Now through USRC, we can start building hands-on and make our idea come to life,” said Larisa Mayoral, chemical engineer and laboratory operations manager.
The Project F.I.R.E. team receives their “Future Game-Changer” award during the 2024 Gateway to Blue Skies forum held at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California.NASA / Brandon Torres The team expressed gratitude, speaking as community college students, for their ability to participate in and contribute research at a level that competes with top-brass universities.
“We’re very appreciative of our college and NASA providing us this opportunity,” said Paola Mayoral Jimenez, laboratory coordinator and safety manager. “By doing this project, we hope to shine a light on community colleges, their students, and what they have to offer.”
Complete details on USRC awardees and solicitations, such as what to include in a proposal and how to submit it, are available on the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate solicitation page.
About the Author
John Gould
Aeronautics Research Mission DirectorateJohn Gould is a member of NASA Aeronautics' Strategic Communications team at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. He is dedicated to public service and NASA’s leading role in scientific exploration. Prior to working for NASA Aeronautics, he was a spaceflight historian and writer, having a lifelong passion for space and aviation.
Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More
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Last Updated Feb 23, 2025 EditorJim BankeContactAngela Surgenorangela.d.surgenor@nasa.gov Related Terms
Aeronautics Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Flight Innovation Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program University Innovation University Student Research Challenge View the full article
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By European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have signed a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) to harness space technology for humanitarian assistance worldwide. The partnership will combine ESA's space expertise with ICRC's humanitarian reach to develop space-enabled solutions that can help protect and assist communities affected by disasters and conflicts across Europe and beyond.
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA / Getty Images NASA has selected two new university student teams to participate in real-world aviation research challenges meant to transform the skies above our communities.
The research awards were made through NASA’s University Student Research Challenge (USRC), which provides students with opportunities to contribute to NASA’s flight research goals.
This round is notable for including USRC’s first-ever award to a community college: Cerritos Community College.
We’re trying to tap into the community college talent pool to bring new students to the table for aeronautics.
steven holz
NASA Project Manager
“We’re trying to tap into the community college talent pool to bring new students to the table for aeronautics,” said Steven Holz, who manages the USRC award process. “Innovation comes from everywhere, and people with different viewpoints, educational backgrounds, and experiences like those in our community colleges are also interested in aeronautics and looking to make a difference.”
Real World Research Awards
Through USRC, students interact with real-world aspects of the research ecosystem both in and out of the laboratory. They will manage their own research projects, utilize state-of-the-art technology, and work alongside accomplished aeronautical researchers. Students are expected to make unique contributions to NASA’s research priorities.
USRC provides more than just experience in technical research.
Each team of students selected receives a USRC grant from NASA – and is tasked with the additional challenge of raising funds from the public through student-led crowdfunding. The process helps students develop skills in entrepreneurship and public communication.
The new university teams and research topics are:
Cerritos Community College
“Project F.I.R.E. (Fire Intervention Retardant Expeller)” will explore how to mitigate wildfires by using environmentally friendly fire-retardant pellets dropped from drones. Cerritos Community College’s team includes lead Angel Ortega Barrera as well as Larisa Mayoral, Paola Mayoral Jimenez, Jenny Rodriguez, Logan Stahl, and Juan Villa, with faculty mentor Janet McLarty-Schroeder. This team also successfully participated with the same research topic in in NASA’s Gateway to Blue Skies competition, which aims to expand engagement between the NASA’s University Innovation project and universities, industry, and government partners.
Colorado School of Mines
The project “Design and Prototyping of a 9-phase Dual-Rotor Motor for Supersonic Electric Turbofan” will work on a scaled-down prototype for an electric turbofan for supersonic aircraft. The Colorado School of Mines team includes lead Mahzad Gholamian as well as Garret Reader, Mykola Mazur, and Mirali Seyedrezaei, with faculty mentor Omid Beik.
Complete details on USRC awardees and solicitations, such as what to include in a proposal and how to submit it, are available on the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate solicitation page.
About the Author
John Gould
Aeronautics Research Mission DirectorateJohn Gould is a member of NASA Aeronautics' Strategic Communications team at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. He is dedicated to public service and NASA’s leading role in scientific exploration. Prior to working for NASA Aeronautics, he was a spaceflight historian and writer, having a lifelong passion for space and aviation.
Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More
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Last Updated Feb 18, 2025 EditorJim BankeContactSteven Holzsteven.m.holz@nasa.gov Related Terms
Aeronautics Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Flight Innovation Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program University Innovation University Student Research Challenge View the full article
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