NASA shared images of some of the most important scientific experiments on the International Space Station (ISS), in 2021. 

An online gallery was created by the US Space Agency and featured photos from ‘breakthrough Investigations’ that ISS crew members had worked on in this year. 

They included space gardening, the engineering of cells to study muscle growth, and using virtual reality (VR). This was used to understand how low-gravity humans view time. 

The ISS was used for plant research to prepare astronauts for deep-space missions. It also harvested lettuce, chillies and the Chinese cabbage pak choi.

NASA also announced that technologies were being tested in preparation for Artemis’s upcoming missions to the Moon. These are expected to occur between 2025 and 2025. 

Crew-1 poses with the chillies they harvested on the ISS before eating them. This plant experiment was the longest in the history of the space station at 137 days. Studies like this one could help enable viable and sustainable crop production for future missions as humans explore the Moon and Mars

Crew-1 takes a picture with the chillies they collected on the ISS, before they are eaten. The space station’s longest plant experiment lasted 137 days. These studies could lead to sustainable and viable crop production in future missions, as human beings explore Mars and the Moon.

Crew-2 and Crew-3 - two missions to the ISS operated by NASA on SpaceX rockets - harvested crops of chilli peppers. NASA astronaut Kayla Barron can be seen here with a chilli crop

Crew-2 & Crew-3 – NASA SpaceX rockets carried out two missions to the ISS. They harvested chili pepper plants. Kayla Barron, a NASA astronaut can be seen with a chilli crop.

NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins enjoys the aroma of dwarf pak choi growing aboard the space station. The plants were grown for a study that explores space agriculture to sustain astronauts on future missions to the Moon or Mars

NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins enjoys dwarf pakchoi’s aroma aboard the space station. They were grown to be used in a space-agriculture study to provide food for astronauts who will travel to Mars and the Moon.

A closeup view of red liquid moving through the Plant Water Management 3 and 4 investigation aboard the station. The investigation demonstrates passive measures for controlling fluid delivery and uptake in plant growth systems. Reduced gravity creates challenges in providing adequate fluid and nutrition for plant growth. This investigation examines using other physical properties to replace the role of gravity

The station’s Plant Water Management 3/4 investigation shows the red liquid in motion. It demonstrates passive ways to control fluid delivery and intake in plant growth system. Low gravity can make it difficult to provide adequate nutrition and fluid for plant growth. We will be looking at how to use other physical properties in order to fill the gap left by gravity.

THE ISS: Quick Facts 

The International Space Station is a huge spacecraft that orbits around Earth. It is home to astronauts as well as cosmonauts. 

The ISS can be described as a scientific laboratory. NASA has used the space station for learning more about working and living in space. This will allow NASA to take humans further into space.

The ISS was built and used by several countries. It orbits Earth at an average altitude of approximately 250 miles and travels at 17,500 mph. 

NASA 

The ISS, operated by the space agencies of the US, Canada, Russia, Japan and Europe, orbits 250 miles (400 km) above the Earth. 

The space station orbits 16 times around the planet in 24 hours and travels through 16 sunsets. 

For 21 years, the station has been continuously inhabited and used by people to support many scientific advances.  

In one photo from NASA’s gallery, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet – who completed his second stint at the ISS this year – can be seen working on a study called the ‘cardinal muscle investigation’. 

The study examines whether engineered tissue from space can be used to model muscle loss under low gravity. This could inform Artemis’ missions. 

Because space is free of gravity, astronauts do not have to exercise as much and they have a rigorous workout routine in place to keep their muscle mass from deteriorating.

Another similar study uses a 3D kidney cell model known as a tissue chip to study the effects of microgravity on formation of microcrystals in kidney tubules. 

NASA claims that NASA’s results may help to design better treatment options for certain conditions, such as bone loss and kidney stones for astronauts or osteoporosis on Earth. 

The unique vantage point from which the ISS astronauts can see above Earth is also being used by them for monitoring storms and other environmental conditions.   

Crew members use digital handheld cameras to photograph Earth. They can record the changes occurring over time from humans-caused such as urban growth, to natural phenomena like hurricanes, floods, and volcanic eruptions.

An international crew of seven people live and work while travelling at a speed of five miles per second, orbiting Earth about every 90 minutes. Here, the ISS is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly-around of the orbiting lab that took place as Crew-2 left station on November 8, 2021

Seven people form an international crew that lives and works at five-mile per second. Earth orbits approximately once every 90 minutes. This is the ISS as seen from SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour. It was photographed during a flight around the orbiting lab, which took place on the same day Crew-2 left the station.

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet works on the Cardinal Muscle investigation. This study tests whether such engineered tissues cultured in space could provide a model for studying muscle loss and assessing possible therapeutics

Thomas Pesquet (European Space Agency), is working on the Cardinal Musket investigation. The study examines whether engineered tissue cultures in space might be used to assess therapeutic possibilities and analyze muscle loss.

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur works on an experiment involving a 3D kidney cell model known as a tissue chip to study the effects of microgravity on formation of microcrystals in kidney tubules

Megan McArthur, a NASA astronaut works on an experiment that involves a 3-D model of a kidney cell called a tissue chip. This is used to study how microgravity affects the formation of microcrystals within kidney tubules.

One photo shows Hurricane Larry – which passed over Newfoundland in September – as seen from the station’s domed ‘Cupola’ window. 

Swells from Hurricane Larry caused rough surf and rip current conditions that caused five direct fatalities, an NOAA report published this month said. 

In August, NASA also shared images of Hurricane Ida taken from the ISS, showing the powerful Category 4 hurricane poised menacingly over North America. 

NASA astronauts are also using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) aboard the ISS for some experiments. AR overlays computer-generated scenes on top of real-life ones, unlike virtual reality (VR). 

They’re using Microsoft’s HoloLens headset to learn more about how humans perceive time in low gravity, as the lower speed of the body’s movement in space may affect time perception. 

In this image, Hurricane Larry is pictured out of station’s Cupola window with the solar arrays to the right, which convert solar energy to electrical power

In this image, Hurricane Larry is pictured out of station’s Cupola window with the solar arrays to the right, which convert solar energy to electrical power

Hurricane Ida is seen in this image taken aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The dangerous hurricane made landfall in Louisiana on August 29, 2021

This image from the International Space Station (ISS) shows Hurricane Ida. This image was taken aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and shows Hurricane Ida making landfall in Louisiana, August 29, 2021.

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough carries the second ISS roll out solar array (iROSA) toward the space station’s Port-6 truss structure where he and fellow spacewalker Pesquet would go on to install it

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough carries the second ISS roll out solar array (iROSA) toward the space station’s Port-6 truss structure where he and fellow spacewalker Pesquet would go on to install it

NASA advises that members of the Crew wear VR displays on their heads and listen to instructions. They then use a trackball attached to a laptop for responses. 

“They conduct tests during flights once per month, before and after launching into space, in order to assess adaptive changes.” 

HoloLens can also be utilized as part the Cold Atom Lab (CAL), an ISS quantum science facility, which conducts experiments on the properties of atoms. 

The CAL Team demonstrated an AR headset that could be used to aid astronauts in their upgrade activities, successfully in July. 

NASA also took a picture of the hot flame created by nitrogen-diluted propane aboard the space station. 

It was created as part the Cool Flames Investigation with Gases project, which aims at better understanding flames burning at low temperatures. 

Without buoyancy soot stays in flames longer and forms large clusters.

This image shows a hot flame of nitrogen-diluted propane created aboard the space station inside the Combustion Integrated Rack

The image below shows a flame made of propane-diluted nitrogen aboard the Combustion Integrated Rack.

Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is pictured wearing a virtual reality headset and clicking a trackball for Time Perception, a study exploring how astronauts perceive space and time and possible effects on navigation and fine motor coordination in microgravity

Akihiko, an astronaut from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is seen wearing a virtual-reality headset and clicking the trackball for Time Perception. The study explores how astronauts perceive time and space as well as possible effects on navigation in microgravity.

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur wears the HoloLens headset to test an augmented reality (AR) application. AR adds sound, visual elements or other sensory stimuli to a real-life environment

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur uses the HoloLens headset for testing an AR application. AR is a way to add sound, visual elements and other stimuli in real life. 

The ISS, which launched back in 1998, has had a busy year – multiple Soyuz spacecrafts carried astronauts to and from station, while the Crew 2, and Crew 3 missions supported hundreds of experiments aboard the orbiting laboratory. 

It also averted a disaster in July when thrusters of a newly-arrived Russian research module, called Nauka, inadvertently fired a few hours after it docked.  

On November 11, NASA launched Crew 3, the third fully-fledged ‘operational’ crew NASA and SpaceX have flown to the ISS. About a day following the launch, the crew reached the ISS. 

Crew 3 is the fourth spacecraft that NASA sent to orbit with SpaceX in the span of 17 months. It was built on an Elon Musk-led public-private partnership and SpaceX.

SPACEX-NASA SPACE ISSIONS TO THE IS

Crew 3 is NASA’s third fully-fledged operational’ team that has flown to SpaceX’s ISS Station.

SpaceX Crew-1 (launched November 2020)

SpaceX Crew-2 (April 2021)

SpaceX Crew-3 (November 2021)

There were two additional test missions to the ISS. One was crewed; the other, uncrewed.

Crew Dragon Demo-2(crewed May 2020).

Crew Dragon Demo-1(uncrewed March 2019, 

Multiple commercial resupply missions carried new science experiments and supplies to the orbiting laboratory throughout the year, including the SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft on the company’s 23rd commercial resupply mission for NASA (pictured here)

Multiple commercial resupply missions carried new science experiments and supplies to the orbiting laboratory throughout the year, including the SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft on the company’s 23rd commercial resupply mission for NASA (pictured here)

Aerospace company Northrop Grumman’s 16th Cygnus commercial resupply mission, which launched in August this year, is pictured here

Aerospace company Northrop Grumman’s 16th Cygnus commercial resupply mission, which launched in August this year, is pictured here

They collaborated to usher in an era of NASA that saw the first American astronauts launch from US soil last year in nine years since NASA stopped flying spacecrafts. 

SpaceX is set to launch May 2020 Transported successfully NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley on a 19-hour journey to the ISS – marking the first crewed test flight of the firm’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. 

It was the first US crewed space launch since NASA’s end in a decade. 

Crew 4 – the fourth crewed operational NASA flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft – is set to launch on April 15, 2022. 

It will carry a four-person crew to the ISS – NASA astronauts Robert Hines, Kjell N. Lindgren and Jessica Watkins, as well as Italian ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. 

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough is pictured inside the Kibo laboratory module with the Astrobee free-flying robotic assistants. He monitored the cube-shaped robotic free-flyers as they tested automated rendezvous techniques

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough is seen inside the Kibo module, with Astrobee robotic assistants. As they tried automated rendezvous methods, he watched the Cube-shaped robot free-flyers.

Members of the cold stowage team unpack the Rotifer-B2 science experiment inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 14, 2021. The experiment returned from station to Earth on SpaceX’s 21st commercial resupply services mission

Members of the cold stowage team unpack the Rotifer-B2 science experiment inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 14, 2021. The experiment returned from station to Earth on SpaceX’s 21st commercial resupply services mission

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei works to relocate the Multi-use Variable-g Platform (MVP) inside the Kibo laboratory module. The MVP is a space biology research platform that can produce up to 2g of artificial gravity and houses samples such as fruit flies, flatworms, plants, fish, cells, protein crystals and more

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei works on the relocation of the Multi-use Variable-g Platform, (MVP), inside the Kibo Laboratory Module. MVP, a space biology platform, can create up to 2g artificial gravity. It houses sample such as flatworms, fruit flies and fish.

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos unpack hardware for installation inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module's Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG)

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough (NASA) and Oleg Novitskiy from Roscosmos pack hardware for installation in the U.S. Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox.