Doing research in space

Research in space focuses on the behaviour of processes in the absence of gravity, or in microgravity. The station has several laboratories and more will be added. The space shuttle crew always brings new experiments to conduct in weightlessness on the station.

Research divides into five main areas:

Bioastronautics is research on how the human body behaves during longer stays in space.

Earth science entails observing the Earth from space to view phenomena such as floods and volcanic eruptions.

Fundamental biology is research on how conditions in space influence the development of living organisms.

Physical sciences in space are concerned with several sciences.
Biotechnology is concerned with cells, tissue and biological materials. Combustion studies examine the possibilities for developing more energy-effective and less polluting fuels and combustion processes.

Research is also conducted on the behaviour of liquids in weightless conditions, in basic physics and in how to develop better radiation protection, which is essential to conducting manned missions to Mars and other parts of the solar system.

Space product development mostly involves practical applications of the sciences, principally to develop new materials and medicines.

Much of the research has already produced results. For instance, because cells develop differently in weightless conditions, we now know more about how cancer cells grow. This knowledge is invaluable in developing new medicines. We also know more about the behaviour of fire and how fires most easily can be extinguished, about how the strata of earth move during an earthquake, and about the roles that proteins play in the development of new cells.

For many scientists, the space research literally opens the door to a new world.