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Research on the ISS

mwa nlra resources

The International Space Station's Maintenance Work Area (MWA), pictured here, provides astronauts with all of the tools to complete research in orbit. Similarly, the ISS National Lab aims to provide research opportunity applicants with all of the "tools" necessary to submit a successful concept summary form and proposal.

Media Credit: Image courtesy of NASA

Applicant Resources for ISS National Lab Research Opportunities

Below you will find resources that may assist you in the submission of concept summary forms and proposals for award consideration through an ISS National Lab Research Announcement (NLRA).

  • ISS National Lab: Advantages of Conducting Research in Space: Learn about the unparalleled opportunity for research that cannot be done on Earth. Understand the unique features of the space environment and incorporate them into your investigation.
  • State-of-the-Art Hardware and Facilities: Learn more about the facilities on the ISS and how they can be employed to conduct your investigation. Diverse hardware and facilities support a range of capabilities, from DNA amplification and sequencing to 3D printing for advanced manufacturing.
  • ISS National Laboratory Overview: Learn about the ISS National Lab and its mission to improve life on Earth and create a thriving economy in low Earth orbit.
  • Station Science 101: Explore the different types of research that can be done on the ISS. Disciplines range from astrophysics to combustion and microbiology, and each is explained with examples of how space station research offers insights impossible to obtain on Earth.
  • Space Station Research and Technology: Discover how NASA partners with industry, academia, and federal, state, regional, and local entities to advance ISS research and development.
  • Space Station Research Experiments: Search a database of experiments performed on station to learn more about their objectives, descriptions, results, and imagery. This database includes information about hardware and capabilities that accommodate these experiments, publications citing results, and links to information beyond the database.
  • NASA Quick-Start Guide to Payload Design: Get started here with “tricks of the trade” for developing your investigation. This page shares an overview of how to design your payload to meet the requirements of flying on station and provides answers to frequently asked questions.
  • ISS Researcher Guide Series: Gain access to a 17-book Researcher’s Guide Series by discipline, designed to educate potential users of the space station on how their ground‐based experiments can be translated to the space environment. Each guide is designed to “start the conversation” about how new researchers can find opportunities and assistance in the proposal development process.
  • ISS National Lab Project Pipeline: Browse the ISS National Lab “project pipeline,” which shows recent, current, and upcoming ISS National Lab-sponsored research projects and programs that seek to improve quality of life for those of us here on our home planet.
  • ISS National Lab Implementation Partner Directory: Learn about the network of Implementation Partners that support the design, development, and implementation of investigations based on specific project goals.
  • Questions Frequently Asked Regarding ISS National Lab Research Announcements: Find answers to frequently asked questions regarding NLRAs.
  • ISS National Lab Implementation Partner (IP) Portal: Are you concerned about how to translate your ground-based research to a space-based investigation? Don’t worry—our Implementation Partners are available to help you. Should you be invited to submit a full proposal, you can use the IP Portal to relay your requirements to the ISS National Lab IP pool. IPs will then provide you with proposals for implementing your research requirements. You will receive instructions to access the portal with your invitation to submit a full proposal.
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"Turning the Past Decade of Lessons Learned on ISS into Best Practices for the Next Decade"

Slides presented at the 2022 ISS Research and Development Conference.

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