The International Space Station (ISS) has been a beacon of scientific and medical research ever since the station’s first module was launched in 1999, as astronauts continue to push the boundaries regarding microgravity research that has contributed to advancing science and medical knowledge back on Earth. To continue this, NASA and the ISS National Laboratory recently announced a partnership through the ISS National Lab Research Announcement (NLRA) 2024-09: Igniting Innovation: Science in Space to Cure Disease on Earth that will provide up to $4 million with the goal of helping to advance disease diagnosis and treatment back on Earth.
“Space-based research has a long history of contributing to advancements on Earth,” said Dr. Lisa Carnell, who is the director of NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences division. “Continuing the Igniting Innovation solicitation could contribute to the next big leap in disease therapies. We are excited to collaborate with the ISS National Lab on this endeavor to help address some of the biggest health challenges facing the world today.”
Through collaboration between government agencies, industry, and academia, the NLRA hopes to accomplish several objectives pertaining to developing medical technologies on Earth, including disease mechanism models, population and disease diversity, drug discovery & development, drug delivery, and drug resistance. This announcement comes after the ISS National Laboratory announced in July 2024 that five projects were selected for the Cancer Research in Space for Life on Earth with the goal of providing $7 million in grants to advance cancer research in microgravity onboard the ISS.
“We are proud to collaborate again this year with NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences division on this important initiative to bring the transformative power of space-based inquiry into the fight against diseases that touch all of our lives,” said Dr. Michael Roberts, who is the ISS National Lab Chief Scientific Officer. “Our inaugural solicitation in 2023 resulted in the selection of five innovative concepts to leverage microgravity and the space station to benefit patients on Earth. We look forward to enabling access to even more ideas that ignite innovation and fuel research and development for the benefit of humanity.”
How will this grant help advance medical research on the ISS and Earth in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: ISS National Laboratory, ISS National Laboratory (1), EurekAlert!, ISS National Laboratory (2)
Featured Image Credit: NASA/STS-132