The U.S. National Science Foundation released two research solicitations this week, with grant funding totaling up to $5.2 million, to leverage the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory to advance fundamental research in the physical and life sciences. NSF, in partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS), manager of the ISS National Lab, seeks investigations focused on tissue engineering and the physical sciences area of transport phenomena.
Microgravity induces changes in organisms that are beneficial for several areas of research within the biomedical sciences. Additionally, many processes that affect behaviors of fluids on Earth are absent in microgravity, so the persistent space-based environment onboard the ISS provides benefits for several areas within the physical sciences. Knowledge gained from fundamental science studies in space could have profound impacts on future research and technology development that brings value to humanity. Responsive proposals will describe how the proposed research will utilize the unique conditions available on the ISS to advance fundamental and translational research to benefit life on Earth. Below highlights each opportunity.
Tissue Engineering
In the first joint solicitation, CASIS and NSF seek projects that use the ISS National Lab to advance tissue engineering and mechanobiology research. This solicitation, the sixth between CASIS and NSF focused on tissue engineering, is aimed at furthering drug discovery and therapeutic development through space-based research. NSF will provide up to $1.6 million in funding for multiple projects to launch to the space station under the sponsorship of the ISS National Lab.
A project awarded through an NSF/CASIS joint solicitation in 2019 recently launched on a resupply mission to the ISS. The investigation, from the University of Michigan, examines a group of proteins and their effects on bone-forming cells, or osteoblasts, in microgravity. Findings from this project could help lead to new osteoporosis treatments for patients on Earth.
Transport Phenomena and Fluid Dynamics
In the second solicitation, NSF will provide up to $3.6 million for multiple projects to advance fundamental research in the areas of transport phenomena, including fluid dynamics, multiphase processes, thermal transport, combustion and fire systems, and nanoscale interactions. On a recent resupply mission, researchers from the University of California San Diego launched a physical science investigation on mudslides that was funded through a previous NSF/CASIS joint solicitation. The research team seeks to better predict, and possibly prevent, catastrophic mudslides following wildfires by studying how burned soil reacts with air and water in microgravity.
For more information about this solicitation on transport phenomena and fluid dynamics—the eighth joint solicitation from CASIS and NSF in the physical sciences—see the ISS National Lab solicitation page.
Fundamental science is a strategic focus area for the ISS National Lab, and CASIS has established powerful multiyear partnerships with government agencies such as NSF to fund research on the orbiting laboratory. NSF supports transformative research to help drive the U.S. economy, enhance national security, and maintain America's position as a global leader in innovation.
Each solicitation follows a two-step submission process. All interested investigators must first submit an ISS National Lab Feasibility Review Form for evaluation of the concept's operational feasibility. The information provided in this form is used to evaluate the operational feasibility of the proposed research to be conducted onboard the ISS. Only investigators whose concept passes the Feasibility Review Form step will be invited to submit a full proposal.