Curious about station research? Find it on your smartphone or tablet
2015-05-04
With more than 1,800 investigations completed or occurring aboard the International Space Station, it can take quite a bit of searching online to find out about this research. Luckily, there’s an app for that. The Space Station Research Explorer allows users to search past and current space station studies and learn about facilities and the benefits of the research done off the Earth, for the Earth.
The Experiments section of the app allows a search of six main categories: biology and biotechnology, Earth and space science, educational activities and outreach, human research, physical science and technology development and demonstration. Within each category, the research can be further searched by subcategories like astrophysics, fluid physics or microbiology. Clicking on an investigation name reveals a summary of information about the research, including the principal investigator(s), the sponsoring agency, any available images and publications and the expeditions in which the research occurred.
There also is a search option at the top of the Experiments section to type keywords, or users can use dials at the top right of the page to search by a specific expedition or international partner sponsoring agency.
Users are provided with a virtual tour of three station modules—Columbus, Kibo and Destiny—when searching the Facilities section. This allows exploration of the individual racks that support science, environmental and electrical systems within each station module. Clicking on one of the racks provides a brief description and examples of experiments that occur in that rack.
Since researchers use the orbiting laboratory to conduct investigations that benefit both space exploration and the Earth, this app also has a Benefits section. This section details research impacts such as vaccine development in microgravity, remote telemedicine and water-purification technology. These benefits are outlined under the headings of Human Health, Earth Benefits and Global Education. There is an icon to click to read a variety of benefits stories under each of the headings for further information.
In the Media section of the app, there are games, podcasts and videos. Under the Games tab, users can play “Gravity Ball,” which introduces players to the differences in gravity when tossing a ball. The Podcasts tab contains links to NASA ScienceCasts about a variety of station research topics, from fire in microgravity to a zero-gravity coffee cup. Videos are available on topics like rodent research and bone remodeling in microgravity.
The app also contains a list of links to space station research websites, the space station research blog, the YouTube and Twitter pages for space station science and the main NASA app.
The Space Station Research Explorer app is updated through the most current expedition and is available on the iPhone, iPad and Android platforms.
Get it now via Apple or Google Play.
Laura Niles
NASA Johnson Space Center
The Experiments section of the app allows a search of six main categories: biology and biotechnology, Earth and space science, educational activities and outreach, human research, physical science and technology development and demonstration. Within each category, the research can be further searched by subcategories like astrophysics, fluid physics or microbiology. Clicking on an investigation name reveals a summary of information about the research, including the principal investigator(s), the sponsoring agency, any available images and publications and the expeditions in which the research occurred.
There also is a search option at the top of the Experiments section to type keywords, or users can use dials at the top right of the page to search by a specific expedition or international partner sponsoring agency.
Users are provided with a virtual tour of three station modules—Columbus, Kibo and Destiny—when searching the Facilities section. This allows exploration of the individual racks that support science, environmental and electrical systems within each station module. Clicking on one of the racks provides a brief description and examples of experiments that occur in that rack.
Since researchers use the orbiting laboratory to conduct investigations that benefit both space exploration and the Earth, this app also has a Benefits section. This section details research impacts such as vaccine development in microgravity, remote telemedicine and water-purification technology. These benefits are outlined under the headings of Human Health, Earth Benefits and Global Education. There is an icon to click to read a variety of benefits stories under each of the headings for further information.
In the Media section of the app, there are games, podcasts and videos. Under the Games tab, users can play “Gravity Ball,” which introduces players to the differences in gravity when tossing a ball. The Podcasts tab contains links to NASA ScienceCasts about a variety of station research topics, from fire in microgravity to a zero-gravity coffee cup. Videos are available on topics like rodent research and bone remodeling in microgravity.
The app also contains a list of links to space station research websites, the space station research blog, the YouTube and Twitter pages for space station science and the main NASA app.
The Space Station Research Explorer app is updated through the most current expedition and is available on the iPhone, iPad and Android platforms.
Get it now via Apple or Google Play.
Laura Niles
NASA Johnson Space Center
The Space Station Research Explorer provides current information on station experiments through interactive media and in-depth descriptions. Image Credit: NASA