NASA and its partners have been supporting people living and working in space since November 2000. After 25 years of operation, the International Space Station continues to be a test bed for the technologies that underpin NASA's space exploration. Artemis campaign, future lunar missions and human exploration of Mars.
Take a look at the key technological advances made possible by research aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Robots played a critical role in the success of the space station. Beginning with the Canadian-built Canadarm2, which assembled much of the orbital laboratory and continues to support ongoing operations, especially during spacewalks, robotic technology on the station has evolved to include free-flying assistants and humanoid robots which expanded the capabilities of the crew and opened up new avenues for research.
The station's first robot assistants arrived in 2003. SPHERE robots—short for Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite—served on the station for more than a decade, providing environmental monitoring, data collection and transmission, and materials testing in microgravity.
NASA's subsequent free-flying robotic system, Astrobeebased on lessons learned from SPHERE. The three Astrobies, affectionately known as Honey, Queen and Bumble, operate autonomously or with the help of remote control by astronauts, flight controllers or researchers on the ground. They are designed to perform tasks such as inventory, documenting experiments carried out by astronauts, or moving cargo around the station, and can be equipped and programmed to conduct experiments.
NASA and partners also tested dexterous humanoid robots aboard the space station. Robonaut 1 and its more advanced successor, Robonaut 2, were designed to use the same tools as humans so they could operate safely with a crew and could potentially take on routine tasks and high-risk activities.
Advanced robotic technology will play a significant role in NASA's mission to return to the Moon and continue on to Mars and beyond. Robots like Astrobee and Robonaut 2 are capable of guarding future spaceships, flying precursor missions to new destinations, and keeping crews safe while performing dangerous tasks.
Living and working in space for more than two decades requires technologies that make the most of limited resources. Space station life support systems recycle air and water keep astronauts healthy and reduce the need for resupply from Earth.
Environmental control and life support system of the station (ECLSS) removes carbon dioxide from the air, provides oxygen for breathing and processes wastewater, turning yesterday's coffee into tomorrow's coffee. It is built on three key components: a water recovery system, an air revitalization system and an oxygen generation system. The water purifier purifies wastewater from crew urine, cabin humidity and hydration systems inside spacewalk suits, turning it into clean drinking water.
The air revitalization system filters carbon dioxide and micro-impurities from the cabin atmosphere, ensuring safe breathing air. The oxygen generation system uses electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, providing a constant supply of breathable air. Today these systems can recover about 98% of the water delivered to the stationa vital step towards long-term missions where resupply would not be possible.
Lessons learned aboard the space station will help keep Artemis crews healthy on the Moon and shape the closed systems needed for future missions to Mars.
Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is regularly used on Earth to quickly produce a wide variety of devices. Adapting this process for space could allow crew members to create tools and parts for maintenance and repair as needed, while also saving valuable cargo space.
Research on board the orbital laboratory helping to develop this ability.
first space station 3D printer was installed in November 2014. The device produced more than a dozen plastic tools and parts, demonstrating that the process could work in low Earth orbit. Subsequent devices tested various printer designs and functionality, including producing parts from recycled materials and simulating lunar regolith. In August 2024, a device provided by ESA produced the first 3D printed metal product.
The space station has also conducted research into a form of 3D printing called biological printing or bioprinting. This process uses living cells, proteins and nutrients as raw materials to potentially produce human tissue for the treatment of injury and disease. Currently, the meniscus of the knee joint and living tissue of the human heart are printed on board the device.
The ability to make things in space is especially important when planning future missions to the Moon and Mars, since additional supplies cannot be quickly sent from Earth and cargo capacity is limited.
As the space station orbits the Earth, its four pairs of solar panels absorb solar energy, providing electricity to numerous research and scientific research carried out every day, as well as the ongoing work of the orbital laboratory.
In addition to harnessing the sun's energy for its operations, the space station has provided a platform for innovative solar energy research. At least two dozen studies have tested advanced solar cell technology, assessing the performance of cells in orbit and monitoring degradation caused by exposure to extreme space conditions. These studies demonstrated technologies that could provide lighter, less expensive and more efficient solar power that could improve the design of future spacecraft and support sustainable energy production on Earth.
One investigation – Roll-out solar battery – has already led to improvements on board the space station. Successful testing of a new type of solar panel that folds out like a party favor and is more compact than current rigid panel designs provided the basis for the development of roll-out solar arrays for the ISS (iROSA). six iROSA installed during a series of spacewalks between 2021 and 2023 and provided a 20–30% increase in space station power.
For 25 years, the orbital outpost has served as a global educational platform, promoting STEM education and connecting people on Earth to life in space. Every experiment in-flight downlinkand a student-designed payload helps students see science in action and share humanity's desire for discovery.
The first and longest-running educational program on the space station. ISS amateur radio stationknown as Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), where students can ask questions directly to crew members aboard the space station. Since 2000, ARISS has connected more than 100 astronauts with more than 1 million students in 49 U.S. states, 63 countries and every continent.
Through Learn with NASAStudents and teachers can explore astronaut-led hands-on activities and experiments that demonstrate how physics, biology and chemistry evolve in microgravity.
Students from around the world are also taking part in research inspired by the space station. Programs such as Genes in Space and Cubes in Space allow students to design experiments in orbit, as well as programming and robotics competitions such as Page Robot software competition allows students to program free-flying Astrobee robots aboard the orbiting laboratory.
As NASA prepares for the Artemis mission to the Moon, the space station continues to spark curiosity and inspire the next generation of explorers.
