Funding Opportunity Opens for Physical Science Research on Space Station
ISS National Lab and NSF Announce Up to $3.6 Million in Total Funding
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory are proud to announce up to $3.6 million in total funding available for multiple projects to advance transport phenomena research using the orbiting laboratory.
This announcement marks a significant milestone; for more than 10 years NSF and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space® (CASIS®), manager of the ISS National Lab, have collaborated to support groundbreaking fundamental science in space. Since the partnership began in 2015, NSF has allocated more than $40 million in funding to support projects leveraging the ISS National Lab. Forty-five of these investigations have already launched to the space station, with dozens more slated for future missions. More than 200 peer-reviewed articles related to these studies have been published, furthering scientific knowledge for the research community, with dozens more slated for future missions.
For this solicitation, NSF and CASIS are seeking proposals focused on:
Fluid dynamics
Particulate and multiphase processes
Thermal transport systems
Combustion and fire systems
Nanoscale interactions
Manufacturing methods that employ any of those transport phenomena
Resulting metallic materials, metal nanostructures, and ceramic materials
Responsive proposals will describe how the proposed project will utilize the unique conditions on the space station to further fundamental and translational research to benefit humanity. In space, the gravity-driven forces that impact fluid behavior are significantly reduced. This makes the sustained microgravity environment on the orbiting laboratory beneficial for several areas of study.
Prior to submitting a full proposal to NSF for this solicitation, all interested investigators must first submit an ISS National Lab Feasibility Review Form to CASIS to evaluate the operational feasibility of the proposed research. The deadline to submit a Feasibility Review Form is January 12, 2026. Only investigators whose proposed concept passes this Feasibility Review will be invited to submit a full proposal. The full proposal submission deadline is on March 4, 2026.
NSF and CASIS recently selected six new research projects from previous solicitations in the areas of transport phenomena and tissue engineering.
Transport Phenomena:
Karen Daniels (North Carolina State University) and Kenneth Kamrin (University of California, Berkeley) will study the flow of granular materials for applications in agriculture, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and 3D printing.
Amir Hirsa, Patrick Underhill, and Joe Adam (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) will expand on prior research studying protein solution flow and clumping to improve pharmaceutical manufacturing processes.
Qing Hao (University of Arizona) and Zhenhua Tian (Virginia Polytechnic Institute) will examine how acoustic waves can be used to push gas bubbles out of molten solder joints, which could help reduce electronics failures in a wide range of industries.
Tissue Engineering and Mechanobiology:
Khalid Salaita (Emory University) will study how cells sense and respond to force; insight gained could improve understanding of how cells adapt to extreme environments and could help improve cancer diagnostics.
Yupeng Chen (University of Connecticut) will build on prior research to produce injectable nanomaterials that can help regenerate lost or damaged cartilage to improve treatments for osteoarthritis.
Maribella Domenech (University of Puerto Rico) will explore how gravity and the stiffness of materials affect the healing power of stem cells.
For more information on this latest solicitation, including how to submit a Feasibility Review Form, visit the ISS National Lab solicitation webpage. To view the full solicitation, please visit the NSF solicitation page.