National Science Foundation Solicits ISS Experiment Proposals
Will Provide Up to $1.6 Million in Total Funding for Multiple Projects
For the eighth consecutive year, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is funding a solicitation seeking projects that utilize the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory to advance tissue engineering and mechanobiology research. Through this solicitation, NSF will provide up to $1.6 million in total funding for multiple projects.
Microgravity affects organisms—from bacteria to humans, causing changes in gene expression and DNA regulation, altered cellular function and physiology, and 3D aggregation of cells. Research leveraging these effects can drive advances in the modeling of healthy and pathological tissues and organs, disease diagnosis and treatment, regenerative medicine, and many other areas within bioengineering and the biomedical sciences.
Fundamental science is a strategic focus area for the ISS National Lab, and knowledge gained from such studies could have profound impacts on future research and technology development that brings value to our nation and the scientific community. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), manager of the ISS National Lab, has established powerful multiyear partnerships with government agencies such as NSF to fund fundamental 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.
A project selected from a prior NSF-funded solicitation recently launched on SpaceX’s 31st Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission for NASA. The collaborative investigation from Oregon State University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is using 3D-bioprinted cardiac organoids to study microgravity-induced atrophy on heart muscle cells. Results could lead to a better understanding of heart muscle atrophy, which occurs in several conditions, such as cancer, muscle disease, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, sepsis, and heart failure.
This solicitation follows a two-step proposal process. All interested investigators must first submit an ISS National Lab Feasibility Review Form for evaluation of the proposed concept’s operational feasibility. The deadline to submit a Feasibility Review Form is January 15, 2025. Only investigators whose concept passes the Feasibility Review step will be invited to submit a full proposal. The full proposal submission deadline is March 18, 2025.