One such drug, developed with the help of the space station, is Prolia, one of the most used osteoporosis treatments in the United States. Nasa says that using space-grown crystals decreases overall research costs for pharmaceutical companies, as the detailed study of crystals enabled by the size and quality of the crystals grown in space allows more accurate predictions of the drugs’ behaviour. Subsequently, they can design more efficient treatments or improve the existing ones. By imaging these space-grown crystals back on the Earth, scientists gain new insights into the working of various proteins involved in the development of diseases such as muscular dystrophy or Alzheimer’s. In the absence of gravity, protein crystals grow bigger and develop more complex and purer structures. Studying crystal growth of various organic proteins is one of the promising areas of ISS research. The research will use one of the protein crystal growth facilities on the station. In December 2020, ESA announced it would send the Covid-19 drug Remdesivir to the space station to study how it interacts with its delivery substance in order to improve treatment efficiency. Here are some of the most interesting or promising discoveries that have come out of the orbiting laboratory. In addition to scientific research, the challenges posed by the construction of the space station, as well as by maintaining a habitable environment inside, have already produced solutions that have since trickled into down-to-Earth applications. However, the timescales for these applications to develop is much longer.” That saves the gas but also prevents CO2 emissions. “For example, minus-80-degree freezers originally developed to store scientific samples at the space station are now used on liquefied natural gas tankers to re-liquefy evaporating gas. “Apart from the immediate benefits for the industry that works on these projects, there are technology transfer opportunities,” de Mey says. The overall economic benefits, however, are difficult to estimate. What are we getting in return for investing a somewhat modest amount into a permanent space station?Īccording to Stefaan de Mey, senior strategy officer for human and robotic exploration at ESA, every euro invested into space exploration activities in general generates three euros of economic return in the short term. Thus, every European, ESA says, contributes about one euro per year for the station’s upkeep. The £90bn construction cost has been, ESA says, spread over a period of almost 30 years and all the participating countries, which include the USA, Russia, the member states of ESA, Canada, and Japan. The taxpayer, afflicted with rising house prices, costly education and stagnant wages, might feel entitled to ask – what are we getting in return?Īccording to the European Space Agency (ESA), maintaining the ISS is rather a bargain for the public. ![]() With a construction cost of nearly £90bn and an annual running cost of nearly £3bn, it also stretched their budgets. Its construction stretched the technical as well as political skills of the partnering space agencies. It was completed in the early 2010s after the arrival of Tranquility with its trademark Earth-facing viewing platform Cupola.Ĭonsisting of 16 pressurised modules and a lot of supporting hardware, the station covers the size of a football pitch. The assembly of the station began in late 1998 with the launch of the Russian-built module Zarya and the American Unity. A major milestone for the world of astronautics and, as the world’s space agencies say, for humanity itself. In November 2020, the International Space Station celebrated 20 years of its permanent human habitation.
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