INTRODUCTION
NASA’s International Space Station (ISS) celebrated 15 years of operations in November 2013
and is living up to expectations as a leading space laboratory, hosting state-of-the-art science
facilities, and providing researchers with a continuous microgravity environment to conduct
investigations across many disciplines.
From the first ISS element, launched in November 1998, the ISS has supported investigations
and technology demonstrations that will advance NASA’s human exploration capabilities
beyond low-Earth Orbit (LEO), and improve the daily lives of people on Earth well beyond its
operational lifetime. The first 15 years of utilization on ISS has helped answer scientific
questions ranging from “How do fluids flow in space?” to “What are the origins of the
universe?” The science and technology returns have grown at a steady pace. Even before the
assembly of ISS was completed in 2011, the on-orbit crew were busy performing experiments,
and with the full complement of a 6-person crew, more than 1 600 investigations have been
conducted to date across the international partnership.
This report is intended to provide an archival record of the internationally-sponsored ISS
research results collected for investigations performed from 2000-2011 on ISS (Expedition 0
through 30), including scientific publications from studies based on operational data. These
investigations represent the research of thousands of scientists around the globe, and have
Cumulative Amount of Crew Time dedicated ISS Utilization