Why do we need the ISS? [Space Innovation

Abstract

In November 2020, the International Space Station celebrated 20 years of its permanent human habitation. A major milestone for the world of astronautics and, as the world's space agencies say, for humanity itself. The assembly of the station began in late 1998 with the launch of the Russian-built module Zarya and the American Unity. It was completed in the early 2010s after the arrival of Tranquility with its trademark Earth-facing viewing platform Cupola. Consisting of 16 pressurised modules and a lot of supporting hardware, the station covers the size of a football pitch. Its construction stretched the technical as well as political skills of the partnering space agencies. With a construction cost of nearly £90bn and an annual running cost of nearly £3bn, it also stretched their budgets. This paper gives a brief overview of some of the most interesting or promising studies that have come out of the orbiting laboratory. These include: drug development and smart delivery, water recycling and air purification, artificial organs' growth, robotics, and combustion.