NASA: MISSE: science in microgravity

This suitcase-sized experiment may look like the ultimate cosmetics kit, but it is used to test the effect of radiation on a range of materials, from ceramics to spores. The first Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) box was attached to the station in 2001.

Astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery removed the sixth set of boxes from the station on 1 September this year.

A recent NASA report on space station science called MISSE "perhaps the most prolific suite of experiments to date" aboard the outpost.

(Image: NASA-MSFC)

Worms in Space to Study Microgravity

A still from a video filmed at the mission
landing site which shows worm movement

A transparent roundworm could reveal the biological effects of microgravity and space radiation, and perhaps provide clues on how to protect future human astronauts headed for the moon, Mars and beyond.

The C. elegans worm's biological responses proved eerily similar to those of humans during a series of experiments aboard the International Space Station in 2004. Now researchers have published a review of their findings in the journal Advances in Space Research.