Time travel: NASA looks back at 2016's best moments in research aboard the ISS

All images by: NASA

New Delhi: The duration astronauts spend aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is not all fun and games.

Every astronaut assigned to an expedition has to contribute to the experiments, research and science investigations that aim at the development of technology and discovery of new insights about the Earth and the solar system as a whole.

2016 on the ISS was full of stunning photographs, sunsets, sunrises and auroras as we saw it. However, what transpired behind all that beauty was some serious research and experimentation which, needless to say, turned up some great disoveries.

The new year hasn't even completed a month and NASA feels it's never too late to look back on the highlights of the investigations that astronauts took part in in the year gone by.

Sharing 20 of its best research moments of 2016 in pictures, the American space agency has gone back in time to give you a glimpse of the real work that takes place inside the space station.

Have a look!

1. BASS-M – Igniting Innovation

The experiment called the Burning and Suppression of Solids – Milliken, or BASS-M, was conducted by NASA astronaut Tim Kopra in January. The investigation tests flame-retardant cotton fabrics to determine how well they resist burning in microgravity. Results benefit research on flame-retardant textiles that can be used on Earth and in space.

2. Science in Bloom

During his 'Year in Space' mission, NASA astronaut (now retired) Scott Kelly tended the first flowering plant crop in the Veggie plant growth facility as part of the Veg-01 investigation. As per NASA, Understanding how flowering plants grow in microgravity is crucial to moving on to crops like tomatoes, which will add to the ability to grow pick-able salads in space. Though the zinnia plants initially hit unexpected watering issues, Kelly and ground controllers worked to save the plants, resulting in many blooms that not only contributed to research, but also added color to the often sterile environment of the space station.

3. Return of Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko From Year in Space

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko returned from their year-long mission aboard the space station on March 1. As members of Expeditions 43, 44, 45, and 46, Kelly and Kornienko collected valuable data on the effect of long-duration weightlessness on the human body that will be used to formulate a human mission to Mars.

4. Field Tests

After their return to Earth, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly were among the first participants in the Field Test investigation, which studies how astronauts recover after prolonged spaceflight. These tests are conducted before the crew launches to space, then three separate times within 24 hours of landing, and several more times post flight.

5. 15-Year Anniversary of POIC Support at MSFC

As of March 9, 2016, teams who work in the Payload Operations Integration Center – the science command post for the International Space Station – have spent 15 years supporting 24 hour science 365 days a year. According to NASA, the 'Year in Space' mission marked the first time controllers scheduled a crew member for experiments over a year period, rather than the typical 6-month period most astronauts live and work on the space station. They also worked more closely than ever with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, since he performed the same human research investigations as Scott Kelly.

6. 1000th Educational Amateur Radio Contact

NASA astronaut Tim Kopra connected with students in North Dakota during the 1,000th educational Amateur, or ham, radio contact on March 10, 2016. The overall target of this long-running experiment is to interest youngsters in mathematics and science, and inspire the next generation of explorers.

7. First Run of Gene Expression Facility, WetLab-2

During his time aboard the space station, astronaut Jeff Williams worked with the Wet Lab Gene Expression Analysis System. NASA says that the research platform will conduct real-time quantitative gene expression analysis in orbit. The system enables spaceflight genomic studies involving a variety of biospecimen types in the unique microgravity environment of space.

8. SPHERES Ten-Year Anniversary

SPHERES stands for Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, and Experimental Satellites. In May 2016, the facility completed 10 years of science aboard the space station. Here, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet conduct a SPHERES tether demonstration. Used for many different science investigations as well as educational outreach, these bowling-ball-sized satellites can be programmed to move about the space station cabin.

9. Installation and Expansion of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module

According to NASA, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) was expanded on the space station on May 28. NASA is investigating concepts for habitats that can keep astronauts healthy during space exploration. Expandable habitats are one such concept under consideration – requiring less payload volume on the rocket than traditional rigid structures, and expanding after deployment in space to provide additional room for astronauts to live and work.

10. Installation and Runs of the Packed Bed Reactor Experiment

The largest experiment to have been installed in the Microgravity Science Glovebox, the Packed Bed Reactor Experiment (PBRE) is an investigation looking to fill in the missing information as to how two-phase mixtures flow through porous media in microgravity. NASA astronauts Tim Kopra and Peggy Whitson both installed and ran PBRE during their missions.

11. Completion of the In-Flight Portion of Four Human Research Program Investigations

The image shows NASA astronaut Tim Kopra conducting a self-exam as part of the Ocular Health investigation on the space station. Throught his, scintists hope to gain insights into the vision changes crew members experience during long-duration space missions and create effective counter-measures to ensure the health and safety of astronauts for the journey to Mars. As per NASA, Ocular Health is one of four human research investigations for which the in-flight portions were completed with the return of the 45S crew. Also completed were Cognition, Salivary Markers and Microbiome. It takes a long time to complete the number of subjects required for human research investigations – it’s usually years in the making – so this was a significant milestone.

12. Saffire-1 and 2 Investigations Aboard Cygnus Cargo Vehicles

According to NASA, fire safety is a crucial component of space living. As the space agency partners with industry and other international space agencies to develop deep space habitation capabilities, NASA is leveraging every opportunity to validate important habitation-related systems and operations in low-Earth orbit. The Saffire-1 investigation, initiated aboard Orbital ATK’s Cygnus vehicle after it departed the space station, marked the first time a large-scale fire was set in space, and sought to understand flame spread and material flammability limits in long duration microgravity. Saffire-2, initiated in November, was the second in a series of three Saffire experiments to be conducted over the course of three flights of Cygnus vehicles.

13. Installation of NREP

Astronaut Takuya Onishi of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), works to assemble the NanoRacks External Platform (NREP) on the Platform Cover at JPM1A5 in the Kibo Japanese Experiment Pressurized Module (JPM). The NanoRacks External Platform represents the first external commercial research capability for the testing of scientific investigations, sensors, and electronic components in space.

14. Heart Cells Investigation

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins is shown here viewing beating heart cells through a microscope on the space station. According to NASA, the Heart Cells investigation uses human skin cells that are induced to become stem cells, which can then differentiate into any type of cell. Researchers forced the stem cells to grow into human heart cells, which Rubins cultured aboard the space station for one month. Rubins described seeing the heart cells beat for the first time as “pretty amazing. First of all, there’s a few things that have made me gasp out loud up aboard the station. Seeing the planet was one of them, but I’ve got to say, getting these cells in focus and watching heart cells actually beat has been another pretty big one.” Understanding how heart muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes, change in space can improve efforts to study disease, screen drugs and conduct cell replacement therapy for future space missions.

15. First Sequencing of DNA in Space

DNA sequencing was done in space for the first time by NASA astronaut Kate Rubins for the Biomolecule Sequencer investigation, using the MinION sequencing device. The ability to sequence the DNA of living organisms in space opens a whole new world of scientific and medical possibilities. Scientists consider it a potential game changer.

16. Completion of RapidScat Mission

As per NASA, RapidScat, a space-based scatterometer, completed its successful two-year mission, outlasting its original decommission date before suffering a power loss in mid-August. RapidScat helped improve weather forecasting on Earth, provided cross-calibration for all international satellites that monitor ocean winds, and improved estimates of how ocean winds change throughout the day, around the globe. RapidScat data was used all over the world by government laboratories and meteorological agencies, scientists, private companies, students and individuals to track the progression of a storm’s strength. Here, RapidScat revealed sustained winds over 30 meters per second/108 kph/67 mph (in red) were still occurring southeast of Tropical Cyclone Pam's center on March 16.

17. Fluid Shifts Investigation

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin participated in the Fluid Shifts investigation, which seeks to better understand the relationship of fluid shifting to the upper body in microgravity and changes in vision that some astronauts experience on orbit. The investigation utilizes the Russian Chibis suit that is housed in the Russian Service Module aboard the station, making it a great example of international partnership. Learn more about how these vacuum pants could help researchers not only better understand how spaceflight affects vision, but how it findings could also benefits people on Earth who have conditions that increase pressure in the brain or who are put on extended bedrest, NASA reported.

18. Eli Lilly Hard to Wet Surfaces

The Hard to Wet Surfaces investigation also called Eli Lilly-Hard to Wet Surfaces, aims to understand how certain materials used in the pharmaceutical industry dissolve in water while in microgravity. Results from this investigation could help improve the design of tablets that dissolve in the body to deliver drugs, thereby improving drug design for medicines used in space and on Earth. In this view of the Hard to Wet Surfaces Sample Module, you can see an example of a significant gel interface that formed between the tablet and the solution which was not observed to the same extent on Earth.

19. Veg-03 Crop

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough is seen here with Veg-03, the third crop of red romaine lettuce grown in the Veggie Plant Growth Facility. This crop will be the first time crew members attempt a new, repetitive harvest technique called, “Cut and Come Again,” where they harvest leaves for several weeks in a row.

20. ELF

ELF, also known as Electrostatic Levitation Furnace, is an experimental facility designed to levitate/melt/solidify materials by containerless processing techniques using the Electrostatic Levitation method. With this facility, thermophysical properties of high temperature melts can be measured, and solidification from deeply undercooled melts can be achieved. The ELF is located in the JEM Multipurpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) in Kibo. Here, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet is seen removing a sample cartridge from ELF before cleaning the internal chamber of sample residue.