17 Weirdest Space Station Experiments

The first baby born in space will happen. Before astronauts mate on the ISS, they must learn how space radiation affects mammal reproduction. Forcing astronauts to sleep together in space before we know the effect is irresponsible, perhaps illegal. So, researchers bring...freeze-dried mouse spermStore the sperm on the ISS for up to two years.

Highly-trained space scientists look at a jug of mouse sperm. After the sperm completes its cycle on board, they bring it back to Earth for examination.differentHighly-trained space scientists will use the sperm to fertilize mouse eggs that never left Earth.

This test seems weird, but it tests if humans can live on a long mission. DNA breaks down in the sperm after nine months on the ISS, but researchers aim to improve these numbers. We might learn something new.Researchers might finally learnwhat space mouse babies look like.

Don't you hate it when flatworms in outer space suddenly grow two heads? That is what happened.what happened afterResearchers sent flatworms into space to see how microgravity and changes in the geomagnetic field affect flatworm regeneration.geomagnetic field.

(This entry joins the "F*ck it, let's just see what happens" space experimentation group.)

Flatworms returned to Earth and were compared to worms that stayed on the planet. Cutting a piece from a space worm caused it to sprout a second head. The space worms also went into shock after returning to Earth; researchers saw them "paralyzed and immobile" for up to two hours after entering the atmosphere.

Send the flatworms to space. Let them grow as many heads as they want, but never bring them back. This is too shocking for everyone.

Astronauts began testing Tetranite, a new glue, to stick to the inside of bones in space.insideOn a long space flight, astronauts experience rapid body breakdown (see "Space Bone Disease"). Instead of worrying about shorter lives and bones, astronauts created ways to fight aging, especially for their bones.

Tetranite — known asbone glue" — stimulates new bone production in space, which has value back on Earth," says Brian Hess, founder and CEO of Launchpad Medical.

Scientists recklessly bring adaptive spiders into space. They are messing around with creating bones out of nothing.Scientists recklessly bring adaptive spiders into space. They are messing around with creating bones out of nothing.NASA builds skeletons. You invent the scariest haunted house in space!

In April 2018, Elon Musk's SpaceX sent a “proof of concept” machine to the International Space Station called RemoveDEBRIS.RemoveDEBRISAstronauts join SpaceX to remove space junk. This helps clear debris floating through space. Elon, remember the garbage island on Earth. Before the experimental spacecraft hoovers up over 500,000 pieces of debris, tests must happen on the module. The module should be ready by summer 2018.

RemoveDEBRIS will be the largest satellite ever released from the ISS. After its mission, the machine will fall to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere instead of becoming space trash.

In 2017, tissue from a human lung was brought to the ISS.Tissue from a human lungResearchers aboard the ISS use this tissue to try and grow a full copy of the organ. Growing a real lung lets scientists study space travel's effects on human lungs instantly. This study also impacts regenerative medicine.

Joan Nichols, an associate director for research at the University of Texas Medical Branch, runs the Earth-based study. She says the experiment will test strategies for growing new lung tissue.

...test strategies for growing new lung tissue. This helps Earth efforts develop bioengineered tissue to repair damaged organs or lower organ rejection later.

Germs, especially bacteria that grow and change on long trips, are a major space travel worry. Astronauts prepare for Mars travel and surface stays. They also try to kill bacteria that might harm them in Mars' atmosphere.

NASA reports Mars' atmosphere kills bacteria in 30 seconds. However, spores from Bacillus pumilusSAFR-032 survived UV and peroxide treatments on the ISS. The bacteria survived 18 months on the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF), a test facility simulating Mars' atmosphere.

As a spokeswoman for the ISS says, why is this study important?

Future exploration missions use these findings to reduce contamination risk on other planets. The results also help scientists avoid mislabeling hitchhiking organisms as native life instead of invaders. This prevents responsibility for an alien invasion of Mars.

We agree.It would.be bad for Mars. It would ruin their stuff with super diseases we invented as a weird precaution.

Some space experiments use space specifics to create new things, like the lung project aiming to use microgravity for new cells. Many experiments stem from a simple idea: "Let's just do this one weird thing in space and see what happens." This falls into the second group.and see what happens.This is the second category.

What isthe scariest thingan astronaut can do on the ISS? Besides jumping out of an airlock, playing with fire is next. ISS researchers study Earth versus space flames; lack of gravity makes flames form fireballs instead of stretching high.

Fireballs look different; they extinguish differently. NASA calls the burning heptane a "cool flame." This flame burns near 400 degrees Fahrenheit and rarely exists on Earth. On the International Space Station, a cool flame burns up to a minute. It burns only a second or two in your home.

Astronaut-scientists suggest playing with fire might boost fuel efficiency. But, the worst case is they play with fire and yell "cool" often.

Working in space causes problems for astronauts used to simple tasks like putting things down or hanging clips. Tests now begin for ISS astronauts, inspired bygecko feet surfaces.

A gecko foot has millions of tiny hairs that create atomic-level attraction, letting the foot grip anything. Engineers built a similar surface with tiny hairs, smaller than those on a human head, which sticks to many walls and surfaces.

Tape and adhesives fail in zero gravity. Researchers explore an electrical field to create stickiness by rubbing positive and negative electrons. This method avoids surface residue on the ISS. NASA plans to use gecko grippers for external repairs, grabbing satellites or attaching robotic helpers to the ISS exterior.

Eating in space is weird. For a long time, astronauts ate freeze-dried food and Tang. Now, their meals remain limited.Astronauts eat many tortillas.Astronauts are changing this by growing vegetables in microgravity.

Lettuce grows easiest for astronauts. However, lack of sunlight, oxygen, and gravity creates problems. Astronauts use inorganic light to feed their plants, causing roots to grow everywhere instead of straight down.

Sam Anas, a plant science scientist with forty years of experience, explained that adding color to the space soil to make it darker—more appealing to the roots—changed things. "The seeds..."The seeds did not want to make leaves in the dark medium.Both roots and shoots began growing in the air toward the light.

So, that's...That is...Astronauts cannot stick to a healthy, vegetarian diet. Space is too dark. They would love...Astronauts would love a healthy salad, but they expect tortillas and space burritos again. We will do this diet out of solidarity.Astronauts would love a healthy salad, but they expect tortillas and space burritos again. We will do this diet out of solidarity.

After boarding the ISS on the Endeavor shuttle in 2008, spiders struggled to build webs without Earth's gravity. Once they adapted, the spiders wove symmetrical webs that looked ""beautiful," according to station skipper Michael Fincke.The station skipper Michael Fincke described the webs as "beautiful."

The spiders entered the ISS as part of an experiment. School children compared the webs of space-spiders to those found on Earth.

Spiders are already scary. Why bring them to space? Spiders beat lettuce and mouse sperm. If they learn space travel, we are doomed. Doomed! What if we land on a planet full of aliens who look like big, spooky spiders? Who trusts the aliens—us with two legs, or the spiders and their webs?

DOOMED!

Astronauts want a robotic nose to find mold and allergies. Losing some smell ability in space happens. New smells from ISS air circulation also matter.

The nose detects food spoilage before it happens.It locates mold.The nose discovers harmful CO2 levels before they become a problem. Testing the nose in microgravity lets them use it on Earth.

Being in space overwhelms the senses. Astronauts face many sensory challenges.In space, astronauts experience sensory overload.Weightlessness messes with the head. Canadian researchers study spatial disorientation on astronaut brains. Microgravity differs from Earth; brain signals change.The signals astronauts' brains receive are very misleading.Astronauts must change how they think about directions and basic navigation to do their jobs.

The study tests participants. Astronauts trace paths between points. Brain waves measure tasks. Astronauts take spatial orientation tests on Earth, in space, and on Earth again.

Astronauts build a robonaut for long-term missions. This robot handles tasks too risky for humans.

The robonaut.The robonaut is a head and torso with arms and legs. It connects to the ISS via handrails. Researchers try to teach the robot to solve problems and work on ISS hardware. They hope to send it for dangerous repairs soon.

Astronauts seem lazy. They avoid boring jobs, but they cannot all build a robot for the dull tasks. Astronauts, fix your own ship.

A strange but practical study on the ISS involves FOOT—Foot/Ground Reaction Forces During Space Flight. Researchers seek to find out how much wear and tear an astronaut's lower body gets in microgravity.Researchers study FOOT to find out how much wear and tear an astronaut's lower body gets in microgravity.An astronaut's lower body moves while in microgravity.

Astronauts face bone loss in space. Researchers hope a Lower Extremity Monitoring Suit will measure lower body muscle exertion. Scientists feel current work on long-term astronaut workouts is insufficient; lower-body exercise keeps astronauts healthy.

Landing on a new planet, meeting an alien president, and then falling because foot bones dissolved from Space Bone Disease is the most embarrassing thing.

That is the most embarrassing thing scientifically possible.

Scientists are using "cool" for an advanced experiment. That makes us feel cool.

Researchers collected Petri dishes with microbe swabs from Earth locations. They sent these to the ISS. Space scientists studied how microbes mixed together in that small, sealed space from different origins. Some microbes came from sports stadiums, TV sets, museums, and historic sites ("This microbe came from Mount Rushmore, and this one from the set of ").On the ISS, scientists analyze the cultures to see how they grow differently under various gravity and pressure. Track the experiment via ",The ISS cultures show how they grow differently based on gravity and pressure. You track the experiment via ",Project MERCCURI., where "trading cards" of the samples are available.

Astronauts spend more time in space. They must monitor their health. NASA astronauts and researchers focus on bones, which make up skeletons. On the ISS, Canadian astronauts run the "TBone experiment." This experiment uses 3D-imaging technology to track an astronaut's bone density.

Astronauts have ",High-resolution 3D models.Astronauts make 3D models of their bones and wrists before launch. After returning, they repeat the procedure. Scientists compare these models with blood and urine samples from the trip to see how space travel affects physical fitness for long missions.

Meanwhile, they will explore with squids, skeletons, spiders, and mouse sperm in space. Explore, doomed fools!

(Oh, no way. Come on.)Squid.now? They look like giant ocean spider monsters. Which side are you on, NASA?!

NASA sent three ", to study how gravity affects microbe-caused animal development and human health.Hawaiian bobtail squid.Scientists took a luminescent bacterium into space to study it. Microgravity affects bacterial colonization in a host, yes, but the sample size was small; more work is needed.

We will send more squids into space, which sounds like...Exactly what the squids would want.Why not arm the squids? A pistol in each tentacle? We are engineering our own demise. Science was a mistake.