Some of the experiments done on the ISS look deep into the stars.

 

Some of the experiments done on the ISS look deep into the stars.

Some of the ISS’s instruments are designed to look out into the universe to better understand what’s happening.

One instrument, NICER, studies the densest object in the universe, neutron star

On the other hand, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer is being used to try and capture and analyze cosmic rays, which are some of the fundamental components of the universe.

This, in turn, is being used by physicists to try and learn more about the origins of the universe

As many as 10 million people are living with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative nerve disorder that causes dopamine levels in the brain to drop, leading to symptoms that include tremors, stiffness, loss of balance, and even cognitive decline. The disease’s most famous victim is actor Michael J. Fox, whose eponymous foundation funds research to study and cure the affliction.

Fox’s foundation has partnered with the ISS on research targeting a protein produced by a gene mutation believed to be involved in Parkinson’s disease. Drug therapies targeting the LRRK2 protein need additional information about its crystalline structure. The absence of gravity aboard the ISS should allow the crystals to grow larger and in a more uniform pattern, which will make them easier to study back on Earth using high-resolution imaging technology.

The experiment was first sent to the ISS in August 2017. The most recent re-supply mission, using a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft that docked at the space station earlier this month, delivered additional hardware to improve the size of the crystals for a second series of experiments.

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