In 2030, one of the most mind-boggling and innovative human creations – the floating International Space Station (ISS) – will come to an end after 30 years in orbit.
The ISS, which is a low-orbit laboratory shared by the United States, Russia, China, Canada, and Europe, will be decommissioned following decades of wear and tear that have made it unsafe and unsuitable to continue operations. But these international partners will not erect a new, shared space station in its place. Instead, for the first time, space stations will be owned and operated by commercial space companies, and sovereign nations will become their customers.
What does that mean for the public health and biomedical research conducted aboard the ISS that has resulted in improved health outcomes for humans in space and here on Earth? Without action from the United States and its international partners, that research could go away in favor more lucrative space tourism or other business ventures.
I wrote about this conundrum and what the United States and its partners can do to preserve public health and biomedical research in space this week for Public Health Post. You can read more here.
