The International Space Station has been manned for almost 15 years, even though the whole construction was only completed a couple of years ago. During those years, it has helped bring huge amounts of scientific research and technology innovations back to Earth. The astronauts and cosmonauts spend their time doing all sorts of science experiments and testing, from physics and psychology, to genetic research and construction techniques. 

The results may take their time to be realised back on Earth, but NASA has a major drive called the Spinoff Project to get the results into practice in businesses, hospitals and other areas of our lives. Not only does that help encourage further funding from the various governments that support the ISS project, but it creates new businesses and industries, providing jobs and new ideas.

Everyday advances

Advances from the ISS that help in our everyday life include the invention of a new, quick-fastening nut. It was used to link the many hoses and pipes on the ISS, but is now present on Earth, in firefighting appliances, the aerospace industry and for gas fittings, helping to improve response times and safety.

For those who fly regularly, the ISS has also given us a handheld device that can warn pilots of falling cabin pressure on a flight, helping them take emergency action to save the aircraft.

Medical advances

Life on the ISS means astronauts breathe recycled air for months at a time. That has led to the creation of an air purifier that kills 93.3% of airborne bugs, including anthrax, which can now be used in places on Earth that need very clean air or help to purify toxic environments.

In space, the astronauts can grow perfectly shaped 3D proteins, allowing for new types of drugs to be built, helping to improve patients' lives. 

The ISS is famous for its robotic arms that assist the astronauts in moving experiments and components around. As a spinoff of that technology, there are ground-based models that are used in human-collaborative medical surgery, or for the emergency services to respond remotely to toxic or chemical leaks. 

Out in poorer countries, the ISS has helped to fight disease with the refinement of reverse osmosis technology that is used to clean water from rural or contaminated sources. Yes, the astronauts do drink their own urine, but the technique turns it back to pure water.

Science advances

The microgravity environment on the ISS has enabled astronaut scientists to invent new materials. They have rearranged atoms into exotic types of matter, creating the foundations for future smart materials technologies. 

Next year, scientists plan to create the coldest place in the universe on the ISS, which will help them observe matter in strange new superstates that can also be used to develop new technologies and innovations in improved superconductors and quantum computing.

And if you think the ISS is just for science, then you're wrong. If the funding remains in place, the future of the ISS will include playing a part in preparations for deep space missions as mankind heads out into the solar system beyond the moon. Who knows what they'll find out there?