Navigation

Document Library

Last update of this page: September 3, 2026, 6:41 pm ET

NOTE TO ALL MISSION 22 TO ISS COMMUNITIES

All sections of this Library are now up to date for Mission 22. All Mission 22 Community Program Directors can request the UserID and Password needed to download and use the 10 documents found in Section 3 of this Document Library.  

For each document in Section 3 below, there is a ‘Revision Date’ listed in green text, which reflects the date for the correct document for Mission 22. It is this document that is provided below for download. If you have recently downloaded a document, and you want to make sure you have the right one for Mission 22, see if the ‘Revision Date’ on the top of page 1 of your document matches the correct revision date provided below in green text. If not, download the correct document.

 

This Library provides SSEP participating communities all the documents necessary to conduct the SSEP. All documents referred to throughout this website, as well as additional resource documents, are found here. This Library serves as a single download point for all documents, and provides a description for each.

Most of these documents are password protected. Please see your SSEP Community Program Director for access, or Contact SSEP.

 

1. General Program Documents from NCESSE – Not Password Protected

a. At-A-Glance SSEP Program Overview
Three-page program overview of the SSEP for teachers, students, and stakeholders across your community. (Make sure to download the At-A-Glance document for the correct flight opportunity.)

Download: SSEP Mission 22 At-A-Glance Program Overview
Download: SSEP Mission 21 At-A-Glance Program Overview
Download: SSEP Mission 20 At-A-Glance Program Overview
Download: SSEP Mission 19 At-A-Glance Program Overview


b. Congressional Briefing Document
The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education has given multiple SSEP briefings on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. SSEP was designed as a model U.S. national STEM education program, is a commercial space program, and provides for utilization of the U.S. National Laboratory on the International Space Station for STEM education across the grade 5-16 pipeline – all of which is of interest to the United State Congress. This 2-page document is provided at those briefings.
Download: Congressional Briefing Document
REVISIONS FROM MISSION 21 to MISSION 22: all program information updated to include Mission 20 data 
Correct Document Revision Date for Mission 22: February 7, 2026 (downloadable above)

 

2. General Program Multimedia from NCESSE – Not Password Protected

a. VIDEO: Excellent SSEP Overview
NASA Pre-Flight Science Briefing: Dr. Jeff Goldstein, SSEP Program Director, SSEP Mission 6 to ISS Orb-3 Launch
October 26, 2014
The Briefing was conducted at NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA, on October 26, 2014, in advance of the launch of Orb-3 from the adjacent Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS). A live video feed of the rocket on Pad-0A can be seen behind the panelists. The Briefing was aired live on NASA TV.

Dr. Jeff Goldstein, Center Director for the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education, and the creator and director of the SSEP, was one of the panelists on the Briefing, and provides an excellent overview of the SSEP, including the breadth and depth of effort put forward at the local level in each of the participating Mission 6 communities. He also provided an overview of the science to be conducted on ISS with the Yankee Clipper experiments. Dr. Goldstein is the NASA Principal Investigator (PI) on all SSEP experiment payloads.

Historical Background: Orb-3 was lost on launch on October 28, 2014 (see December 8, 2014 blog post). A replacement payload of 17 of 18 Mission 6 experiments, Yankee Clipper II, launched to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX CRS-5 on January 10, 2015, at 4:47 am EST, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL. This truly stunning, just 2-month turn-around was due to the remarkable efforts of all Mission 6 student flight teams, their teacher facilitators, NASA, Nanoracks (our payload services provider at the time), and NCESSE. After a month on ISS, Yankee Clipper II retuned to Earth on SpaceX CRS-5 Dragon on February 10, 2015, splashing down in the Pacific.

Pre-Flight Science Briefing – the SSEP Highlights:

  • SSEP Overview: at time stamp 10 min 50 sec
  • Question from Ken Kremer, Universe Today, on Sen. Tom Coburn’s (OK) comments on the SSEP: at time stamp 19 min 25 sec
  • Goldstein’s response to Ken Kremer’s question: at time stamp 20 min 35 sec (also see NCESSE’s formal response)

http://ssep.ncesse.org/2015/02/for-mission-8-communities-starting-ssep-nasa-pre-flight-briefing-with-an-ssep-overview-by-dr-jeff-goldstein-program-director/

 

b. VIDEO: Excellent SSEP Overview
NASA Mission Control Houston Interview: Dr. Jeff Goldstein, SSEP Program Director, SSEP Mission 4 to ISS Orb-1 Launch
January 10, 2014
http://ssep.ncesse.org/2014/01/nasa-jsc-interview-dr-jeff-goldstein-ssep-program-director-on-orb-1-launch/

 

c. VIDEO: Excellent SSEP Overview
Student Science is Underway with SpaceX
SPACEPORTS, May 23, 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-0PUBbMdKo

 

d. FEATURE ARTICLES: Program Overview and Impact
Not Your Grandma’s Science Competition
Scientific American Frontiers, February 17, 2015, Amanda Baker
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/frontiers-for-young-minds/2015/02/17/not-your-grandmas-science-competition-part-2/

Viewport – Good News From Space
“[SSEP] may be the most important development for the future of the U.S. space program.”
General J.R. Dailey, Director, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Air&Space Smithsonian, AirSpaceMag.com, January 01, 2014
http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/Viewport-December-2013-232364871.html

 

e. POWERPOINT: General Program Overview
An overview of program operations, partners, impact to date, and highlights from past Missions. An excellent program summary for presentations to stakeholders.

Download: General Program Overview PowerPoint (PDF)
REVISIONS FROM MISSION 21 to MISSION 22: Mission 22 detail
Correct Document Revision Date for Mission 22: February 2, 2026 (downloadable above)

 

3. Student Proposers Resource Library – Password Protected

a. [this is written for pre-college students] To Students—Getting Started With Experiment Design
This document provides a recipe for getting students thinking about the process of experiment design.

Download for Mission 22: To Students—Getting Started With Experiment Design secured file
REVISIONS FROM MISSION 21 to MISSION 22: re-written for specifically pre-college students
Correct Document Revision Date for Missions 22: September 3, 2026 (downloadable above)

 

b. Microgravity Science Background and Microgravity Experiment Case Studies Documents
These documents are meant to provide a primer on the categories of science that might be undertaken in microgravity and why, and to provide inspiration and guidance for what kinds of experiments might be proposed.

The Microgravity Science Background document provides a basic overview of science relevant to microgravity studies. It details 9 separate categories of science that can be addressed in microgravity, including: protein crystal growth, inorganic crystal growth, bacterial studies, fish/aquatic life, food product studies, seeds and plants, fluid diffusion, cell biology, and micro-encapsulation. For each category, this document provides the science background, why research in this category is important, why gravity is thought to play a role, and why experiments with gravity ‘turned-off’ have been done.

Download for Mission 22: Microgravity Science Backgroundsecured file
REVISIONS FROM MISSION 21 to MISSION 22: none
Correct Document Revision Date for Mission 22: January 20, 2025 (downloadable above)

The Microgravity Experiment Case Studies document provides details of experiments suitable for an SSEP mini-laboratory, in each of the nine science categories, and links to summaries of all SSEP experiments operated on-orbit to date.

Download for Mission 22: Microgravity Experiment Case Studiessecured file
REVISIONS FROM MISSION 21 to MISSION 22: removal of the references to a limited number of specific SSEP experiments conducted on-orbit, and addition of links to experiment summaries for all SSEP experiments conducted on-orbit to date
Correct Document Revision Date for Mission 22: September 3, 2026 (downloadable above)

 

c. Using Biologicals in SSEP Experiments: Dormant Forms, Fixatives and Growth Inhibitors Document
This document provides an understanding of why student researchers might need to use biological samples in dormant form. It also provides an understanding of why student researchers might want to terminate a biological experiment before their experiment leaves orbit and is re-introduced to a gravity environment, and how termination can be accomplished by introducing either a’fixative’ which kills and preserves the biology, or by introducing a growth inhibitor which dramatically slows biological activity. This document also includes a wonderful overview of why collaboration with professional researchers in your area is so important.

Download for Mission 22: Using Biologicals in SSEP Experiments: Dormant Forms, Fixatives and Growth Inhibitors secured file
REVISIONS FROM MISSION 21 to MISSION 22: updated with Mission 22 information, including links to M22 pages; flight hardware references and terminology updated to Rhodium RhFET-01 mini-laboratory; updated restrictions on experiment samples (fluids and solids) that can be used, noting that formalin is no longer allowed as a fixative and suggesting ethanol as the general use substitute
Correct Document Revision Date for Mission 22: September 1, 2026 (downloadable above)

 

d. Master List of Experiment Samples Document, and Rhodium Prohibited Samples & Incompatibilities Document
The first two SSEP Missions were on the final 2 flights of the U.S. Space Shuttle Program, STS-134 the final flight of Endeavour, and STS-135 – the final flight of Atlantis. For these missions, student proposers were required to use only experiment samples (fluids and solids) on a Master List of Experiment Samples. The list includes hundreds of non-toxic and low toxicity samples that were allowed by NASA at the time, and grouped into 9 categories of microgravity science research. While it provided a solid starting point for student teams, the list also strongly restricted experiment design.

For SSEP on ISS Missions 1-22, a broader approach to allowed samples is taken. Students are free to define the samples they want to use within constraints imposed by categories of Prohibited Samples and Hazardous Samples. But the Master List of Experiment Samples is still useful given a list of experiment samples that are often associated with microgravity experiments can be a helpful starting point as students begin framing an experiment. This list is therefore provided as a resource for SSEP missions to ISS.

The Rhodium Prohibited Samples & Incompatibilities document provides a listing of Prohibited Samples due to: i) potential adverse interactions with the materials used in the construction of the RhFET-01 mini-lab, or ii) restrictions imposed by NASA Toxicology. The document also provides general categories of samples that are allowable.

NOTE: both the Master List of Experiment Samples and the Rhodium Prohibited Samples & Incompatibilities documents must be used in concert with Section 6.2 of your Mission’s Mini-Laboratory Operation page, titled: 6.2 Experiment Samples—Restrictions on the Fluids and Solids That You Can Use in Your Experiment.

Download for Mission 22: Master List of Experiment Samplessecured file
REVISIONS FROM MISSION 21 to MISSION 22: updated with Mission 22 information; significant update to guidance on the use of this document as one starting point for experiment design
Correct Document Revision Date for Missions 22: September 1, 2026 (downloadable above)

Download for Mission 22: Rhodium RhFET-01 — Prohibited Samples & Incompatibilitiessecured file 
REVISIONS FROM MISSION 21 to MISSION 22: none  
Correct Document Revision Date for Missions 22: October 6, 2025 (downloadable above)

 

e. Flight Experiment Proposal Guide, and Related Background Documents for Teachers and for Student Proposers
These documents provide the requirements for student team submission of a formal Flight Experiment Proposal.

The Flight Experiment Proposal Guide includes the required content and format for a proposal. The main body of each proposal will be no more than 5 pages, and include: 1) a write-up of the question to be addressed by the proposed experiment, and how it derives from current scientific understanding, and 2) a write-up of the experimental design, including: how the experiment addresses the question posed, why the proposed experiment samples (fluids and/or solids) were chosen, the experimental procedure, and the proposed experimental analysis meant to reveal an answer to the question.

Background for Teachers provides an overview of how the experiment design competition works, requirements for a proposing student team, requirements for proposal submission, and the proposal evaluation criteria.

Background for Student Proposers provides an overview of how to think about the experiment design and proposal process, and requirements for a proposing student team.

Required Specificity for Description of Experiment Samples provides information on how the experiment samples (fluids and/or solids) need to be specified for NASA flight safety review before the experiment can be selected for flight. While the level of specificity described in this document is not required at the time the student teams submit their proposal, it is highly advisable for teams to read this guide and follow the advice provided as closely as possible when writing their proposal in order to avoid any problems if their experiment is selected for flight.

Download for Mission 22: Flight Experiment Proposal Guidesecured file
REVISIONS FROM MISSION 21 to MISSION 22: updated with Mission 22 information, including links to M22 pages; added new section on the use of generative AI in both the Cover Page and required Letter of Certification by Instructor
Correct Document Revision Date for Mission 22: August 26, 2026 (downloadable above)

Download for Mission 22: Flight Experiment Proposal Guide: Background for Teacherssecured file
REVISIONS FROM MISSION 21 to MISSION 22: updated with Mission 22 information, including links to M22 pages; new section added on the need for each team to secure a Researcher Advisor as an expert in the specific discipline of their experiment
Correct Document Revision Date for Mission 22: August 26, 2026 (downloadable above)

Download for Mission 22: Flight Experiment Proposal Guide: Background for Student Proposerssecured file
REVISIONS FROM MISSION 21 to MISSION 22: minor grammatical edits
Correct Document Revision Date for Mission 22: September 1, 2026 (downloadable above)

Download for Mission 22: Required Specificity for Description of Experiment Samplessecured file
REVISIONS FROM MISSION 21 to MISSION 22: edits to fluids/solid volumes that are provided in example experiments to ensure consistency with RhFET-01 mini-laboratory chamber sizes  
Correct Document Revision Date for Mission 22: September 1, 2026 (downloadable above)

 

The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in the U.S., and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education internationally. It is enabled through a strategic partnership with NanoRacks LLC, which is working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory. SSEP is the first pre-college STEM education program that is both a U.S. national initiative and implemented as an on-orbit commercial space venture.