As humans return to the Moon and set our sights on Mars, it is more important than ever to understand how biological and physical processes behave in space. NASA’s Division of Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) investigates how human health is affected by space, how materials and chemical processes behave in microgravity, and how plants and cells can thrive aboard a spaceship. These studies don’t just benefit space exploration — they have also led to numerous technological advances that improve health and wellbeing on Earth.
NASA’s BPS Division conducts experiments in ground-based laboratories, on aircraft and balloons, in sub-orbital flight, and in and beyond low-Earth orbit. The BPS Division’s open science approach to sharing these precious flight experiment data allows greater scientific participation and encourages new discoveries in the fields of space biology, medicine, and physical science for the benefit of all.
The Biological and Physical Sciences Data Point of Contact is Sylvain Costes.
Biological and Physical Science Data Repositories
Explore NASA’s biological and physical science data offerings using these archives and resources.
| Ames Life Sciences Data Archive (ALSDA) | ALSDA is the official repository for non-human data generated by NASA’s Space Biology Program and Human Research Program. | https://www.nasa.gov/ames/research/space-biosciences/alsda |
| GeneLab: Open Science for Life in Space | GeneLab is an open-access resource where users can upload, download, search, share, analyze, and visualize biological omics data from spaceflight and analog experiments. | https://genelab.nasa.gov/ |
| Space Biology Biospecimen Sharing Program (BSP) | NASA’s Space Biology BSP collects non-human biospecimens from spaceflight and ground-based investigations and coordinates dissections to maximize the scientific return of these high-quality tissues. | https://science.nasa.gov/biological-physical/space-biology-biospecimen-sharing-program |
| NASA Biological Institutional Scientific Collection (NBISC) | NBISC is a public biorepository of non-human samples from NASA-funded spaceflight investigations and correlative ground studies dating from 1937 to the present day. | https://www.nasa.gov/ames/nasa-biological-institutional-scientific-collection-nbisc/ |
| Physical Science Informatics (PSI) | PSI is an open online database of past and current space-based microgravity physical science experiments, as well as related ground-based studies, that help to understand the effect of reduced gravity on physical and chemical systems. | https://psi.nasa.gov/ |
Search for NASA Science Data
As part of its open science mission, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) provides web tools to search across all of NASA’s science data, publications, software, and resources.
Science Discovery Engine
An integrated search platform to help you find what you need across NASA’s vast stores of open science data, documentation, code, and tools.
Science Explorer (SciX)
A digital library portal for scientific publications and software related to astronomy, Earth science, heliophysics, physics, and planetary science.