Space Station and instrumentation

Abstract
Europe contributes to the International Space Station (ISS) a variety of research equipment either originating form individual European countries or stemming from Trans-European co-operations carried out under ESA contracts The ISS relevant research equipment is usually composed of universally applicable, discipline-adapted laboratories and experiment-dedicated facilities. The laboratories will be integrated into the International Standard Payload Racks (ISPR). Examples relevant for the discipline Physical Sciences are the European Fluid Science Lab (FSL), the Material Science Lab (MSL), the Electromagnetic Levitator for Material Sciences (MSL-EML), and also the European Drawer Rack (EDR) Experiment dedicated hardware will go into fast easily exchangeable Experiment Containers (ECs), Inserts, Cartridges, Drawers, and Lockers These components slide into the laboratories, mostly by automatically connecting relevant power, gas, liquid, and light-beam ducts. These laboratory inserts are planned to be designed as modular as possible so that they can be adapted to various similar demands, or upgraded according to growing scientific achievements. All the European laboratories and experiment-dedicated hardware are planned to serve as multi-user and multi-experiment facilities.