With its unparalleled view of Earth, the International Space Station (ISS) is being installed with new environmental monitoring technology to improve the ability to observe and understand our planet.

Through a commercial payload agreement with Airbus US Space & Defence, supported by the ISS National Laboratory, ISS plays host to a variety of payloads for cutting-edge research and product development.

The Airbus payload hosting platform Bartolomeo is attached to the European Columbus Module of the ISS and can accommodate up to 12 different experiment modules, supplying them with power and providing data transmission to Earth.

The Airbus team has since added the ArgUS multi-payload carrier – a payload accommodation plate that can host up to 10 smaller payloads within one standard payload slot.

Debra Facktor, head of US space systems for Airbus US, said: “Through ArgUS, researchers, institutions and private organisations can now affordably access low-Earth orbit, and the barrier to entry...