Inquiring research minds want to know...what resources are available on this orbiting laboratory we keep hearing about? Wonder no more, science community and space aficionados! The April 9 publication of the "International Space Station Facilities Research in Space 2013 and Beyond" brochure details the many assets available for science on orbit.

"All of the station's facilities are discussed based upon the type of research being done in those facilities," said Assistant International Space Station Program Scientist Kirt Costello, Ph.D.

"If you are interested in a particular type of science, you can go straight to that section to read about the onboard capabilities in that area. Just don't forget that the space station is a unique multidisciplinary laboratory, there's even a 'multipurpose facilities' section dedicated to all of those capabilities."

More than 30 pages were updated for the 2013 version, covering new modules and facilities added to the space station since the previous publication in 2009. The brochure also describes the space station's payload racks where experiments take place and the external facilities, such as the recently added Japanese Experiment Module's Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD).

The goal of this brochure is to help interested researchers understand the resources available aboard the space station for microgravity investigations. This includes the new Aquatic Habitat and the upcoming biological sample facilities Veggie and Rodent Habitat.

"Since completing the space station, crews have shifted their time from assembly tasks to research," said Costello. "This change has resulted in a veritable explosion in the amount of experiments and investigations performed in orbit. This updated brochure highlights our increased research capabilities."

Readers browsing the updated brochure can identify the location of a particular facility, find various vantage points from aboard station and even discover the related benefits for humanity.

"These benefits are captured throughout this document to reinforce how the hardware facility capability we have in orbit is being used to enhance our life back here on Earth," said Costello.