But, thanks to ISS-based astronaut Sunita Williams, one we get to use today.
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The ISS-FIT competition program is creating new dietary tracking applications for use by astronauts.
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That demonstration saw the capsule berth with the ISS - the first commercially designed and built vehicle to do so - and then return safely to Earth.
The billion-dollar project is the brainchild of Dennis Tito (he of ISS space-tourism fame), and is seeking private and charitable funding in time to make the proposed launch window -- opening on January 5, 2018.
They can use scanning tools -- such as the ISS Internet Scanner -- to scan for it.
Gidzenko, who was a member of the first crew to live on the ISS, said the two-day flight to the ISS had gone well.
The first of 16 ISS FIT sub-competitions is already over.
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Of course, they're still in the starting stages at the moment -- a few outstanding issues include the amount of sunlight needed and if the geometry of the ISS window affects the image -- but NASA hopes to open up the ISERV to other scientists in a few months once it has all its kinks worked out.
"If we don't have Soyuz flying by the middle of November -- the 16th or so, the normal landing time for the last crew -- we would have to de-man ISS at that point, " Suffredini said.
But as a partner on the ISS programme, and following an agreement to extend space station operations until 2020, Europe has the right to claim a long-duration ISS residency of six months roughly every two years.
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Nasa's new Space Launch System (SLS) is a multi-billion-dollar venture to take humans beyond the International Space Station (ISS) and the confines of low-Earth orbit.
Oh, how the times have changed... its final mission saw Atlantis successfully deliver the Russian Mini-Research Module Rassvet to the ISS. She'll be prepped one last time to stand-by as a rescue ship for the upcoming (and final) missions of Endeavor and Discovery, but Atlantis' days in space are likely over.
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Lord Rees, however, believes that the ISS is not a cost-effective way to do science.
That indicates a considerably higher endorsement rate than ISS usually gives to say-on-pay votes, according to Ms. Bowie.
The Moscow talks coincided with the deployment of a Soyuz craft to ferry a new crew to the ISS. The existing crew - two Americans and a Russian - had a dramatic re-entry that took their craft more than 400 kilometres (250 miles) beyond its intended landing site.
The re-boost sets the ISS up for the visit of space shuttle Discovery next month.
The ISS is due to be de-orbited, in the inelegant jargon of the field, in 2020.
Following the retirement of the US space shuttle in 2011, the only way to transfer astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) is aboard the three-seat Russian Soyuz vehicle.
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Passengers will ride the rocket plane for the fun of it, but scientists would use it for the same reasons they also fly experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) or on sounding rockets - to access microgravity conditions.
If you're up for it, NASA TV coverage starts at 3:30AM the same day and the final berthing process (actually getting the capsule connected to the ISS) should happen after 8AM -- all that said, initial "orbital maneuvers" are set for 2AM, according to a tweet from Elon Musk.
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In March, Mr Hadfield will become the second-ever non-Russian and non-American to lead an ISS crew.
If Europe can deliver about six tonnes of supplies a year to the platform, it is guaranteed six-month residencies at the ISS for its astronauts.
He is the first person to ever see the underbelly of the shuttle while in orbit and was manoeuvred into position by the ISS's Canadarm2 18m (58-foot) robotic arm.
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The space truck, which docked to the rear of the platform this month, fired its thrusters for a 740-second burn, raising the ISS orbit by 4.5km.
The ATV - the biggest, most sophisticated spacecraft yet flown by the European Space Agency - passed just 30km under the ISS as it moved to the parking position.
By that time, Apple had already set in motion the proposed changes, after inviting in shareholder advisory group ISS to review its corporate governance in mid-March, after last year's shareholder meeting.
They are under more pressure than ever to engage with companies, says Jean-Nicolas Caprasse, the director of ISS Europe, which advises them on how to vote.
Discovery will take parts and supplies to the ISS and test new safety features such as a repair-kit for heatshield tiles and a 15m-long robotic arm that will inspect the shuttle for damage in orbit.
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And if they have to leave and no-one goes up to replace them, the ISS begins to empty.
Rather than perform the hard work of individual analysis, ISS has elected to offer all of their clients a one-size-fits-all solution.
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