The UK Space Agency announced on Monday that it will fund three experiments on the International Space Station, in a bid to tackle the effects of ageing and develop new materials.

The three experiments, led by British researchers and due to launch in 2021, will receive close to 3 million pounds (3.86 million U.S. dollars) of new funding for the experiments, according to a statement from the Agency.

Two of the experiments will look at age related muscle loss, while a third will look at new techniques for the production of materials and alloys in space with properties that cannot be obtained on Earth.

For 20 years the International Space Station has provided a unique laboratory for astronauts to carry out cutting-edge research, said Dr Graham Turnock, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency.

This new funding "puts UK academics at the forefront of future pioneering scientific research, allowing us to gain knowledge that will improve life on Earth", said Turnock.