PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S ): 



Walter Ruether, Horst Buecker, R. Kaiser, J. P. 

 Massue, R. Pfohl, W. Enge , 0. C. Allkofer, K. 

 Bartholomae, R. Beaujean, W. Heinrich, K. Fukui, 

 Eugene V. Benton, E. Schopper, G. Henig, J. U. 

 Schott, H. Francois, and G. Portal 



EXPERIMENT TITLE/NUMBER : BIOSTACK II 



PROGRAM/MISSION : Apollo 17 



CLASSIFICATION : Animal - Grasshopper eggs ( Carausius morosus ) 



DISCIPLINE(S) : Radiobiology, Genetics, Cell biology 



OBJECTIVES : To study, in a direct manner, the biological effects of 

 individual heavy nuclei with high energy loss (HZE) , to obtain as much 

 information as possible on the mechanisms of biological damage by HZE 

 particles, to measure the charge and energy spectra of cosmic radiation within 

 the Apollo Command Module, and to provide data to allow an estimate of the 

 hazard to man from space radiation. 



PROTOCOL : Bacterial spores, protozoan cysts, plant seeds, shrimp eggs and 

 insect eggs were studied for inhibition of germination, inhibition of cell 

 growth, inhibition of organ development, developmental anomalies in various 

 stages of growth and mutation induction using several physical radiation 

 detectors. The BIOSTACK unit was flown in the Command Module where shielding 

 to ambient cosmic radiation was minimal. After the flight, the ground 

 controls and the flight package were disassembled and particle hits were 

 graphed. 



EQUIPMENT : Hermetically sealed aluminum container, containing a series of 

 select biologic material, each sandwiched between several types of dosimeters 

 (nuclear emulsions, cellulose nitrate, polycarbonate, LiF) , and thermistors. 



RESULTS : The grasshopper eggs were sensitive to HZE. Hatching of HZE hit 

 eggs was reduced and mortality increased. Malformations (fused segments, 

 short legs) increased from control '\ .5% to 23$. 



CONCLUSIONS : The experiment confirms the assumption that HZE particle-induced 

 damage might become manifest if a significant number of nonreplaceable cells 

 are destroyed. 



PUBLICATIONS : 113, 115, 116, 117, 119, 120, 213 



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