Findings and Recommendations 



— Flight-certified, variable-gravity facilities on appropriate platforms to house 

 plants and animals of various sizes and ultimately a human-rated, inflight, 

 variable-gravity facility 



— A capability for remote data collection, analysis, cataloging, and storage of 

 biologic and exobiological data 



— A capability for data-base management and data analyses of biomedical, 

 biologic, and exobiological information. 



Program Administration 



The coordination of life sciences activities at NASA is a challenging task. The 

 research is multidisciplinary in approach and involves many other organizations — 

 both within and external to the Agency — that are pursuing similar interests. The 

 findings and recommendations given below identify the administrative challenges, 

 acknowledge recent progress, and specify resource requirements. 



Findings 



• During the course of this study, the life sciences have received increased attention 

 within NASA. 



— Concern about the effects of long-duration space flight has given life sciences a 

 higher priority in the Agency and has provided the program with an opportu- 

 nity to articulate its own goals more clearly. 



— At the same time, however, senior managers have not always appreciated that 

 life sciences concerns are unique in the study and maintenance of life in space 

 and that this uniqueness creates special administrative challenges for the pro- 

 gram. 



• The Life Sciences Division does not have sufficient resources in funds, staff, and 

 facilities to realize its own objectives or the objectives set for the program by sen- 

 ior managers. 



• The dispersion of life sciences activities across a number of NASA program offices 

 has made it difficult to conduct research in several important areas, particularly 

 human factors and biospherics. While new coordination efforts are under way, 

 the integration of life sciences efforts across the Agency remains problematic. 



• NASA's Life Sciences Division supports diversified programs that could benefit 

 from coordination between the Division and outside organizations. The Division 

 has initiated formal cooperative agreements with the National Institutes of Health 

 and other Federal agencies. 



• The increasing importance of foreign space programs has opened up a broad field 

 for potential cooperative projects. These arrangements require international 

 negotiations that are lengthy and involve multiple U.S. agencies. 



• The Life Sciences Division has not always been able to create stable relationships 

 with outside scientific groups. 



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