Life Sciences in the Space Program 



Tliis mockup of a 1.8-meter centrifuge is undergoing tests at 

 NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The centrifuge was 

 designed at Ames Research Center for use on the Space Station. 



be designed, built and included in the initial 

 operating configuration of a [dedicated] life 

 science laboratory." 



The National Commission on Space, in its 1986 

 report Pioneering the Space Frontier, recommended 

 seven goals to be pursued in order to "foster 

 [an] integrated approach to research on 

 fundamental questions in science." One 

 recommended goal is to conduct "new research 

 into the effects of different gravity levels on 

 humans and other biological systems." The 

 commission emphasized the need for such 

 research both to "resolve fundamental 

 questions" and to "solve pacing [operational] 

 problems that depend on gravity." A particular 

 need was seen for 'long-duration studies of the 

 reactions of humans and plants to the 

 microgravity of free space, the one-sixth gravity 

 of the Moon, and the one-third gravity of 

 Mars." To help accomplish these goals, the 

 commission recommended the "early availability 

 of a dedicated variable-G research facility in 

 Earth orbit to establish design parameters for 

 future long-duration space mission facilities." 



Astronaut Sally Ride's report to the NASA Administrator, Leadership and America's 

 Future in Space, recognized that "life sciences research is. . .critical to any program 

 involving relatively long periods of human habitation in space." This report states 

 that "research must be done to understand the physiological effects of the 

 microgravity environment" and "to develop measures to counteract any adverse 

 effects." These efforts were considered crucial to conducting two of its four major 

 goals: a manned outpost on the Moon and a human mission to Mars. 



The NASA Advisory Council's Space and Earth Science Advisory Committee, in 

 its 1986 report The Crisis in Space and Earth Science, noted that life sciences research 

 activities would "form a major part of the space station" and "because of the 

 unique ties of [this] discipline to the manned program, particular care will have to 

 be taken in the design of the experimental requirements if the promise of [this] 

 field is to be realized." 



Scientific Issues 



Much of the research conducted by the Gravitational Biology Program is directed 

 toward problems in basic science. Since a number of questions crucial to a 

 detailed understanding of the effects of gravity can be addressed only aboard 

 orbital spacecraft, it follows that NASA, being chartered to contribute to "the 



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