Thomas E. Malone, Ph.D. 



Chairperson 



Michael Collins 

 Francis D. Moore, M.D. 



Beryl A. Radin, Ph.D. 



Staff Associate 



Program Administration 



The coordination of all efforts related to life sciences at NASA is a complex 

 activity. While prime responsibility for most of the program resides in the Life 

 Sciences Division within the Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA), 

 other parts of NASA are indirectly involved in life sciences efforts. NASA offices 

 related to this discipline include the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology, 

 the Office of Space Flight, the Office of Space Station, the Office of Commercial 

 Programs, the Office of Management, and the Office of Equal Opportunity 

 Programs. Program implementation requires coordination of efforts by different 

 Headquarters and Center institutes. In most of the major program offices, the 

 effort involves multiple divisions, and at the Ames Research Center (ARC) and 

 Johnson Space Center GSC), the main participating Centers, more than one 

 Directorate. 



Located along with the Life Sciences Division in OSSA are the Astrophysics, Solar 

 System Exploration, Earth Science and Applications, Microgravity Science and 

 Applications, and Communications Divisions. Organized into programmatic areas 

 for Operational Medicine, Space Medicine and Biology, Flight Programs, and 

 Biological Systems Research, the Life Sciences Division differs from its organiza- 

 tional peers in several ways: it emphasizes both manned and unmanned missions 

 and projects and, perhaps most importantly, its conduct of science is closely 

 linked with other parts of the NASA organization for certain programmatic efforts, 

 as noted above. 



This report emphasizes key findings for enhancing the effectiveness of life sciences 

 at NASA. The analysis and the recommendations that follow are based largely on 

 material collected during extensive interviews with multiple levels of program staff 

 at NASA Headquarters, ARC and JSC, and other Federal agencies. Those 

 interviewed included staff at the Office of the Administrator, OSSA, the Life 

 Sciences Division Director's Office, branch and program officials in Washington, as 

 well as Center staff in comparable positions at ARC and JSC. In addition, 

 meetings were held with representatives from the National Institutes of Health 

 (NIH), Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Air Force, and correspondence 

 was received from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, 

 and the Department of Agriculture. This paper reviews historical perspectives 



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