Updated October 1, 2005
Teaching Modules
Chronobiology
NASA Naps
This article has been added to the Readings & References section.
Most astronauts have a hard time getting their eight hours of sleep in space. Weightlessness, lack of a normal day/night cycle, other unique stresses of space flight all contribute to sleep deficits. One solution is to take a nap, but sleep researchers need to better understand how napping affects performance.
Plant Biology
Prozac for Plants
This article has been added to the Readings & References section.
Environmental factors such as cold and drought can cause stress in plants limiting their growth and productivity. If the plants in question are being grown for food on Mars, they need to be as productive as possible. Researchers are working to genetically engineer plants that can better withstand stress and benefit humans when they get to Mars and here on Earth.
Radiation Biology
Mysterious Cancer
This article has been added to the Readings & References section.
Astronauts are exposed to high levels of cosmic radiation which damages DNA and increases the risk of cancer. This article discusses research into the mechanisms by which cosmic radiation exposure causes cancer and ways to reduce the risk.
Special Topics
Organisms
Experimentation with Animal Models in Space
This reading has been added.
Volume 10 of the Advances in Space Biology and Medicine series covers the latest developments in the use of animal models to study the effects of the space flight environment on physiological systems. Each chapter is devoted to a particular animal model or physiological system.
General Resources
Book Profiles
Experimentation with Animal Models in Space
This book has been added.
Volume 10 of the Advances in Space Biology and Medicine series covers the latest developments in the use of animal models to study the effects of the space flight environment on physiological systems. Each chapter is devoted to a particular animal model or physiological system.
Education & Training Opportunities
Astronaut Scholarship Foundation
Information about this scholarship has been added.
The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation provides scholarships for college students who exhibit motivation, imagination, and exceptional performance in the science or engineering field of their major.
Updated April 8, 2005
Teaching Modules
Space Medicine & Countermeasures
This is a new Teaching Module covering space medicine and countermeasures research. To view, click on the Teaching Modules button on the top navigation bar.
Living in Space
Habitability and Environment Factors Office
A link to this site has been added to the Research & Applications section.
The HEFO at Johnson Space Center is responsible for providing a safe and productive environment for any human spacecraft or habitat as well as overseeing the research and technology development to enable humans to safely and effectively live and work in space.
Isolation: NASA Experiments in Closed-Environment Living
This profile has been added to the Research & Applications section.
This extensive report covers the results from a series of
closed environment living studies designed to simulate the isolated living
conditions of a Mars expedition. The studies evaluated
habitable space, air revitalization, water recycling, sensors, noise, human
factors, telemedicine and more in closed systems that did not allow for the
resupply of air, water or supplies from external sources.
Microbiology
A Bad Influence on Microbes?
A link to this profile has been added to the Research & Applications section.
Scientists are working to understand why salmonella bacteria and possibly other pathogens become more virulent when grown in simulated microgravity. Studying these changes may allow scientists to gain new insight into how microbes cause disease, perhaps pointing out new ways to combat pathogens with drugs and vaccines.
Muscle Physiology
Space Research Is Enhancing Our Understanding of the Control of Muscle and Movement and Aiding Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries
A link to this profile has been added to the Research & Applications section.
This Space Life Sciences Research Highlights article discusses how space researchers are working to understand the way the nervous system controls muscle wasting, knowledge that could potentially help astronauts and people with spinal cord injuries.
Why Do Workouts Work?
A link to this profile has been added to the Research & Applications section.
This article describes how scientists are unlocking the secrets of muscle growth and atrophy and how these findings might be utilized to keep astronauts healthy and strong during extended stints in microgravity.
Radiation
Blinding Flashes
This reading has been added to the Readings & References section.
Five to ten years after exposure to space radiation, many astronauts' vision becomes clouded by cataracts. This article discusses how radiation affects vision and how research into this reaction may shed light on cataracts suffered by elderly people.
Sickening Solar Flares
This reading has been added to the Readings & References section.
NASA researchers discuss the effects a massive solar flare would have on an astronaut walking on the surface of the moon. Includes a discussion on the effects of ionizing radiation on humans in varying dosages.
The Space Environment
Sickening Solar Flares
This reading has been added to the Reading & References section.
NASA researchers discuss the effects a massive solar flair would have on an astronaut walking on the surface of the moon. Includes a discussion on the effects of ionizing radiation on humans in varying dosages.
Special Topics
Gravitational Effects
The Pull of Hypergravity
This reading has been added.
Using a 58-ft diameter centrifuge, researchers are gaining new insight into how humans adjust to hypergravity.
Studies of Artificial Gravity Yield Insights into Importance of Touch in Motor Control
This reading has been added.
This article from NASA's Space Life Sciences Research Highlights series discusses new studies that challenge long-held assumptions about humans' ability to adapt to the coriolis forces that accompany artificial gravity. The new findings provide insight into the neurological mechanisms of motor control, suggesting that humans can adapt to rotation.
Organisms
Biology & Countermeasures Research on the ISS Centrifuge
Accommodations Module
This presentation has been added.
The Centrifuge Accommodation Module (CAM) will be the primary non-human
biology research facility on the ISS. This presentation discusses how the
animal research made possible by the CAM will allow for the development and
testing of countermeasures to ensure astronaut health in space. Lecture
notes can be viewed in the Notes field of the PowerPoint file.
Technology
Biology-based Technology to Enhance Human Well-being and Function in Extended Space Exploration
This reading has been added to the Special Topic.
This report, published by the National Research Council, addresses technology needs for extended space exploration.
Human System Research & Technology Development
This link has been added.
NASA's work in the areas of human health and performance, life support, and habitation technologies for crews in and beyond low Earth orbit is outlined on this section of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate site.
National Center for Space Biological Technologies
This link has been added.
The NCSBT conducts and promotes basic and applied R&D of a range of biological technologies important to NASA activities, with commercial, medical, and biological spin-off opportunities. Areas of particular focus include human physiologic monitoring systems and advanced autonomous instrumentation for space biology research.
Tumbleweeds in the Bloodstream
This reading has been added.
Researchers are attempting to use nanoparticles to monitor health at the cellular level, detecting sickness long before symptoms appear. Such technology might help mitigate the risks of radiation and other illnesses on a Mars expedition.
Virtual Reality Meets Real-World Medicine
This reading has been added.
From NASA's Space Life Sciences Research Highlights series, this is an overview of the work of Muriel Ross, a scientist who lead the design of a tool for computerized image reconstruction of neurons. The Reconstruction of Serial Sections (ROSS) software has wide ranging applications to surgery, telemedicine, and beyond.
Women in Space
National Center for Gender Physiology
This link has been added.
This center at the University of Missouri is partnering with NASA to apply discoveries from space life sciences research to Earth-based health care.
University of Missouri Physical Therapy Department
This link has been added.
Researchers here are using the NASA-developed hindlimb suspension model to study gender differences in microgravity-induced bone and muscle degradation. This research could benefit both astronaut health and the elderly.
General Resources
Book Profiles
Exploring the Unknown, Volume VI: Space and Earth Science.
This book has been added.
Exploring the Unknown is the NASA History Division's series of selected documents in the history of the U.S. Civil Space Program. Chapter 3 of this volume includes over 130 pages of documents related to NASA's life sciences program and a brief history of Life Sciences in Space by a former head of the agency's Life Sciences Division.
Factors Affecting the Utilization of the International Space Station for Research in the Biological and Physical Sciences.
This book has been added.
This report from a Space Studies Board task group addresses concerns that reductions in the International Space Station budget will jeopardize the project's primary purpose: world-class science, including biology.
The Human Exploration of Space
This book has been added.
What is the proper role for the scientific community in any program of human exploration? This report is the first of three that will examine many of the science and science policy matters concerned with the return of astronauts to the Moon and eventual voyages to Mars. Specifically addressed in this book is the question of what scientific knowledge must be obtained as a prerequisite for prolonged human space missions?
Isolation: NASA Experiments in Closed-Environment Living
This book has been added.
This extensive report covers the results from a series of
closed environment living studies designed to simulate the isolated living
conditions of a Mars expedition. The studies evaluated
habitable space, air revitalization, water recycling, sensors, noise, human
factors, telemedicine and more in closed systems that did not allow for the
resupply of air, water or supplies from external sources.
Report of the Workshop on Biology-based Technology to Enhance Human Well-being and Function in Extended Space Exploration.
This book has been added.
The workshop detailed in this report was a conceptual discussion on how biological systems might one day become the basis for technologies that allow humans to venture further into space.
Science in NASA's Vision for Space Exploration
This book has been added.
Science in NASA's Vision for Space Exploration is a response to President Bush's instructions to implement "a sustained and affordable human and robotic program to explore the solar system and beyond." The report details a roadmap of 13 top-level agency objectives, outlining a direction for the future of space exploration.
Space and Life
This book has been added.
Space and Life contains extensive information on physiology with overviews on the history of space exploration, gravity, space cell biology, plants, cosmic radiation, and extraterrestrial life. Published in 1988, this 2004 release is a new translation of L'Espace et la Vie, from the original French.
Education & Training Opportunities
NIAC Student Fellows Competition
A reference to this research opportunity has been added.
The NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts seeks to identify creative and innovative undergraduate students who possess an extraordinary potential for developing advanced concepts in the fields of aeronautics, space and the sciences.