Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
I am glad to be here today to discuss the President's Fiscal
Year 1999 Budget Request for NASA's Office of Life and
Microgravity Sciences and Applications (OLMSA).
OLMSA Mission
NASA's Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications
is a partner in the Human Exploration and Development of Space
Strategic Enterprise (HEDS). Our major objectives are to provide
scientific and technological underpinnings for the use of the
unique attributes of space and to explore tangible benefits for
the people of Earth. OLMSA conducts high-quality peer-reviewed
research and, since January 1997 has begun facilitating the commercial
use of space through NASA's Commercial Space Centers.
OLMSA produces fundamental scientific knowledge; knowledge and
technology to improve industrial processes; knowledge and technology
for improved health care; and knowledge and technology to enable
human activities in space.
As the members of the committee are aware, the low-gravity environment of space presents researchers with opportunities that simply cannot be replicated on Earth. For the first time in our history, we have the tools to control gravity as an experimental variable by reducing its effects. Gravity affects vital physical, chemical and biological processes on Earth, and, because it is generally constant, its role has been very difficult to study. Space flight allows us to manipulate this fundamental parameter and to more fully understand physical and biological consequences. OLMSA leads the nation's (and the world's) efforts to plan for take advantage of this opportunity.
In pursuing our mission we rely upon an ever expanding network of partnerships within the scientific and engineering communities of the United States, as well as the international community. OLMSA employs competitive processes for selecting and supporting research, and these processes are reviewed on a regular basis. Our research includes both investigator-initiated research and commercially-sponsored research.
In order to develop a critical mass of investigators and to be prepared to take full advantage of emerging research opportunities, OLMSA is building its base of principal investigator grants to at least 900 by the year 2001. OLMSA will support new research areas such as ceramics, glasses, polymers and biologically inspired materials starting in 1999. Due to continued strong interest in the research community, we are able to select from among the top 20% of proposals we receive. For example, the 1996 Life Sciences NASA Research Announcements (NRAs) generated a record 535 proposals from the scientific community of which only 60 could be funded. NRAs released in December 1996 in Materials Science, Fluid Physics, and Fundamental Physics engendered 535 proposals of which only 109 could be supported. Citing strong results to date and the continuing high response rate to NASA solicitations, the Federation of Societies for Experimental Biology has reversed prior criticisms and supported a strengthened life sciences research and analysis program.
OLMSA's Commercial Space Centers are central to OLMSA's mission. We are in the process of creating new policies and processes to increase excellence in research while opening the space environment for commercial development.
Budget
OLMSA's 1999 request in budget authority is $242 million.
FY98 is an unusually low year in terms of the budget authority
needed to execute our program management responsibilities. This
was partially due to completion of the SpaceLab program and the
associated planned reduction of the budget for the STS/SpaceLab
Mission Management portion of the OLMSA budget. However, we are
also making a concerted effort to apply the uncosted carryover
funds available as of October 1, 1997. Thus, our FY98 cost plan
of $327 million reflects this decision. By comparison, our cost
plan for FY99 will be approximately $250 million.
Over the past few years, the International Space Station (ISS) has undergone a series of adjustments. At each juncture, NASA has ensured that facility development and early utilization are rephased to more closely align the delivery of the facilities with the Station schedules considering the availability of crew time, power, and upmass capabilities. While there have been transfers of budget related to ISS research to ISS development, the long-term health of ISS utilization has not been affected. Some of the ISS facilities have been redesigned to take advantage of new technologies and to ensure that they are state of the art for the twenty-first century.
1997 Missions
OLMSA pursues research questions which must be answered through
a combination of ground-based research and complementary flight
experiments. The bulk of our research is conducted on the ground
in order to maximize the return from limited space flight opportunities.
OLMSA's major flight missions of 1997 included highly
successful Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL) and United States
Microgravity Payload missions aboard the Space Shuttle as well
as continued research under the Phase I program on the Mir space
station.
Launched on April 4, 1997, research on the MSL mission is part of NASA's continuing effort to understand the subtle and complex phenomena associated with the influence of gravity in many aspects of our daily life on Earth. Unfortunately, the Space Shuttle Columbia spent only four days in space before a fuel cell problem caused the mission to be cut short; however, the NASA team was able to return the MSL mission to flight in July 1997. This unprecedented reflight of the Microgravity Science Laboratory involved the same vehicle, crew and experiment activities planned for the first flight, and demonstrated NASA's ability to support future ISS utilization missions. Scientists from NASA, the European Space Agency, the German Space Agency, and the National Space Development Agency of Japan conducted 33 investigations on this mission. The disciplines investigated included biotechnology, combustion science, fluid physics and materials science. Some of the most dramatic results were achieved in the field of combustion science and may provide valuable information for fire safety on Earth, reducing pollutants, and increasing efficiencies in combustion engines and industrial process. These experiments also addressed the way fire propagates in microgravity and provided invaluable information for designing fire fighting procedures for space flight.
On November 14, the Space Shuttle Columbia carried the fourth United States Microgravity Payload to orbit for a 16-day mission. The mission employed automated apparatus in the Space Shuttle payload bay to conduct a series of materials science, combustion science, and physics experiments. Data from the mission are currently under analysis.
Over the past year, NASA has conducted four Space Shuttle missions to the Russian Mir space station (in January 1997, May 1997, September 1997, and January 1998). The final mission to Mir is planned for the end of May 1998. This historic series of missions has helped to prepare NASA and the ISS partners for assembly, operations, and utilization of the ISS. Valuable experience has been factored into the procedural changes for the ISS fire control, materials changes in the ISS thermal loops to reduce corrosion, a new emphasis on general skills rather than specific tasks in astronaut payload operation training, improved research timeline and resupply planning, and improved U.S. and Russian communications protocols for emergency situations.
Over the course of Phase I, Mir astronauts have been trained in the use of both the American and Russian flight suits. Astronauts identified for Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) work were also trained in the Russian EVA suit. Astronaut Michael Foale's participation in a joint EVA to inspect Mir after the June 1997 incident with the Progress supply craft provided invaluable experience in jointly and successfully planning and executing an unanticipated EVA.
OLMSA provided world class medical support to the crews of extended duration missions of Jerry Linenger, David Wolf, and Andrew Thomas on Mir. Through the Phase I Program, NASA successfully tested a crew medical care surgical restraint system for the ISS. In addition, the Phase I Program continued to provide an ongoing testbed for telemedicine capabilities between Johnson Space Center, Star City Russia, the Space Shuttle, and the Mir space station. For example, telemedicine capabilities allowed mission medical personnel to determine that the Mir crew members were not in any immediate physiological danger from coolant leaks on the Russian station. In addition, the current mission, due to end in May, enables us to test and demonstrate a Telemedicine Instrumentation Package which will provide medical support on the ISS.
1997 Research Accomplishments:
Research Accomplishments: Fundamental Knowledge
OLMSA adds to the storehouse of human knowledge by studying phenomena
ranging from atomic interactions to changes in complete organisms.
Atomic Level:
MSL-1 yielded the first measurements of specific heat and thermal
expansion of glass-forming metallic alloys and resulted in the
highest temperature and largest undercooling ever achieved in
space. This work has direct applications to the design of steel
strip casting facilities on Earth, and to help scientists understand
how welding processes may be carried out in space.
An experiment on STS-85 in August 1997 measured the viscosity
of xenon to within 0.6 microKelvin of its critical temperature.
This is 30 times closer to the critical temperature than can
be measured on Earth. Preliminary analysis of the data suggests
that accurate viscosity measurements were obtained down to at
least 1 microKelvin from the critical temperature, and possibly
as close as 0.6 microKelvin. This remarkable technical feat allowed
researches to test, with far greater precision that is possible
on earth, very fundamental physical principles with broad implications
for systems affected or dominated by viscous fluid behaviors.
These systems range from weather, underground oil extraction,
fluids transportation in a pipe, to superconductors and cryogenic
fluids.
Molecular Level:
Analyses of MSL-1 flight data show that colloidal crystals grow
faster in microgravity than in 1g. Indications of a possible
cause suggest that the characteristic time scales for particle
motion and rearrangement may be longer in gravity. This is completely
unexpected. If the particle interactions within these colloidal
suspensions can be predicted and accurately modeled, they could
provide the key to fundamental problems in condensed matter physics
and in developing new "designer" materials. Industries
that make semiconductors, electro-optics, ceramics, and composites
are just a few that may benefit from this knowledge.
More than 200 combustion experiments runs (fires) were conducted
on MSL-1, resulting in the discovery of a new mechanism of flame
extinction caused by radiation of heat from soot. The MSL-1 crew
were able to sustain the weakest flames ever burned either in
space or on Earth and were able to study the longest burning flames
ever ignited in space. The Laminar Soot Processes
(LSP) experiment provided observations of soot processes that
are invaluable for developing methods for controlling the emissions
of soot. By controlling the composition of air flow through flames
in microgravity, researchers were able to determine the precise
mechanisms through which soot--a major source of pollutant
and a practical problem in combustion-driven devices--is
formed.
Investigators at the University of California-Irvine have learned
how muscle perceives and responds to loading in gravity and unloading
in microgravity. This mechanism involves a factor which regulates
the expression of the gene for myosin, a key muscle protein. The
mechanism may also be applicable to other gravity sensing systems.
This new knowledge is helping us to better understand--and possibly
counteract--muscle loss in microgravity, while advancing research
relevant to the health of people on Earth. The loss of muscle
mass experienced by astronauts during space flight is similar
to the muscle wasting that occurs in aging and with certain diseases.
The molecular basis for an organism's response to touch,
vibration, and gravity are largely unknown. NASA-funded research
has led to the identification and replication of the first known
ion channel which responds to mechanical force (the research was
performed on the bacterium E. coli). This research may
pave the road to fully understanding gravity's role in
life's evolution and the development of plants and animals.
At the Tissue Level:
Bioreactor research aboard the Mir space station produced the
first successful space tissue engineering experiment using cartilage
cells. Key to the success of this complex experiment was the
bioreactor technology that supplied nutrients and gases over the
four month period of tissue growth. This Mir experiment helps
to elucidate the role of gravity in the development of tissues,
advanced our knowledge in the engineering of cartilage tissue
for transplants, and forms the basis for controlled experiments
with human tissues. The researchers found that the tissue cells
grown on Mir were smaller and mechanically weaker than those grown
on Earth. On Earth, we are limited to the size of about one centimeter
which makes it difficult to keep the cells suspended in the culture
medium -- they tend to fall to the bottom of the container. The
tissues also had different shapes -- cartilage tissues grown
on Earth were disc-shaped, while those grown in space became spherical.
These types of experiments could lead to a deeper understanding
of the role played by gravity in the development of structural
tissues.
The Bioreactor is currently being used in
conjunction with an ongoing National Institutes of Health clinical
study of prostate carcinoma. The Bioreactor has enabled in vitro
studies of this type of malignancy for the first time.
On-orbit culturing of colon cancer cells was
successfully repeated in 1997 following initial experiments in
1996. Growing representative samples of malignant tissue outside
the body presents researchers with an important tool with which
to test promising new treatments without risk of harm to a patient.
Organisms
Space flight changes the way we control posture and balance.
Upon return to Earth, readaptation can pose problems. These clinicalmanifestations mimic certain disease processes on Earth. Joint research between NASA and the National Institute on Deafness and
Other Communication Disorders (of the NIH) is shedding light on
how the body controls posture on Earth and in space. The project
has resulted in the first comprehensive model of the stability
of the head and neck system. The model is useful in understanding
how the body adapts to microgravity and to Earth-bound locomotion
challenges.
Studies on Mir demonstrated that avian (bird) embryos can develop
in microgravity.
Battling Bone Loss:
NASA-funded research has shown that daily exposure to an artificial
ultraviolet B light source maintains adequate vitamin D levels
in the human body. Deficiencies in Vitamin D have been shown
to exacerbate osteoporosis, increase risk of bone fractures, and
cause the bone disease osteomalacia. The application of this
knowledge to the space flight population may help minimize the
loss of bone astronauts typically experience in space flight.
On Earth, the use of indoor lighting that contains a small amount
of ultraviolet B radiation (which produced Vitamin D on the skin)
could decrease the severity of bone disorders in an aging population.
NASA-supported investigators have shown in preliminary studies
that alendronate, a type of bisphosphorate, which is currently
used in the U.S. to treat post menopausal osteoporosis and bone
fractures, will also protect the human skeleton from bone mass
loss caused by lack of exercise and inactivity. This is important
for both astronauts living in microgravity and aging Americans
who become more sedentary. Both groups are at risk for bone demineralization
which can lead to fractures.
Inquiring Into New Pharmaceuticals:
Chiron Corporation announced in January 1998 that the Food and
Drug Administration granted the company a license to market Proleukin®
for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma cancer.
Human clinical trials are also underway for other treatment therapies
such as an adjunct treatment for AIDS. The Center for BioServe
Space Technologies, a NASA Commercial Space Center, has collaborated
with Chiron in the research leading to the FDA license and ongoing
clinical trials, including the use of microgravity research in
interleuken-2.
NASA's Center for Molecular Crystallography worked with
the Hauptman Woodward Medical Research Institute and the Eli Lilly
Company to crystallize recombinant human insulin on STS-86 in
September 1997. The flight resulted in the largest human insulin
crystals grown to date. Larger, more highly defined crystals
such as those grown in space enable researchers to more precisely
define protein structures, helping investigators to design more
protein-targeting pharmaceuticals.
NASA and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation are jointly funding
a program to use the NASA Bioreactor to develop a novel treatment
for diabetes. The Bioreactor is being used to grow and promote
the aggregation of insulin-producing adult human islet cells.
Researchers hope to encapsulate the cells for transplantation
into patients to prevent the onset of Type I diabetes.
Better Diagnostics:
NASA and the National Eye Institute continued
their cooperation to perfect a laser light scattering diagnostic
instrument and bring it to medical practice for early detection
and diagnosis of eye diseases such as cataracts and diabetic retinopathy.
Under a new agreement with the Juvenile Diabetes
Foundation, NASA and JDF will conduct joint studies on noninvasive
monitoring of blood chemistry.
Studying Infectious Diseases:
The NASA/NIH Center for Three-Dimensional
Tissue Culture is working with the Food and Drug Administration
and U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
to develop culture methods for infectious pathogens using the
NASA Bioreactor technology. The research groups have already
shown that the Bioreactor can support the culture of the deadly
Ebola virus and Cyclospora intestinal parasites. This
work opens new possibilities for studying these pathogens and
learning how to prevent their transmission.
Researchers at the NASA/NIH Center for Three-Dimensional
Tissue Culture have used NASA's Bioreactor to produce the
first in vitro tissue system of lymphoid tissue, permitting the
study of HIV pathogenesis. This tissue system could also be used
to study the effectiveness of novel AIDS treatments.
OLMSA's Advanced Human Support Technology program completed a 336-day closed-chamber wheat and potato shared atmosphere evaluation at Kennedy Space Center as well as 60- and 90-day, closed-chamber life support system tests with four humans at Johnson Space Center. These tests demonstrated the feasibility of specific closed-loop life support systems for functions such as air and water reclamation.
New and Expanding Relationships
In 1997, NASA established the National Space Biomedical Research
Institute (NSBRI) to lead a world-class, national effort in integrated,
critical path, space biomedical research. It supports NASA's
HEDS Strategic Plan by enabling long-term human presence in, development
of, and exploration of space. Baylor College of Medicine leads
this seven-university consortium. The NSBRI selected its first
research proposals in 1998 and will complete a plan for developing
advanced countermeasures for controlling the effects of space
flight. Working with JSC, NSBRI has started a process to define
the critical elements necessary to develop and validate procedures
to assure crew health in orbit and on return to Earth. These
procedures will be defined in 1998 and implemented in 1999 so
that they will be fully functional by the time of ISS operations.
OLMSA is establishing additional Commercial Space Centers (CSC)
to exploit the common interest of NASA and industry in specific
technology areas and in using space for economic growth. A CSC
for Medical Informatics and Technology Applications has been established
at Yale University; this Center will develop sensor and information
processing technology to permit medical expertise at one location
to support patient care at another -- on the ISS or in a sparsely
settled part of the U.S. The center is also developing technologies
for robotic surgery and high fidelity simulation for medical procedure
training. Electronic connections in medical training and consultation
were established to Ukraine and several medical schools in Russia.
In a similar manner, we are initiating a center in food technology
to develop advanced capabilities in long-term food storage with
safe, reduced packaging, and easy preparation for use in remote
locations including ISS, disaster relief areas and the homes of
the disabled, or aged. We are also exploring interest in establishing
centers focused on environmental technologies and polymers.
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Cleveland, OH and the
Universities Space Research Association (USRA) partnered with
NASA's Lewis Research Center to advance microgravity research
in fluid physics and combustion science through a new National
Center for Microgravity Research on Fluids and Combustion. The
center, located at CWRU's Case School of Engineering, is
the first national center dedicated to microgravity research.
NASA will provide $17.8 million in funding over the next five
years to support the center. The university-based science community
will own and operate the center through USRA, a consortium of
80 colleges and universities. A Cooperative Agreement establishing
a formal, long-term partnership between CWRU, USRA and NASA builds
on the unique experience, expertise and capabilities of each partner.
Participating researchers will have access to unique equipment
and facilities, such as the Lewis Research center drop towers.
Fluid physics and combustion experimenters use these drop towers
to test the short-term effects of microgravity on their experiments.
The center researchers will also contribute on-site scientific
support to microgravity principal investigators and flight hardware
developers during the design, development and operation of flight
experiments and later during the post-flight analysis of experimental
results.
One of the most important collaborations between NASA and NIH
is Neurolab, the final SpaceLab mission, scheduled to fly in April
1998, dedicated to studying how the nervous system develops, functions
in, and adapts to gravity. Eight discipline teams were formed
to conduct studies on the nervous system control of cardiovascular
function; circadian rhythms and sleep regulation; sensation, orientation,
and motion control; and the development of the nervous system.
All of the 26 investigations that will fly in Neurolab were peer
reviewed by NIH. These investigations are sponsored by NASA,
the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research,
and five international partners.
The NASA/NIH Center for Three-Dimensional Tissue Culture, located
at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development,
became fully operational in 1997. The center supports the transfer
of NASA bioreactor technology to the NIH and its application to
biomedical research. Ten groups of intramural researchers from
7 national institutes, along with groups from the Food and Drug
Administration and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of
Infectious Diseases, are pursuing important fundamental investigations.
Some of the early results of this collaboration are reported
above.
In September 1997, NASA and the National Institute of Aging signed
a joint memorandum of understanding to sponsor flight and ground
research into how space flight may contribute to our understanding
of aging. The agencies agree to jointly solicit, review, and
consider funding two program project grants to support research
and training in the areas of connective tissue and biomineralization,
and neuroscience. In addition, we will jointly support research
to examine certain biomarkers of aging that have been identified
by NIA-supported investigators to determine if they are relevant
as biomarkers for the effects of space flight on astronauts.
1998 and Beyond
NASA's Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications
looks forward to important flight and ground-based research opportunities
in 1998 and 2000 which will prepare NASA and its research communities
for the transition to research operations on the International
Space Station (ISS).
In 1998, NASA will launch the last of eight Space Shuttle docking
missions to the Mir space station. This series of cooperative
missions has provided NASA with a wealth of experience in long
duration, international research operations. Analysis and publications
of results from Mir will continue through 1999. Over fifteen
research papers have been published to date, 30 are expected to
be published by next year.
During the 16-day mission, a seven member crew will perform the
studies in the SpaceLab module. The Neurolab crew will serve
as both subjects and operators to complete the experiments using
a wide array of biomedical instrumentation, including some instruments
and devices developed especially for the mission. Biological
subjects will include rats, mice, fish, snails, and crickets.
As a result of the data collected over the years on how astronauts
adapt to microgravity, researchers are beginning to understand
the basics of space physiology. Each piece added to the space
life sciences puzzle, however, presents more questions to be answered.
For example, although all our basic movements (walking, balancing,
etc.) were learned with gravity present, how can we adapt so quickly
to function without gravity? How do gravity-sensitive parts of
the body like the inner ear, cardiovascular system, and muscles
learn to cope without gravity? Why are sleep and biological rhythms
changed in space? Will inner ears that developed in space function
the same as those that developed on Earth? Must gravity be present
at the point in life when basic skills like walking are usually
learned?
These questions will be answered by taking measurements of the
crew and on the research animals before, during, and after flight.
The experiments have been grouped into eight teams. Eleven experiments
will use crew members as subjects, and 15 experiments will study
research animals.
Neurolab has a significant place in NASA's long-range plans.
Long-duration space flights will be come common as the ISS is
built and occupied. This makes an understanding of how the human
body functions in microgravity necessary. Neurolab is expected
to contribute key answers, clarifying the requirements for our
future residency on the ISS and for improving health on Earth.
STS-95 represents a new way of doing business as we transition
to the era of the ISS. During this transition, the SpaceHab module
succeeds SpaceLab as NASA's primary pressurized carrier
and capitalizes on the experience gained using the SpaceHab module
during the NASA/Mir Phase I Program. This mission will provide
the Agency's ISS partners (CSA, ESA, NASDA) with access
to space for research in preparation for the ISS.
STS-95 will demonstrate a new approach to cooperation between
NASA and its ISS partners. Since NASA is not functioning as a
payload integrator, the ISS partners and other international participants
will share in the cost of a flight and will negotiate directly
with SpaceHab for the integration and manifesting of their payloads.
SpaceHab is responsible for marketing 45% of the available accommodations
in the carrier. The partners will conduct cooperative activities,
such as sharing of data and/or facilities. OLMSA research planned
for STS-95 will include biotechnology, biomedical research, and
fluid physics research in the SpaceHab pressurized module.
In the field of biotechnology, researchers will use STS-95
to produce protein crystals to aid in drug development. Previous
flights have demonstrated that some protein crystals grown in
space are superior to crystals grown on the ground for determining
the exact structures of particular protein molecules. These structures
are vital to drug development efforts. Experiments on STS-95
include crystallization of proteins for research on treatments
for, Chagas disease, a respiratory disease common in infants,
and diabetes.
Vivorex, Inc. will take advantage of the low gravity environment
on STS-95 to conduct research on microencapsulation of pancreatic
islet cells for use in the treatment of diabetes. Pancreatic
islet cells are responsible for producing insulin. By encapsulating
cells in specially designed polymer capsules, researchers hope
to produce cells which can be transplanted to provide insulin
without producing an immune system reaction. The unique, low
gravity environment onboard the Space Shuttle will enable researchers
to study the encapsulation process.
In collaboration with Intracell, Inc. researchers will study a
neutralizing antibody for a virus (Respiratory Syncytial Virus)
which is a major cause of respiratory infections (e.g.
, croup) in children. The antibody will soon be entering clinical
trials. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the most serious
infectious disease affecting infants in the U.S, causing 100,000
to 120,00 hospital admissions/year and 4,000 infant deaths per
year in the United States. The antibody attaches to a protein
which is common to all known strains of the RSV. By attaching
to the virus, the antibody activates the immune system and causes
the virus to be destroyed. Researchers seek to develop a drug
which will replicate the action of the antibody but will be much
easier to produce and administer. This research could also lead
to the development of a vaccine based on the structure of the
target protein found on the RSV virus.
Biomedical research will be conducted collaboratively under
an agreement signed in September 1997 by NASA and the National
Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH). Because many of the changes an astronaut experiences during
the course of space flight are similar to changes associated with
the aging process, space flight research may provide researchers
with models for better understanding the aging process. Research
includes studies of sleep, muscle wasting and changes to cartilage.
Two experiments in Fluid Physics will utilize the microgravity
glovebox, a research facility that allows astronauts to manipulate
samples without exposing them to the Space Shuttle atmosphere.
One experiment will observe the phase transitions of suspended
colloidal particles from random suspensions to glassy or crystalline
forms. Results from this experiment could lead to better models
of solidification, a process central to many industrial processes.
The other Fluids experiment will observe the structures formed
by suspensions of two different colloidal particles. These structures
have unique optical properties that may prove useful in the manipulation
and control of optical signals.
NASA has identified a second mission of opportunity, designated
STS-107, for multidisciplinary and internationally sponsored research
in 2000. The mission would fly for 13 - 16 days in the May 2000
time-frame, using a SpaceHab science double module to increase
the pressurized volume for research. The double SpaceHab module
has been developed especially for research purposes. The approach
employed for STS-95 will serve as a template for the management
and operations of this flight. The mission will be multidisciplinary
and will focus on those research areas that cannot be accommodated
on early ISS flights. For example, STS-107 could augment the
combustion science and fluid physics investigations begun on MSL-1
utilizing existing hardware such as the Microgravity Glovebox.
We are considering peer-reviewed and commercially- sponsored research
in biotechnology, materials science, biology and biomedicine.
We will continue to seek partnership with NIH, NSF and other
organizations in accomplishing this research. The ISS partners
have all indicated their interest in potentially participating
in an additional research mission during the early ISS assembly
sequence.
Development of a productivity-enhancing tool known as WARP (Wireless
Augmented Reality Prototype) has passed two initial demonstration
configurations. This device will provide hands-free, voice-controlled,
audio-video technical and physiological information to and from
the astronaut. The past year's demonstration included wireless
full video operation in an all-metal chamber, simulating the ISS
electromagnetic environment.
A hand-held device called a miniature quadrapole mass spectrometer
will fly in 1998, and be used as a detector for hydrazine in the
vicinity of spacesuits. It is also under consideration for the
ISS advanced technology upgrade.
In 1998, construction will begin on a new advanced life support
system testbed, and in early 1999 a decision will be made on upgrading
the ISS life support system with advanced new technologies, including
some that are biologically based. The use of biological systems
to recycle water on ISS could save up to one metric ton of resupply
per year. New technologies are in development to improve the
environmental monitoring in the ISS era. In 1998, we will fly
the "Electronic Nose," a small device which operates
similarly to the human nose and is designed to monitor changes
in the atmosphere to which it is exposed. The device is able
to identify a wide range of volatile organic molecules down to
the parts per million.
OLMSA is preparing to use available resources during the assembly
of the ISS to conduct biomedical research as well as research
in biotechnology, combustion science, fluid physics, and materials
science. Within the next year, we will see the beginning of research
on the ISS. As early as the Service Module flight we will start
pre-positioning research-related hardware.
The delivery of the U. S. Laboratory (Lab) to orbit represents
the opening of a new era for continuous space research in low-Earth
orbit by permanently present crews. The U.S. Lab will be followed
by a series of utilization flights as scientific, technological,
and commercial research projects begin on the ISS. We are now
defining research (and individual investigations) for gradually
ramping up Station utilization, beginning with the first utilization
flight and culminating in fully outfitted Station laboratories,
and testbeds by assembly completion.
OLMSA continuously reviews the ISS utilization schedule, and assesses
it to assure we are making the optimum use of the Station accommodations
and resources as they become available. In addition to the series
of utilization flights, we will take advantage of opportunities
on assembly flights to transport Middeck-class payloads to the
ISS and return the products of our research. Before the first
utilization flight, we plan to pre-position an EXPRESS rack to
support small Middeck-class payloads, including those for commercial
research.
The first two utilization flights will deliver research facility
hardware including additional EXPRESS racks, a refrigerator/freezer
for specimens and samples, a major glovebox facility for carrying
out a wide variety of microgravity research, the first major element
of the Human Research Facility, and a window observational facility
that will mark the beginnings of observational research on board
the ISS. The emphasis for this early period will be on carrying
out small-scale experiments developed by U.S. commercial businesses
and universities as well as on payload operations testing and
training in preparation for the later deployment of the full-scale
research facilities.
In order to provide a reference for all human life sciences to
be conducted over the life of the Space Station, a thorough baseline
data collection activity will be carried out during the assembly
phase of ISS. Physiological measurements will be taken as soon
as appropriate hardware is available on ISS. Similar activity
will be conducted for specific animal specimens as appropriate.
A thorough baseline data collection activity on the environmental
conditions on ISS will be conducted during ISS assembly, using
environmental measuring equipment as part of the Crew Health Care
System. Data will be collected on air and water quality, the
radiation environment, water and surface microbiology.
Experiments will be performed in areas such as: protein crystallization
to aid in structure-based drug design; cell tissue culturing to
better understand tumor morphology; plant growth to investigate
genetic engineering potential; zeolite crystal growth to improve
materials for chemical processing; polymer materials to improve
materials for optical lenses; aerogels to investigate ultra-lightweight
material applications; non-linear optics to test advanced laser
optical materials; and fiber optics to investigate potential new
improved materials. In addition, the first rack of the Human
Research Facility marks the beginning a new era in human physiological
and behavioral research in space. A Fluids experiment, the Physics
of Colloids in Space, will be delivered on Utilization Flight
One (UF-1) and will study of ordered and disordered structures,
which entails the growth of colloidal superlattices formed with
mixtures of different-sized particles.
These locker experiments will be changed out and resupplied periodically
on ISS assembly flights. Meanwhile, on the ground we will be
selecting a new generation of space investigators who will interact
in real-time with their space experiments and conduct daily teleoperations
and telescience.
Scheduled for the third utilization flight, the major research
facilities will begin to be delivered to the Station. Planned
for deployment on UF-3, the Materials Science Research Rack will
include a European Space Agency-built Low Gradient Furnace for
materials science research. The Gravitational Biology Facility
will include the next generation of habitats for non-human living
organisms in space. Plants, rodents, cells, aquatics, and insect
studies will advance knowledge in fundamental biology, biochemistry
and biophysics. The Laminar Soot Processes Experiment which could
lead to understanding pollution from diesel and jet engines and
turbulent flames. The Structure of Flame Balls at Low Lewis Numbers
experiment will be conducted and may provide information on spacecraft
and terrestrial fire safety and hydrogen fueled engines. Both
the Life Science and Microgravity Science Gloveboxes will be available
to manipulate inert samples and living specimens in the laboratory
environment, with real-time video telescience downlink. Early
science investigations conducted in the Microgravity Science Glovebox
will include Materials Science Experiments.
NASA is responding to advice from the National Research Council's
National Materials Advisory Board (NMAB) to increase its capability
to accommodate emerging new areas in its planning for ISS research.
The NMAB identified polymers, glasses, and ceramics as areas
where microgravity research should anticipate strong growth in
research interest in the future. NASA's redesigned facility for
materials science research aboard the ISS, the Materials Science
Research Facility, has been planned with additional capabilities
and increased evolutionary flexibility in order to keep up with
future changes in the priorities of materials science research.
The program of attached payloads begins with the fourth utilization
flight. Periodic changeout and resupply of the previous racks
and lockers will continue via the Space Shuttle throughout the
remaining assembly period. By the time Station assembly is completed,
the remaining major research facilities will have been delivered
and "full-up" research operations will begin.
The Centrifuge Accommodation Module is scheduled to be delivered
on the seventh utilization flight. It will include the 2.5 meter
centrifuge rotor and additional habitat racks for advanced biological
studies on living organisms. At this point, ISS payload outfitting
will be essentially complete and the research program will begin
a period of steady-state operations with resources of unprecedented
magnitude. The international nature of the program will lead to
truly "world-class" research, drawing upon the best
scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs from around the globe
to fully engage in the development of the space frontier.
Through 25 years of pioneering SpaceLab research on orbit, NASA has demonstrated the value of space flight for laboratory research in the life and physical sciences. We look forward to the opportunity to conduct long duration laboratory style research that only the ISS can provide. If the remarkable productivity of our more limited missions to date is any indication, we can look forward to rapid advances in basic scientific research which will pay dividends for generations to come. The collaborations among our international, industrial and academic partners will ensure that the benefits of our research will have a direct effect upon the world community, expanding humanity's horizons for the new millennium.