On Thursday, NASA announced two calls for proposals to establish science consortia – interagency coalitions to conduct ground-based research that will help achieve the agency’s goals of supporting a sustainable human presence in space. These consortia will focus on biological systems research using animal and human models, plants, and microbiology. When the project is fully completed, the total amount of grants for these consortia will be about 5 million US dollars.
NASA Space Biology utilizes the unique environment of space to conduct experiments that cannot be performed on Earth. Such research not only supports the health and well-being of astronauts, but also leads to breakthroughs in the study of diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders to help protect humanity on Earth.
The awards for the two consortia are in the following areas:
- Exploring the Space Biosphere The consortium “Biology in Space: Networking for Long-Lived and Resilient Systems” involves a collaborative effort by biologists studying human/animal, plant, and microbial biology to provide a comprehensive understanding of the spaceflight biosphere through improved data collection, modeling, and testing. It will involve more than thirty scientists and specialists working together from at least three institutions. Under the leadership of Christy Morgansen from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.
- Converting human waste into materials for space bioproduction. The Integrated Anaerobic Digestion and Phototrophic Biosystem for Sustainable Space Habitat and Life Support consortium will develop an anaerobic digestion process that converts human waste into organic acids and materials that can be used for further bioproduction in space. It will include eight scientists from six different institutions in three different states, including Delaware and Florida. The consortium is led by Yinjie Tang from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
The proposals for these consortia were submitted in response to the ROSES 2024 Program Element E.11, Life Sciences Consortium, for a consortium with expertise in the life sciences to conduct research and activities that meet NASA’s established interests in space life sciences.
NASA’s Space Biology Program, within the agency’s Division of Biological and Physical Sciences, conducts research on a wide range of biological organization and model systems to study the basic mechanisms by which organisms adapt to the stressors encountered during space exploration (including microgravity, ionizing radiation, and elevated carbon dioxide concentrations). This research provides information on how biological systems regulate and maintain growth, metabolism, reproduction, and development in space, as well as how they repair damage and protect themselves from infection and disease.
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