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The NASA Fundamental Space 

Biology Science Plan 2010-2020
 

GOALS
 

•	 Sponsor competitively solicited FSB research to create new 

knowledge of how biological systems adapt to space and that can 

translate into Earth benefits 

•	 Use ISS, free-flyer, ground-based analogues or other venues to 

conduct cutting-edge FSB research 

•	 Maintain an internationally competitive United States FSB 

scientific community 

•	 Develop cutting edge technologies to facilitate conduct of 

biological research in space flight 

•	 Train and inspire the next generation of U.S. Space Biologists 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

NASA’s Fundamental Space Biology Program (FSB) has been a world leader in 

advancing our knowledge of the role and influence of gravity on living systems. Both 

scientific and technological advances have been made including direct contributions to 

human exploration. Thousands of scientists and engineers have been educated over 

the four decades of NASA’s FSB Program. With the new biotechnologies of the 21st 

century, the FSB Program is ready to spearhead new discoveries and benefits to both 

human exploration and humankind on Earth. 

What is the science that NASA needs to do? “An integrated multidisciplinary approach 

that encompasses all levels of biological organization... from molecules to cells to 

tissues to organs to systems to whole organisms, and employs the full range of modern 

experimental approaches.” National Research Council, 1998. “Strategy for Space 

Biology and Medicine in the New Century.” This goal has been reaffirmed in many 

workshops: “To investigate how organisms respond, over multiple generations, to an 

environment for which they have never been evolutionarily adapted.” Nobel Laureate 

Baruch Blumberg. “Genomics on the International Space Station Workshop.” 

FSB has three primary goals: 1) to effectively use microgravity and the other 

characteristics of the space environment to enhance our understanding of fundamental 

biological processes; 2) to develop the scientific and technological foundations for a 

safe, productive human presence in space for extended periods and in preparation for 

exploration; and 3) to apply this knowledge and technology to improve our nation's 

competitiveness, education, and the quality of life on Earth. 

FSB will achieve these goals using three program elements: 1) Cell and Molecular 

Biology and Microbial Biology - studies of the effect of gravity and the space 

environment on cellular, microbial and molecular processes; 2) Organismal & 

Comparative Biology - studies and comparisons of responses of whole organisms and 

their systems; and 3) Developmental Biology – studies of how spaceflight affects 

reproduction, development, maturation and aging of multi-cellular organisms 

This FSB Science Plan provides a roadmap for what FSB activities should be 

conducted and when for the 2010-2020 decade of the 21st century. The following is a 

summary of roadmap contents, goals and objectives. The table on page 4 is a synopsis 

of the major FSB activities in each of the program three elements and hardware 

development to be conducted over the next 10 years. The cascade indicates their 

priorities, and the order in which they need to be done to complete the plan. 

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FSB program/goals are to: 

•	 Strive for U.S. excellence in Space Biology – Cell and Molecular, Microbiology, Plant 

and Animal Biology, Developmental Biology 

•	 Contribute to basic knowledge of effect of space on living systems and maximize the 

probability of achieving results that can translate into Earth benefits 

•	 Contribute to the base of knowledge that will facilitate human countermeasure 

development 

•	 Optimally utilize ISS, as well as other ground and flight platforms 

•	 Perform technology/hardware development that will enable new science 

•	 Solicit community involvement in setting research goals and objectives 

Current and future research platforms for gravity-dependent research are: 

•	 Ground-based research will develop hypotheses for flight experiments, including 

hypergravity and hypogravity simulations 

•	 Flight experiments will use the most appropriate and cost-effective platform to 

achieve the science results – ISS, free flyers, sub-orbital 

FSB research objectives will: 

•	 Rebuild the U.S. Space Biology user community for the next decade 

•	 Add ISS research capabilities for whole animal and plant biology 

•	 Maximize research capability by providing state-of-the-art automated technology and 

analytic capabilities wherever possible. 

Current and planned FSB experiments: 

•	 Are built on past NRC study recommendations, most notably the 1989 and 1998 

NRC Space Studies Board Reports 

•	 Roadmap will be adjusted based on the NRC Decadal Survey Report 

recommendations to be announced in late 2010. Decadal survey commissioned by 

Congress to plan Life and Physical Sciences research activities for 2010-2020. 

FSB future activities will include: 

•	 Regular NRA’s to reengage the U.S. space biology community 

•	 Preparation to implement a prioritized set of science to maximize whatever 

resources are available 

•	 Work with international partners and other U.S. agencies to achieve objectives. 

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Chapter 1 - Program
 

Introduction 

For an estimated 3.8 billion years, the evolving microorganisms, plants, and animals on 

Earth lived and diversified in a consistent physical context of gravity, partially shielded 

from the magnetic fields and radiation of outer space. Trends toward more complex 

environmental factors, particularly the effects of other species, have exerted further 

pressures on the genetic complement of Earth’s life forms. Currently, with an almost 4 

billion year history of exposure to the Earth’s environment, terrestrial life is well adapted 

to their home planet. The future holds the prospect of a sudden and rapid change for 

many Earth bound life forms—the prospect of extended travels beyond their planet of 

origin. 

At the beginning of our ventures into space, the hazards and risks of spaceflight were 

unknown. Some feared that in the absence of gravity the heart would not pump 

properly, problems in digestion would occur, and radiation in low Earth orbit (LEO) 

would cause mutations and increase cancer risk. Animals and a variety of other 

organisms were used during the early years of spaceflight to evaluate such risks and 

demonstrate that spaceflight was safe for human exploration. In addition, biologists 

began using the unique environment of space as a tool to understand how life adapts to 

changes in gravity and how it responds to the hazards of space radiation. During the 

past 50+ years, space biologists have been able to identify and clarify many of the 

effects of spaceflight on representative living systems, from the cellular, tissue and 

system levels, to the whole organism. We’ve learned much about how life reacts to the 

challenges of spaceflight and the space environment, but many of the mechanisms 

living systems use to sense and react to such challenges remain unknown. 

The Fundamental Space Biology Program (FSBP) grew out of NASA’s Life Sciences 

Program of the 1960’s. Initially called, Space Biology, the program was transferred to 

NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) from NASA Headquarters in 1996. In the years 

since its relocation, the program has increasingly focused on using the rapidly evolving 

technologies of cell and molecular biology to answer basic questions about the effects 

of the space environment on biological processes. The FSBP intends to learn how the 

changes associated with space travel will affect a diverse group of microorganisms, 

plants, and animals. The program focuses on the effects of gravity across the gspectrum, i.e., from hypo- to hyper-gravity. It also covers the biological effects of 

modified radiation fluxes, altered magnetic fields, and the interaction of species in the 

unusual environments of space and spacecraft. 

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The Science of Fundamental Space Biology 

Throughout the course of evolution, gravity has greatly influenced the morphology, 

physiology, and behavior of life. For example, the musculoskeletal system evolved to 

support body mass as aquatic animals transitioned to land. Similarly, the colonization of 

land by upright plants was facilitated by the production of structural reinforcement 

compounds such as lignin. Spaceflight experiments, capitalizing on the microgravity 

environment to shed light on the production of these compounds, have found that 

although lignin biosynthesis is decreased during spaceflight [Cowles, 1994; Sato, 1999), 

it is still produced in sufficient quantities to provide requisite mechanical stress 

responses (Kwon, 2001). 

In order to orient and ambulate in their environment, organisms have developed ways to 

sense gravity and translate this information into a controlled response; hence the 

sensorimotor system evolved in animals, and analogous gravity sensing mechanisms 

evolved in plants. A robust cardiovascular system developed to maintain an appropriate 

blood supply and pressure in the various organs of the mammalian body. The 

development of the phloem and xylem vasculature in plants mirrors this development. 

Understanding how these physiological systems sense, adapt and respond to gravity 

cannot be fully achieved on the ground; it requires the use of spaceflight, i.e., the use of 

microgravity as an investigative tool. Just as one needs to examine the entire light 

spectrum in order to determine the capabilities and mechanisms of the visual organs, so 

too must we utilize the complete gravity spectrum, from hypogravity to hypergravity, to 

understand how gravity influences life across the gravity continuum, i.e., both on and off 

the Earth. 

The FSBP uses model organisms (e.g., well characterized microbes, plants, insects and 

animals) to understand how organisms, including humans, respond to the space 

environment. Utilizing the new genetic tools of the 21st century, FSB scientists probe 

deeply into the underlying mechanisms of adaptation to the space environment in order 

to determine the fundamental ways life uses gravity to regulate and sustain its growth, 

metabolism, reproduction and development, and also how it repairs damage and 

protects itself from infection and disease. Such basic knowledge provides the 

foundation on which NASA’s biomedical researchers build approaches and 

countermeasures to the problems confronting human exploration of space (Figure 1). In 

addition such knowledge has provided, and will continue to provide, benefits to the 

health and well being of those on the Earth. 

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BioScience/BioTechnology 

Biological Systems 

Emphasis 

Human Exploration 

Emphasis 

Human Health 

Emphasis 

BioMolecules 

Model Organisms, 

Microbes, Plants 

Mammalian Cells 

Tissue, Organs 

Small Organisms 

(Mice, Rats) 

Humans 

Exploration 

Subsystems 

NASA Fundamental Space Biology:
 

Figure 1: Fundamental biology is the foundation on which to build solutions to applied problems. 

Cell, Microbial and Molecular Biology 

Cell based science in microgravity serves many areas of basic and applied research for 

space exploration and for Earth applications. Use of cells for investigations in 

microgravity carries the advantages of low mass and power, many replicates, 

adaptability to mission scenarios, minimum crew requirements, and amenability to real 

time analysis. Additionally, there are a number of analog settings that can be used to 

define and refine flight experiments thereby increasing the probability for a successful 

experiment in space. 

In the past, spaceflight experiments suggested that mammalian cells respond with 

profound shape change, altered gene expression, diminished trans-membrane 

signaling, modified differentiation, increased secondary metabolism, and tissue 

morphogenesis. The basis of the changes may be a direct response of the cell to the 

change in gravity or alternatively to conditions in the cell culture environment created by 

microgravity. The former invokes an intrinsic response structure within the cell. The 

latter implicates the loss of gravity driven convection and the hydrostatic pressure 

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gradient, subsequent changes in mass transfer regimes and the forced shape change 

as etiologic to the cell response. These pose critical questions in microgravity sciences 

with impact on microgravity biology and on human health in space. 

Knowledge of the changes in gene expression in cells facilitates understanding the 

basis of changes that occur at the tissue level, in organs, in systems, and ultimately the 

organism. This approach will support parallel investigations in human health, 

fundamental biology, and Earth-based biomedical research and development. 

Understanding the response of cells to microgravity will reveal underlying mechanisms 

in cell function that will increase our fundamental knowledge as well as provide unique 

opportunities in biotechnology and commercial developments. The observations in 

tissue morphogenesis reinforce the prospect for the latter. 

Early studies with microbes, i.e., bacteria and fungi, showed that they reached higher 

population densities when grown under microgravity conditions than were obtained from 

cultures grown under similar conditions on the ground. Higher cell density is likely due 

to a more homogeneous distribution of cells in the culture medium, unlike the settling of 

cells that occurs on the ground. These studies also showed that spaceflight caused 

some bacterial species to become more resistant to common antibiotics (Klaus and 

Howard, 2006). 

Recently, a FSB spaceflight experiment found that space-grown cultures of the 

pathogen Salmonella typhimurium were significantly more virulent than comparable 

cultures grown on the ground (Wilson, 2007). RNA microarray analyses revealed 

changes in the gene expression of over 160 gene transcripts, one of which was a crossspecies conserved RNA-binding regulator protein, Hfq, which is involved in RNA 

transcription and has been found to play a role in microbial virulence of several 

pathogenic bacteria. These data suggested that Hfq can play a critical regulatory role in 

the spaceflight response of bacteria and the observed increased virulence, a result that 

has profound implications for long duration spaceflight. As astronauts and cosmonauts 

live for longer periods in a closed environment and use recycled water and air, there is 

an increased potential for microbial contamination that can impact their health, safety, 

and performance. Despite the lack of a demonstrable disease problem during human 

spaceflight to date, studies showing increased microbial virulence and increased 

microbial resistance to antibiotics are cause for concern. Adding to the concern are 

repeated reports that spaceflight suppresses immune function suggesting that disease 

agents may be more difficult to treat during and following long spaceflights. Space-flown 

plants have also shown significant levels of altered gene expression (Paul, 2005; Salmi 

and Roux, 2008). Also, analogous to suppressed immune function in animals, 

alterations in cell wall composition in plants subjected to spaceflight could result in 

increases in the susceptibility of plants grown in space to pathogen attack (Ryba-White, 

2001). 

Spaceflight has also been shown to affect a variety of mammalian cell types, e.g. bone, 

cartilage, and tendons, resulting in reduced matrix production or altered matrix 

composition (Doty, 1990 and 1992). How spaceflight affects bone cells is not 

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completely understood, i.e., how do cells sense and respond to changes in gravity? 

Some scientists suggest that certain cell types when exposed to microgravity reduce 

their activity or metabolism as well as the amount of new protein normally produced and 

enter a “resting” phase. Microgravity may affect the mature differentiated cell (final cell 

type for a specific organ like bone, e.g. bone cell) such that the cell generates a "signal" 

during spaceflight driving it to enter a “resting” phase. Another possibility is that the cell 

division cycle is delayed so that cells simply develop into their differentiated state more 

slowly than normal. A series of spaceflight experiments demonstrated that spaceflight 

suppresses hematopoietic differentiation of macrophages; other experiments showed 

that bone marrow cell differentiation in microgravity using murine primary macrophage 

cell cultures noted phenotypic shifts in the bone marrow cell subpopulations (Ichiki, 

1996; Chapes, 1999). 

Human renal cell cultures flown in space (Hammond, 1999) exhibited a genetic response 

to microgravity that exceeded all expectations. Based on RNA microarray analyses of 

spaceflight cultures compared to ground controls, more than 1,600 of 10,000 genes 

examined showed a change in the space-flown cells. Investigators are now beginning to 

focus on groups of specific genes affected by microgravity. As a spinoff of this cell 

biology research, a rotating wall vessel bioreactor was developed to culture cells on the 

ground while simulating the free fall environment that particles experience in cultures 

grown in microgravity. This unique bioreactor is a NASA spinoff that has yielded 25 

patents, more than 20 licenses, and thousands of units that are now in research labs in 

universities, medical centers, commercial laboratories and the NIH (Hammond and 

Hammond, 2001). The technology and the research findings have become part of the 

testing of medicines for cancers, development of transplantable tissues and the growth 

of microorganisms for the development of vaccines and antibiotics. 

Overarching questions that will guide FSB’s Cell, Microbial, and Molecular 

Biology science direction and selections during the next decade include: 

•	 How do alterations in gravity affect: 

a.	 Cell and microbial replication including genetic and metabolic regulation 

b.	 eukaryotic cells’ ability to generate and maintain their complicated internal 

cyto-architecture, including the cytoskeleton, and the host of specialized 

membrane-bound organelles and membrane domains that are integral to 

the regulation of both growth and form? 

c.	 cell-cell interactions and communication? 

d.	 microbial biofilm formation and/or alter microbes’ potential for disease? 

•	 Can microgravity be used as a tool to study and manipulate tissue
 

morphogenesis?
 

•	 Are decreased mass transfer, or physical force changes in membranes and cell 

walls, the main effect of microgravity on the cell? 

•	 Does the enhanced virulence observed with Salmonella typhimurium cultures 

flown in space occur in other species? 

•	 Are there g-thresholds for maintaining normal cell and microbial shape and 

function, e.g. Will stem cells maintain pluripotency at fractional g? at hyper-g? 

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Organismal and Comparative Biology 

As living systems evolved from simple unicellular microbes to complex multi-cellular 

plants and animals, they developed a variety of sensory systems that enabled them to 

use gravity for orientation and locomotion. For example, plants developed a system of 

intracellular particles called statoliths that enable them to sense the gravity vector and 

orient their roots down into the soil and their shoots upward toward the sun. Similarly, 

animals developed a variety of sensory systems, e.g. the mammalian vestibular system, 

enabling them to sense their body's movements and transmit signals to the brain that 

can be used together with visual and propioceptive inputs to inform the animal how to 

negotiate its environment. During the free fall that accompanies orbital spaceflight, the 

normal output from the vestibular system is altered leading to a confusing set of signals 

of the organism's position and movement. Such confusion is believed to result in 

symptoms not too different from the typical motion sickness experienced by seafarers on 

the Earth. This affliction, commonly termed, "space motion sickness" (SMS), affects 

about half of astronauts and cosmonauts during the first few days in orbit. 

Understanding the basic process of SMS became one of the main themes of the first two 

dedicated space life sciences missions on the Space Shuttle (SLS-1, 1991 and SLS-2, 

1993). Investigators used these missions to probe the structural changes that occur in 

the vestibular system, the mammalian balance organ (Ross, 1993). Using rodents, they 

demonstrated, for the first time, that the neural hair cells of the vestibular organ could 

change, relatively rapidly, to altered gravity. Such neuroplasticity was evident in the 

increased number of synapses between the hair cells and the vestibular nerve that 

occurred as the gravity signal decreased; in effect, the body tries to turn up the gain to 

receive the weaker gravitational signal in space. 

Neuroplasticity was not the only significant benefit emanating from the science 

conducted on SLS-1 and SLS-2. In order to facilitate and expedite the microscopic 

analysis of thin sections of the vestibular organ, 3-dimensional imaging software was 

developed that facilitated the reconstruction of the sections to unveil the innervation 

pattern of the rodent's inner ear, and to do it much faster than traditional manual 

methods. Not only did the technology greatly accelerate analyses of electron microscopic 

images, it also was adapted to construct 3-D images from CAT and MRI scans of 

humans. Surgeons have used the resulting 3-D dynamic simulations for reconstructive 

breast cancer surgery, dental reconstruction, plastic surgery, brain surgery and other 

delicate surgeries. Such simulations enable doctors to visualize and practice procedures 

prior to surgery, resulting in a much shorter time for the patient to be under anesthesia 

and a lower risk surgery. 

Studies of the effects of spaceflight on the mammalian musculoskeletal system also 

benefited greatly from the use of animals. During and following flights on US and 

Russian free flying automated biosatellites and on the Space Shuttle/Spacelabs, 

structural and biochemical changes were observed in muscles and bones (Grindeland, 

2005; Doty, 2005). This suggested to scientists that resistive, as well as aerobic 

exercise, e.g. treadmill, would be needed to counteract the muscle atrophy and bone 

mass loss that was found to occur in humans during spaceflight. In addition, the 

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hypersensitivity to anesthesia experienced by monkeys following the joint US/Russian 

Bion 11 mission alerted flight surgeons to such a risk to astronauts and cosmonauts, 

potentially saving lives. Basic biological research conducted in space not only expands 

our knowledge of the space environment and its impact on life, it also provides the 

foundation on which biomedical researchers can develop and test ways to mitigate the 

deleterious effects of spaceflight on human physiology, behavior and performance. 

Additional areas of basic biological research conducted in space includes endogenous 

plant movements (Johnsson et. al., 2009; Solheim et. al., 2009), phototropism (Kiss, 

2009), and aspects of plant physiology relating to photosynthesis, respiration and 

transpiration (Tripathy, 1996; Stutte, 2005; Monje, 2005). For phototropism, 

investigations conducted on Earth are obfuscated by the presence of gravity and the 

resulting gravitropism complication. The fundamental knowledge gained through these 

investigations aids in our ability to better control plant use on earth in agriculture (and 

other) applications. 

Future research on the ISS and automated free flyers offers a particularly intriguing 

research environment for life science experiments. Whereas the Space Shuttle and free 

flyer experiments were typically 2-3 weeks in duration, ISS experiments can span many 

months. This opens new scientific pursuits for biology as researchers will be able to 

investigate how microgravity affects the full life cycle and multiple generations of higher 

order plants and animals. When the crew is present, humans can monitor the health and 

well being of the experimental organisms. The crew will also provide the capability to 

dissect animals, pollinate plants, and perform other experimental operations and 

harvests on-orbit, giving investigators samples and data retrieved before the organisms 

undergo the environment experienced during the return from space. 

The FSBP’s research with plants not only advances knowledge of how plants sense and 

respond to changes in gravity but this information also supports NASA’s Exploration Life 

Support (ELS) program. The ELS program anticipates that during future long duration 

missions, the crew will grow plants both for food and to provide positive psychological 

impact on crew members living in confined environments for prolonged intervals. Plants 

can recycle wastes, remove carbon dioxide, purify water and produce oxygen and food. 

Although our ability to grow plants in space has improved greatly, the fundamental 

processes of plant adaptations to spaceflight environments are only beginning to be 

understood. Already early stage vegetable production studies have been initiated on ISS 

(Sychev, 2007). FSB and ELS program experiments have identified several effects of 

spaceflight on plants that need more study before plant-based life support can become a 

reality. These issues relate to not only the direct effects of microgravity on plant 

development and physiology (FSB), but also indirect effects of space environments, 

including tightly closed atmospheres that can accumulate volatile organics, poor water 

and air movement through rooting media, elevated radiation levels, and spectral effects 

of electric lighting systems, to name a few (ELS). The ISS provides the opportunity to 

solve many of these issues, especially given the availability of new hardware that can 

provide more precise environmental control and sustain larger plants for multiple 

production cycles. 

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Overarching questions that will guide science direction and selection in the 

Organismal and Comparative Biology program element during the next decade 

include: 

•	 What are the organs and systems that life uses to sense and react to gravity? How 

do they work? Will they function properly across the gravity continuum, i.e., hypothrough hyper-gravity levels? 

•	 How do changes in gravity affect the regulatory mechanisms that govern alterations 

in the musculoskeletal system in animals and lignin formation in plants? 

•	 Do changes in gravity affect the basic metabolic rate and metabolism of living 

systems? Is lifespan affected? 

•	 Are the normal defense systems of organisms compromised at fractional or hypergravity, e.g. mammalian immune system, wound healing, including fracture repair? 

Developmental Biology 

All life has evolved under the nearly constant influence of gravity. With the advent of 

spaceflight, biologists can now investigate the role and influence of gravity on such 

basic processes as reproduction, development, maturation and aging. On several 

Space Shuttle missions, pregnant rodents were flown and the pups they delivered 

following the flights showed striking changes in the structure of the fetal balance organ 

within the vestibular system (Keefe, 1986, Alberts, 1986). In addition, after 16 days in 

microgravity neonatal rodents that were launched at both 8 and 14 days post partum 

had their sensorimotor functions tested within several hours of landing, e.g. walking, 

and righting (rolling over). Post-flight, the righting response of pups was profoundly 

deficient compared to ground control animals, suggesting that removal of gravitational 

cues during early post-natal development can significantly alter inherent patterns of 

behavior. In addition, these microgravity-exposed neonatal animals failed to undergo 

normal skeletal muscle growth and differentiation. This finding suggests that gravity 

stimuli are essential for generating the structure needed to perform basic ambulatory 

and righting movements when subjected post-flight to terrestrial gravity (Walton, 2005, 

Adams, 2000). 

In another key spaceflight experiment, a frog embryology investigation demonstrated, 

for the first time, that gravity is not required for a vertebrate species, an amphibian, to 

ovulate, fertilize, achieve a normal body pattern, and mature to a free swimming stage 

(Souza, 1995). This experiment put to rest the "gravity requirement" controversy that 

had been debated by embryologists since the late 19th century. It remains to be seen, 

however, if a complete life cycle of a complex vertebrate can occur in the virtual 

absence of gravity. 

Investigations of plant development in space have often reported differences 

attributable to the spaceflight environment. For instance, Brassica rapa seeds and 

pollen produced in microgravity were found to be physiologically younger than those 

produced in 1g (Kuang et. al., 2005). It was speculated that microgravity limits mixing of 

the gaseous microenvironments inside the closed tissues and that the resulting gas 

composition surrounding the seeds and pollen retards their development. Similarly, 

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abnormalities in the process of embryo formation and acceleration in development of 

the endosperm were revealed at the early stages of B. rapa embryogenesis in 

microgravity (Popova, 2009). 

It has been demonstrated that secondary metabolism in plants is affected by conditions 

of altered gravity (both hypo- and hyper-gravity). Levels of glucosinolate production 

was on average 75% greater in plants grown in space than in their ground control 

counterparts. Similarly, the biochemical make-up of immature seeds produced during 

spaceflight was significantly different from the ground controls. The spaceflight 

environment thus influences B. rapa metabolite production in ways that may affect flavor 

and nutritional quality of potential space produce (Musgrave, 2005). 

Several publications using different species in different systems have reported that 

plants grown under conditions of microgravity exhibit enhanced root production relative 

to their ground controls (Levine, 1996, 2003, 2005). Why is this? Is there a 

physiological basis or is it due to a spaceflight-associated artifact (e.g. more even 

distribution of moisture in the root zone)? One study pertinent to this question using 

Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings germinated in space found that the root cortical cells 

proliferated at a higher rate (Matía, 2005). In follow-up studies, Matía (2009) was able 

to confirm using both space-grown plants plus a Random Positioning Machine, an 

effective simulator of microgravity, that the number of cells per millimeter in specific cell 

files of the roots were higher in microgravity-grown (or simulated) samples than in the 

1g control. 

Overarching questions that will guide science direction and selection in the 

Developmental Biology program element during the next decade include: 

•	 How do individual eukaryotic cells carry out genetically defined programs of 

differentiation and development into specialized tissues and multi-cellular organisms? 

•	 Can complex organisms, plants and animals, be grown successfully through at least 

two complete life cycles in altered gravity environments, hypo- and hyper-gravity? If 

not, why not? 

•	 Do organisms that are raised in altered gravity environments develop normally, i.e., 

structurally, physiologically, behaviorally? Are reproduction, lifespan and the aging 

processes affected? Are changes expressed in altered g environments reversible 

when returned to 1g? 

•	 Is normal terrestrial gravity required for the normal development and function of the 

gravity sensing organs in plants and animals, e.g., Is gravity required for the 

development and maintenance of the mammalian vestibular system’s capability for 

neuroplasticity? Is a plant’s gravitropic system including gravitransduction, and the 

translocation of the g-signal to the site of reaction? 

•	 Are there g-thresholds for normal reproduction, development, and maturation? For 

example, will gravity-sensing systems develop normally at fractional gravity, (lunar? 

Mars?) 

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Mapping the Path - The Next Decade 

2011-2015 

FSBP research priorities for experiments on the ISS during the first five years of the 

decade will emphasize cell and microbiology due to the availability of a diverse array of 

facilities and equipment that can support cell and microbial research. Cell biologists and 

microbiologists will also have several opportunities during this decade to utilize 

Microsatellites flown by NASA’s Ames Research Center. These studies will clarify how 

a variety of cells and microbes react to altered gravity. Experiments with microbes will 

provide insights into the how and why of increased microbial virulence as a result of 

spaceflight as well as suggest ways to mitigate such increases. Research with 

microbial biofilms will shed light on how bioflims form and identify materials and ways to 

control biofilm formation. In addition, plant and small model organisms will utilize the 

equipment and facilities of the US and our international partners on the ISS, including 

the European Modular Cultivation System that enables fractional gravity studies with 

small plants and other model organisms. 

Development of animal and large plant habitats to support research on the ISS is a very 

high priority for the FSBP. The strategic use of animals will provide information at the 

whole system level for such important questions as the effects of microgravity on the 

structure and function of the sensori-motor and musculoskeletal systems, the immune 

system including wound healing and fracture repair. In addition, plant habitats are 

needed to accommodate the growth of relatively large plants for both the FSB and ELS 

research programs. If initiated in 2010, animal and plant habitats can be available for 

research on the ISS by late 2012. 

Free flyers will also play a prominent part in the FSB program during this decade. In 

addition to the use of microsatellites for cell and microbial biology, the Russian Institute 

of Biomedical Problems in collaboration with NASA’s FSBP, will study a variety of 

specimens from mice flown on the 30-day Russian Bion M-1 biosatellite mission in 

2012. A second Bion mission, Bion M-2 is tentatively scheduled for 2014 and is 

planned to be a 45-day mission with rodents including either an onboard centrifuge for 

fractional gravity research or, an onboard radiation source for radiation biology studies. 

2016-2020 

Assuming animal habitats and a large plant habitat are developed and flown on ISS 

during the previous five years, animal and plant research will be emphasized during this 

five year period. Utilizing both biotechnology advances including the ever-increasing 

availability of genetically engineered organisms, the mechanisms animals and plants 

use to respond to gravity transitions will be unraveled at the molecular level. Long 

duration studies with animals, e.g. 3-6 months or more, will demonstrate the way the 

musculoskeletal system changes over time in microgravity as well as the impact of long 

duration flights on the immune system. Multiple generations of plants will be studied to 

both understand the long-term effects of microgravity and also to demonstrate the 

potential use and reliability of plants for future advanced life support systems. It is 

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anticipated that cooperative projects with our international partners will continue and will 

include research both on the ISS and free flyers. In addition, advanced technologies 

will continue to be developed to bring more and more capability to Microsatellite 

missions, perhaps including a return capability. 

Core Program Elements 

Ground-based and Space Research 

Research on the ground will be the basis for developing and refining hypotheses to be 

tested in space. Proven analogs that induce biological effects similar to spaceflight will 

be used in conjunction with model organisms to focus on the critical overarching 

questions cited at the end of each of the FSB Program Elements. Research will be 

solicited and selected via applicable NASA policies and practices. It is anticipated that 

a ratio of approximately 3:1 (ground: flight studies) will be maintained for overall 

program balance and cost effectiveness. 

Special Research and Technology Projects 

New areas of research may require new equipment and/or technologies. The FSB 

Program will conduct regular assessments of its research needs via workshops and 

reports from appropriate advisory committees and/or organizations. Development of 

high priority equipment or technologies will be prioritized by the FSB Program and 

developed according to applicable NASA policies and practices. Miniaturized, highly 

sensitive measuring devices lead the latest wave of new tools destined to equip 

Fundamental Biology projects for spaceflight. These devices require cell, microbial, plant 

and animal model systems that will rapidly return high quality data from flight 

experiments, e.g. imaging, environmental, biochemical, etc. Computing capacities must 

accelerate to keep pace with the expanding needs for processing and analyzing the data 

gathered from these experiments. The FSB Program will also continue its efforts to 

improve the frequency and capabilities of Microsatellites 

FSB Program Priorities 

2011-2020 

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2/10/112/10/11 

Chapter 2 - Implementation 

Introduction 

To accomplish the scientific goals articulated in chapter 1 of this plan, a comprehensive 

ground and flight research program managed by NASA is required. The components of 

that program are described in this chapter. It captures how NASA engages the science 

community, and provides support so that world-class science is done both on the 

ground and in space. This chapter focuses on the specialized components of the FSB 

program that will support research on the ground and in microgravity. 

Ground and Flight Research 

The ultimate success of the FSB program relies on growing and sustaining a vibrant 

extramural research community, complimented with in-house science expertise to set 

programmatic goals and transfer knowledge to more applications- and operationsoriented NASA programs. To engage the broad science community, the FSB program 

funds peer-reviewed research that is performed at either NASA or investigator provided 

facilities. Both ground based and space based investigations are solicited and funded. 

Investigations may be announced through an NASA Research Announcement (NRA), 

International Space Life Sciences Research Announcement (ILSRA), and Stand Alone 

Missions of Opportunity Notice (SALMON). Technology development is a subset of 

research, hence technology development grants and contracts are awarded through 

competitive, peer-reviewed processes as well. NRA’s are typically focused on either 

ground or flight research, but recent NRAs for ground research have also stated that 

experiments of sufficient merit can be considered for flight. 

After grants are awarded, investigators provide regular status reports as well as a final 

report, and are strongly encouraged to publish. Following completion of the research, 

the investigator has a one year period with exclusive rights to publish their findings. 

After the one year period, the research data is archived and made available to the 

broader community. 

The FSB program strives to achieve a 3:1 ratio between ground and flight research 

grants. NASA Ames Research Center have general oversight for cell and animal biology 

research, which are roughly 2/3 of the grants, and Kennedy Space Center has general 

oversight for plant research, which are roughly 1/3 of the grants. Ideally, the overall 

FSB program would have 100 active ground and flight investigations going on at one 

time, which was true before the original FSB program was cut in 2006. Such a program 

would engage thousands of researchers and students across the country, reestablishing NASA’s leadership in space biology. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ground and Flight Research Facilities 

Universities and the private sector have billions of dollars invested in modern 

biotechnology research laboratories. The idealized FSB program will complements 

these capabilities by providing access to the unique environment of space to study living 

systems, as well as ground facilities that support such investigations. This includes: 

Ground Facilities: 

•	 Rotating and linear acceleration facilities to study the physiological and behavioral 

effects of hyper-gravity and acceleration 

•	 Laboratories to support the development and performance of biological flight 

experiments at launch and landing sites 

•	 Facilities that simulate the on-orbit temperature and humidity environment being 

seen by the payloads 

•	 Mission operations facilities to monitor and control experiments while in space. 

•	 Specimen and data archives that is the repository for information and tissues that 

are shared within the science community 

•	 Animal care facilities to house animals for flight experiments 

Flight Facilities: 

•	 Access to microgravity via missions involving the ISS, microsatellites, and free flyers 

•	 Habitats to sustain cells, tissues, small model organisms, rodents, and plants in 

microgravity (existing habitats are described in the Appendix) 

•	 Centrifuges to provide a fractional gravity level to support lunar and Martian studies, 

as well as to provide an on-orbit 1-g control 

•	 Sample retrieval and preparation equipment to capture cells and tissues on-orbit, 

preserve them for storage, and/or prepare them for on-orbit analysis 

•	 In-situ analytical equipment to capture scientific data from the biospecimens while 

on-orbit and reducing the need for sample return 

•	 Specimen preservation and storage equipment, including both chemical fixatives 

and refrigerators and freezers, to keep specimens in a condition so they can be 

returned to earth for study. 

Some of these research and support facilities have been fully developed and are 

operational, some exist but need to be upgraded, and others do not exist and need to 

be developed. Figure 1 describes the relative priorities for implementation for each of 

the science areas identified in chapter 1. Prioritization was based on scientific urgency, 

the status of the current facilities supporting each science area, and a projected ramp 

up of program budget. For example, cell biology has been and will continue to be 

important. There are a number of excellent systems to support cell biology in space, so 

there is not much emphasis placed on developing brand new cell biology hardware. 

What is lacking, however, are the U.S. facilities to do long duration plant and rodent 

research. So in the near term, the program will emphasize the development of plant 

and rodent habitats to operate onboard ISS, while maintaining a strong cell science 

program. 

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This plan assumes that NASA provides adequate logistics to and from the ISS. With 

the Space Shuttle nearing retirement, FSB recognizes the need to maximize science 

while minimizing how much has to be launched to and returned from ISS. Much of the 

microgravity research will be done onboard ISS, but microsatellites and free flyers will 

also be critical. Free flyers, such as the Russian Foton and Bion, offer the advantage of 

scientific and cost sharing with Russian collaborators. The microsatellites (50-100 kg 

payloads) and nanosatellites (less than 50 kg payloads) can be developed relatively 

cheaply and quickly, and fly beyond the Low Earth Orbit of ISS. Because free flyers 

and microsatellites can go beyond LEO and without the same safety concerns as 

human-crewed missions, a wider range of radiation biology experiments can be flown. 

NASA anticipates Bion missions in 2012, 2014, and 2016. A nanosatellite or 

microsatellite launch is anticipated once or twice a year starting in 2009 (Pharmasat 

was launched on May 19th, 2009). 

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Figure 1
 

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Science and Payload Operations 

Over the course of 5 decades and the performance of hundreds of successful missions 

in space, NASA has developed a core competency in developing non-human biological 

science payloads. This expertise is vital in helping scientists shape the science they 

want to do in the challenging environment of space. Helping scientists achieve their 

science objectives is the #1 goal for NASA’s science and payload operations staff. To 

do so, they help investigators by: 

•	 streamlining and simplifying experiments to maximize their feasibility given the 

constraints of limited crew time, power, payload mass, etc.; 

•	 adapting experiments to work with existing systems as well as developing new 

systems to support the science; 

•	 making experiments safe so they don’t endanger the crew or the vehicle; 

•	 physically and analytically integrating the payload into the rest of the space vehicle 

or laboratory; 

•	 monitoring experiments on-orbit and providing real-time data and command 

capability to the PI; 

•	 supporting pre-launch and post-landing operations on the ground. 

The process used for science award, development, and execution is depicted in Figure 

2. 

FIGURE 2.
 

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Technology Development 

Fundamental Space Biology both generates and relies upon advanced technology. 

Recent advances in biotechnology have given scientists great insights into the genomic 

and proteinomic phenomena that drive biological systems. Instruments and techniques 

to analyze genetics and molecular chemistry are relatively common in ground 

laboratories, but the capability to do such research in space is still in the developmental 

stage. Over the next 10 years, the FSB program will pursue multiple waves of 

biotechnology development to expand the research capabilities in space and resolve 

the technical challenges associated with exploration. Discoveries resulting from the 

biological research can also drive technology development. Such has been true in the 

past. FSB experiments have provided the knowledge that has fueled current biomedical 

countermeasures for the crew, as well as benefits to the general public (please see 

chapter 3 of this plan for more information about Earth benefits). 

Relationship to Other Programs 

The FSB program complements the applied biomedical research that is the focus of the 

Human Research Program, the commercial research that is funded by private industry, 

and space research done by other government agencies such as the National Institutes 

of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as research done by the 

International Partners. In the latter arena, there are several government agencies with 

strong research capabilities and diverse science objectives, but none of them are 

committed to the long-term goal of the exploration of space that is uniquely NASA’s. 

Each of these programs has its own unique ground and flight research capabilities that 

are leveraged by FSB. Similarly, FSB’s existing facilities and expertise are used by 

organizations inside and outside of NASA. The FSB program has a long history of 

collaborating with these other programs, both in terms of joint missions, shared facilities, 

and collaborative science investigations. As we look ahead, we anticipate that 

partnerships will become strategically more important as the science interests are vast 

while the budgetary and flight resources (e.g., crew time, launch upmass) are limited. 

A robust FSB program will provide the infrastructure to accelerate research by the 

private sector and other U.S. government agencies. Currently, both groups have not 

been able to take full advantage of ISS National Laboratory because of the paucity of 

US facilities to do biological research in LEO. Indeed, ESA and JAXA have their own 

dedicated racks for fundamental biology research, but the US does not. There are also 

multiple US racks dedicated to physical sciences research, and this plan describes the 

development of a similar capability for FSB. Once these on-orbit facilities are 

established, it will be much easier and cost effective for the private sector and other 

government agencies to do biological research in space. 

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Program Summary 

NASA’s full commitment to the FSB program will lead to a vibrant biological research 

program onboard ISS, Bion, microsats, and hundreds of labs around the country. Such 

a program will be closely connected with related research programs, inside and outside 

of NASA, to do extensive ground and spaceflight research. Investments must be made 

in the near term to upgrade the FSB research facilities, in particular, the facilities to 

support biological research in space. In parallel, the pool of investigators must be 

grown, and their experiments matured from ground to flight, so that the goals identified 

in chapter one can be addressed. Experiments in space will answer questions about 

how the basic biology of living systems are affected by long term spaceflight. At the 

same time, new phenomena will be discovered and new research questions will be 

generated. The exact pace of progress and scope of the program will be determined by 

funding. When fully mature, this program requires funding at the $100M a year level, 

but can be scaled up or down depending on the funding profile that is established. 

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Chapter 3 - Benefits
 

The substantial benefits resulting from NASA-sponsored Fundamental Space Biology 

research flow directly from the pursuit of its three Program goals. University and NASA 

researchers, collaborators from non-FSB NASA centers, other federal agencies, the 

commercial sector, and several international partners have collaborated to produce 

these benefits. The FSB Program has always been a broad, networked community, 

which is one of its strengths. 

•	 Discover the effects of microgravity and other unique characteristics of the space 

environment on fundamental biological processes by bringing the genomics 

revolution to space. 

•	 Develop the scientific and technological foundations to allow a safer, more 

productive human presence in space to further space exploration 

•	 Design solicitations and experiments to maximize the applicability of this new 

knowledge and technology to improve the nation’s competitiveness, educational 

prowess, and the quality of life on Earth. 

To appreciate the true significance of FSB Program accomplishments it is important to 

define space biology research, since its scope and rationale for conduct by NASA is 

sometimes misunderstood. These accomplishments have significance in many ways, 

but we organize them here by the three FSB goal categories above (Discover, Develop 

and Apply) to emphasize a major value area. Specific benefits are profiled by their 

research Question, Result and Significance, to assist comparability. 

What is Space Biology? 

The only life we have yet encountered in the universe is life on Earth. Every known 

living thing evolved under the common influence of Earth’s gravity, atmosphere, and 

radiation. Space exploration, defined as missions conducted to pursue new 

discoveries, new development and new applications beyond Earth, can be 

accomplished in different ways by people traveling on spacecraft, or by robot surrogates 

monitored by people. FSB conducts research to optimize the value of the human 

exploration component by all practical means. 

Transport of an Earth-based human organism to space requires provision of an artificial 

environment sufficient to support and sustain life both there and back and as in the 

case, for example, of the International Space Station (ISS), while living in space. This 

requires knowing the limits of human adaptation to the quality of the artificial 

environment we are able to provide. For long-duration and/or long-distance exploration 

leading to habitation or even future colonization beyond the ISS, we need to better 

understand the environmental conditions and technologies that will allow humans to 

perform productive work and hopefully to thrive. To optimize human health and safety, 

we transport other organisms beyond Earth and by studying their adaptive capacity, 

better understand the ability of humans to live with minimum effective gravity or on 

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worlds with other gravity levels. Humans, of course, carry their own biota with them and 

these become part of the new ecosystems created in closed space environments. 

These challenges are the purview of space biology and we have discovered that 

humans, plants and animals undergo many changes associated with living in 

microgravity or other levels of gravity. We have discovered aspects of livings things 

buried in their genetic code that can only be observed away from Earth’s environment. 

Highlights From 30 Years of FSB Research 

Using a range of standard model organisms for research, gravity's effects on many 

physiological and biological systems have been identified and the underlying 

mechanisms clarified. We’ve determined the importance of the environmental changes 

within spacecraft and discovered how amazingly adaptable and “plastic” biological 

systems can be. We know that gravity affects life at the cellular and sub-cellular levels. 

Great progress has been made in determining gravity-related molecular responses in 

cells, plants, and animals (e.g. signal transduction, stretch receptors, cytoskeleton 

changes). A recent profound finding with major implications indicates that gravity has 

effects on life at its most fundamental level - the gene itself. We've seen that the 

absence of the single force that's shaped life for its entire existence on Earth - gravity -

has significant effects on life, and at all levels. 

The tools for solving the most fundamental problems in biology - from the 

biotechnology, information technology and miniaturization revolutions - are only 

becoming available now. FSB is leveraging upon enormous investments in R&D in the 

pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and in essence is bringing the Human 

Genome Project to space. The quantity of information being brought in through 

biotechnology - DNA chips being only one example - would have overwhelmed older 

computers and IT systems, but new, high-speed computers are able to provide the 

analyses to reveal the biology of spaceflight. 

A. Discover 

1) First Vertebrate Fertilization and Development Achieved in Micro-g: A definitive 

study of the role of gravity in reproduction and development was conducted on an 

international STS/Spacelab mission. It was clearly shown that gravity was not required 

for frog ovulation, fertilization, embryo development, and maturation to the freeswimming stage. This research answered the classic "gravity requirement" question in 

the negative as debated by embryologists for over 100 years and proposed for study in 

space by several committees of the National Academy of Sciences. 

PI: K. Souza, Mission: STS-47/SL-J 

2) Vestibular System Shows Amazing Adaptability to Gravity Changes: The 

number of nerve connections between hair cells of the inner-ear and the brain increased 

dramatically in micro-g and decreased shortly after return to Earth, in rodent subjects. 

This “neuroplasticity” measured for the first time in a gravity-sensing organ overturned 

the text-book concept that peripheral nerves don’t change structurally over time. This 

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result has significant implications for human adaptability to the micro-g of space and 

variable gravity environments on other planets. The new basic knowledge of how 

information is processed by gravity sensors and the brain could improve our 

understanding and treatment of Earth-based problems such as; Meniere’s disease, 

vertigo, imbalance and similar disorders. 

PI: Ross, M.D., Mission: STS-40/SLS-1; STS-58/SLS-2 

3) Cellular Cytoskeleton Found is a Key to Mechanical Sensing: The “Tensegrity” 

theory’s prediction that cell surface receptors (e.g. integrins) function as 

mechanoreceptors has now been validated and provides an explanation for how living 

cells physically and biochemically can respond to external mechanical stress, such as 

gravitational loading/unloading. The FSB Program funded the ground-based research 

of Donald Ingber who coined the “tensegrity” term with a view that changes in a cells 

shape due to external loading can change the internal protein-based architectural 

structure and the biochemical signaling and gene activation that can have broad effects 

on cell function. Ingber, who gave birth to this exciting and expanding field 

acknowledges that his “work [was] made possible in part by funding...from the Space 

Biology Program at NASA....[They] gave me a chance when no others would do so by 

funding my first grant proposal.” This research could show how gravity can influence an 

organisms cell dynamics and help identify countermeasures to certain untoward effects 

in living systems, including humans. 

PI: D. Ingber, Mission: Ground-based 

B. Develop 

1) Mysterious Cause of Space Anemia Discovered: This pioneering study using 

rodents as subjects on a USSR Biosatellite flight was driven by observations of 

astronaut anemia (red cell depletion) of unknown cause observed in the SkyLab crew. 

The first observation of programmed death of newly formed red blood cells was 

confirmed from immediate postflight measurements and was subsequently validated in 

human subjects. Identification of this effect (termed “apoptosis”) solved the riddle of 

how you can have fewer circulating red blood cells while the formation of new and 

destruction of older red cells doesn’t change. This is a classic example of the major 

value of animal space research for human space exploration applications. 

PI: H. Leon, Mission: Cosmos 782/Bion 3 

2) 30 Years of Cosmos Biosatellite (Bion) Research with the USSR/Russia: NASA 

FSB forged a deep and broad collaborative relationship with the Russian Institute for 

Medical and Biological Problems (IMBP) after they invited NASA to join their 

international Cosmos Biosatellite Program (Bion). Beginning with Bion 3 (Cosmos 782) 

in 1975 and continuing for eight missions through Bion 10 (Cosmos 2229), NASA flew 

experiments on USSR biosatellites as an invited guest of the Russian Space Agency 

(until collapse of the Soviet Union) and the Institute of Biomedical Problems, Moscow. 

NASA provided flight and ground hardware and expendables that were used 

cooperatively by U.S. and Russian investigators and also shared use of Russian 

research habitats. For the 1996 Bion 11 mission that carried non-human primates in 

addition to simpler organisms, NASA and the Russian Space Agency negotiated a 

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contract whereby NASA received 50% of the science payload. For each of these Bion 

missions, U.S. and Russian scientists shared all cooperative science results and 

regularly published joint articles on their results. 

Planning is underway for a revival of this collaboration on a 30-day Bion M1 mission in 

2012 that would conduct space biology and biomedical research on rodents with an 

emphasis on studying adaptation to spaceflight and readaptation to Earth. PIs will have 

an opportunity to propose to a Biospecimen Sharing Program (BSP) utilizing rodent 

biosamples which will accommodate a broad, lower-cost research endeavor. 

Over 250 peer reviewed scientific publications resulted from US participation in the nine 

cooperative Bion missions. The scientific findings not only advanced our basic 

understanding of how life senses and adapts to changes in gravity but also laid the 

foundation and provided guidance for the design, development and implementation of 

biomedical and artificial gravity countermeasures that could mitigate several adverse 

effects of spaceflight on human physiology. 

PIs: Hundreds, Missions: Bion Mission Reports, and Bion Experiment Summaries in 

online “Life into Space” references (this chapter) 

3) Major Space-related Muscle/Bone Revelations Emerge from Micro-g Simulation 

Model: The FSB Program funded a NASA PI to develop and validate a rodent model 

that has allowed scientists to simulate microgravity by decreased mechanical loading on 

Earth and thus begin to probe molecular mechanisms associated with variable loading 

of the musculoskeletal system. Highlights from hundreds of research studies conducted 

by NASA PIs, NASA-sponsored PIs and other investigators world-wide with decreased 

loading have shown that: 

•	 Changes in adult animals are specific to muscles and bones associated with 

maintenance of posture and movement against a load. 

•	 In growing animals, certain muscles and bones stop growing at their normal rate 

while others actually lose mass. 

•	 The specific changes found in the ground-based rodent unloading model are 

similar to those noted during spaceflight. 

•	 Decreased synthesis of new tissues is as important as the destruction of existing 

bone/muscle mass. 

•	 Muscle physiology experiments showed that resistive exercise provides a better 

countermeasure to muscle atrophy than the aerobic treadmill. Resistive exercise 

was adopted by the crew health program but the treadmill is also used since 

surface impact is good for bone loading and aerobics has cardiovascular 

benefits. 

These advances will allow more logical countermeasures for solving space-related 

adaptation that makes return to Earth rather difficult. The model is also being used to 

test the hypothesis that development of reflexes associated with posture and balance 

require mechanical loading at certain critical periods during maturation of newborn 

animals. 

PI: Holton, E., Baldwin, K., Riley, D. and others Mission: Flight and Ground-based 

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C. Apply 

1) Pioneering Studies in Biovisualization: Space research by a NASA PI on celllevel vestibular adaptation to variable gravity, required development of custom 3-D 

software and related analysis tools (see B. 1-b, above) to visually reconstruct tissues 

from slide sections. This major FSB innovation and resulting technology transfer has 

become common practice for reconstructive surgery, breast cancer surgery, dental 

reconstruction, plastic surgery, brain surgery and other complex procedures requiring 3-

dimensional dynamic simulations. 

PI: Ross, M. Mission: Ground-based data analysis 

2) Space Biosensor & Biotelemetry Technology: Applications to Medicine & 

Surgery: NASA’s need for advanced biosensor and biotelemetry technology (wireless 

bio-data communications) to remotely monitor subjects has direct application to Earthbased medicine and surgery. Ideally, research subjects in long-duration studies, 

including small animal models like rodents, are unrestrained to fully reflect the impact of 

microgravity and other aspects of the spaceflight environment on their behavior and 

physiology. The FSB Program established a Sensors 2000 Project in the 1990s and a 

FSB Advanced Technology Project after 2000 to stimulate innovative biosensor and 

biotelemetry research for both human and animal subjects. In addition to developing 

new miniaturized biophysical, bioelectrical, and biochemical sensors, they were 

integrated with battery-powered or inductively coupled implantable biotelemetry systems 

to support freely moving subjects. 

Continuous, data acquisition and improved measurement capabilities combined with the 

ease and flexibility offered by automated, wireless, and portable instruments and data 

systems, has transformed ambulatory medicine and intensive care facilities in hospitals, 

world-wide. This has lowered health care staff costs and sped return of patients to their 

homes where telemedicine (remote monitoring of patients via advanced biosensors, 

intelligent systems and broad-band networks) is increasingly utilized. A specific FSBsponsored telemedicine application was with the Fetal Treatment Center (FTC) at the 

University of California at San Francisco. Miniaturized implantable biotelemetry was 

adapted to continuously monitor fetal patients after extra-uterine surgery to repair 

congenital defects. The monitor was designed to be implanted subcutaneously in the 

mother over the uterus to provide early-warning via telecommunications of premature 

labor that would allow quick removal of the fetus via ceasarian surgery since it could not 

survive a vaginal delivery. 

PI: Hines, J. Mission: Bion Flights and Ground-based 

Benefit Profiles 

A. Shuttle Laboratory Research (plus related Ground-based studies) 

1) Vibration is Protective of Bone Loss During Simulated Microgravity 

Question: Could mild vibrations applied via the feet lessen bone loss typically seen in 

a rodents experiencing unloading to simulate microgravity? 

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Results: Scientists showed mild vibrations prevent bone loss that normally occurs in 

hind-limb suspended rats, a ground based animal model of unloading. The technique 

works by stimulating the bones’ stress response. A team of researchers, at the SUNYStony Brook, discovered that normally active animals exposed to 10 minutes per day of 

low-magnitude, high frequency vibrations experienced increased bone formation when 

compared to a control group. In addition, when animals, prevented from regular, weightbearing activity, were exposed to 10 minutes of vibrations per day (during normal 

weight-bearing), bone formation remained at near-normal levels. Animals not exposed 

to the treatment, but who participated in 10 minutes of weight-bearing activity each day, 

still exhibited signs of significant bone loss. 

Significance: While these preliminary animal results are encouraging, a full clinical 

study would be needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of using vibrations to recover 

bone mass and architecture in people with osteoporosis or lessen the bone loss 

observed regularly in astronauts during long duration space flight. 

PI: Rubin, C., Mission: Ground-based 

2) Microbial Drug Resistance and Virulence Changes in Microgravity 

Question: Spaceflight research has demonstrated that microgravity significantly 

changes gene expression and virulence potential in Salmonella typhimurium, a very 

common disease producing organism in humans that is present in crewed spacecraft 

and ubiquitous on Earth. Would repeating the earlier microgravity studies using various 

growth media and ions as variables influence the virulence as has been seen in ground 

studies. 

Results: Changes in gene expression and protein synthesis were found with increased 

virulence seen in rich media. When this media was augmented with custom ions the 

increased virulence was prevented. 

Significance: Results suggest that this experiment model in which ions can control 

spaceflight associated virulence holds great promise for reducing the associated risk to 

crew health during spaceflight and could be exploited on Earth to combat infectious 

diseases. 

PI: Wilson, Nickerson Mission: STS-123 

B. ISS Laboratory Research 

1) Advanced Astroculture 

Question: The model organism, Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering plant, was 

successfully grown to the seed stage (a first) and harvested during earlier ISS inflight 

research studies. The Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR) 

proposed to use their updated Advanced Astroculture Apparatus in an attempt to grow a 

second generation of plants from those flown seeds. This multigeneration experiment 

had never been conducted in space. 

Results: This attempt successfully grew a second generation of plants in space using 

space-germinated seeds while on the ISS. These observations and accompany 

analysis of the plants and seeds suggest that there were significant benefits to the 

longer duration microgravity than possible during Shuttle missions. 

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Significance: This initial development of an automated habitat for conducting 

multigenerational growth of a non-food crop paves the way for multigenerational 

research including gene expression, and the development of a variety of food crops and 

improved crop development in space. A successful study on the ISS was also 

conducted using soybeans that produced viable seeds. 

PI: Zhou, Weijia Mission: ISS Expeditions 2,4,5 

2) Signal Transduction and Gravi-sensing Threshold in Human Lymphocytes 

Question: Will human T-lymphocytes flown on the ISS (an ESA PI) after transport by 

the Russian Soyuz show an altered genetic expression of Interleukin-2 and/or its 

receptor and is there a gravity threshold of 0.6 g above which this effect is not seen. 

Are the gravity effects direct (gravitational force acting in cell structures) or indirect 

(acting on the cell environment). Immune suppression of T-cell response to a 

simulated infectious agent (mitogen) inflight suggests the above hypotheses which need 

to be tested. 

Results: Preliminary results suggest that the above hypotheses are real and that the 

gravity effect is direct due to its impact on the cellular endoskeleton. 

Significance: Understanding of the mechanisms whereby the immune response in 

humans is drastically curtailed via such studies provides the potential to develop a 

countermeasure to this effect both in space and on Earth where immune suppression is 

a major medical problem. 

PI: Walther, I, Cogoli, A., Hughes-Fulford, M., Mission: ISS – Expedition 14, Sept 

2006 

C. Free-Flyer Research 

1) Russian Foton Free-Flyers 

NASA FSB participation in the Foton-M2 (May 2005, 16 day) and the Foton M3 

(September 2007, 12 day) missions (basically duplicate missions) continued, at a lowerlevel, the interaction with Russia after suspension of the Bion Program (see 2-b above 

for Bion-M1). The Foton spacecraft is similar to Bion, but it utilizes solar cells instead of 

a fuel cell for power and can thus support longer duration research. Discussions of 

potential options for future collaborative rodent research have occurred since such 

studies are unlikely to be accommodated on the ISS in the near-term. The focus was 

on the M2 and M3 missions was on the use of lower-level organisms including: newts 

(tissue regeneration), bacteria (genetic changes), snails (neural responses to gravity) 

and geckos (cell, tissue, structural changes). 

Significance: Spaceflight enhanced cell proliferation in the amphibious newt, unlike in 

mammals. The proliferation may be due to the evolutionary changes newts made in 

adapting to neutrally buoyant conditions in an aquatic environment. Hypothetically, in an 

aquatic environment the neutral buoyancy unloading, of the animal’s musculoskeletal 

system, would mimic the unloading that occurs in microgravity. This hypothesis can be 

tested and if correct, the response of the aquatic newt with the terrestrial gecko could 

provide a model for determining the genetic and biochemical pathways governing 

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muscle and bone growth and regulation. These missions provided new insights into the 

effects of microgravity on the process of sensing and adapting to changes in gravity. 

Using the snail, an organism that has a neurosensory system similar to humans, gene 

expression studies showed that a peptide found in the gravity receptor organ was upregulated during the spaceflight. This suggests that in microgravity, an organism’s ability 

to sense the weak gravity signal may increase. In engineering terms, the animal is 

turning up the gain to get better reception. The M3 mission incorporated several USproposed scientific enhancements to the M2 experiments that provided increased 

science return. Also, the FSB Flight Systems and ARC science team developed add-on 

boxes to the newt/gecko habitats that included a battery-powered video camera for 

inflight recording, a solid-state video recorder, infrared LEDs for continuous lighting, and 

a pump to provide an optimal water supply. Such augmentations of Russian habitat 

systems by FSB based on their use over repeated missions, have been a staple feature 

of this fruitful collaboration. 

PIs: Various, NASA ARC/Montana State Univ., Missions: Foton-M2 and M3 (reflight) 

2) NanoSats 

A more recent FSB collaboration with “free-flyers” is the NASA ARC-developed 

NanoSat or Micro/Nano Spacecraft Program 

(http://mstl.atl.calpoly.edu/~bklofas/Presentations/DevelopersWorkshop2008/session6/5 

- NASA_Ames-John_Hines.pdf). These are developed within the ARC Small 

Spacecraft Division under management of its Chief Technologist, John Hines, who was 

the founder and manager of the ARC-based Sensors 2000 and Advanced Technology 

for FSB Projects (see 3-b, above). The NanoSats are based on emerging, advanced 

technology, often of commercial origin, and leveraged as an example from the highlysuccessful CubeSat Project (see References). Lower-cost, flexible access to space 

launch as secondary payloads with data downlinks are key features of FSB-related 

payloads such as GeneSat 1,2 

http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm?http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/genesat1.htm and PharmaSat. 

http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm?http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/genesat1.htm 

Significance: The NanoSat Program has developed advanced technologies for 

research such as integrated sensor/measurement systems on a disk, digital 

microscopes, integrated biofluidic systems for experiment processing and has 

developed complete free-flying spacecraft with solar power panels and complete data 

and communication systems. These revolutionary capabilites provide a whole new 

opportunity for testing and validating innovative technology but also provide new ways 

to conduct research that supports space biology and a wide range of other research 

disciplines. It also opens the door to STEM-focused hands-on research and 

development opportunities for college students. 

PI: Various, Missions: GeneSat, PhamaSat, more 

Technology Spin-offs 

1) Surgical Software: Developed by a NASA PI to facilitate postflight reconstruction 

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and visualization of the body’s balance organ in the inner ear, the software is now being 

used by surgeons to plan and implement 3-D reconstructions of a wide range of patient 

defects or injuries. The software won a NASA “Software of the Year” award, and is 

being used in hospitals around the world. Using this software, the surgeon can re-create 

the 3D anatomy from 2D medical images, develop a computer-generated model, and 

evaluate through simulation alternative surgical options to optimally benefit the patient. 

The first test of the software application with human patients was by a NASA AmesStanford team that utilized the virtual reality computer tools to support complex facial 

reconstructive surgery. 

Significance: As a follow-on the team has used these simulation tools for space life 

sciences applications including: development of complex procedures in an ISS glove 

box; interactive procedural training incorporating problem solving scenarios; enhanced 

interactions between the principal investigator and an astronaut using distributed 

internet connections; teleoperations; and complex human-computer interactions for 

surgery on soft and hard tissues. Thus these major Earth benefits came full-circle back 

to NASA FSB after refinement in the medical research community. 

2) Nutrient Film Technique for Hydroponic Crops: NASA FSB researchers based at 

KSC were the first to research Nutrient Film Techniques (NFT) to automate hydroponic 

systems for application to in-space plant production. In doing so they first demonstrated 

on a production scale NFT-based hydroponics to grow potato tubers. 

Significance: This approach is now utilized for the production of "seed" potatoes to 

propagate disease-free planting stock. Several potato seed growers as well as large 

corporations (e.g., Frito Lay) are using hydroponic production techniques developed by 

NASA for producing improved seed potatoes. 

PI: Wheeler, Ray, Mission: Ground-based 

Outreach Projects 

The FSB Program has had an active outreach effort, funded and coordinated at both 

NASA ARC and KSC. Its web site, “Web of Life”, is online within the NASA Exploration 

Science Mission Directorate (ESMD) at http://weboflife.nasa.gov. Web of Life is tasked 

by ESMD with imparting the relevancy and results of NASA-sponsored research via the 

Internet. By doing so, NASA improves scientific and technical literacy, contributes to 

academic excellence, and helps ensure the availability and quality of a new American 

workforce. Because of the general accessibility of the Web of Life content it supports 

both education and public outreach by “bringing space to the classroom” and profiling 

the “benefits of space research for applications to space exploration and life on Earth”. 

FSB Program outreach projects are carried out by the ARC and KSC organizations 

profiled below. 

•	 NASA ARC: Biosciences Division, at http://spacebiosciences.arc.nasa.gov/ supports 

NASA’s space exploration objectives by providing bioscience knowledge, 

engineering innovations and operations capabilities to extend the human presence 

beyond Earth. It includes three Branches for Bioengineering, Radiation & Space 

Biotechnologies, and Flight Systems Implementation. 

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•	 NASA KSC: Life Sciences Services Contract (LSSC) at http://www.lssc.nasa.gov/ 

supports Life Sciences Research, Ecological Programs and Health and Fitness 

projects. NASA's LSSC supports nearly all life sciences experiments, regardless of 

origin, that have been launched into low-Earth orbit from Kennedy Space Center, for 

more than 80 scientific missions and including more than 150 life science 

experiments. The LSSC has developed and demonstrated new technologies with life 

science applications, including; sensors, low-energy lighting systems, waste 

treatment systems, and advanced hydroponic systems. 

•	 Several project examples are profiled below along with their significance. 

1) SpaceBio.net: The FSB Program and the American Society for Gravitational & 

Space Biology jointly-sponsored and developed a college level web site beginning in 

1997 to provide online education resources for teachers and students in space biology. 

“Space Biology: An Education Resource” used “spacebio.net” for its original url, but it is 

currently located at http://www.mainsgate.com/spacebio/index.html. It was last funded 

by FSB in 2005 but it is hoped that NASA-related student-users can be solicited as part 

of NASA’s increased emphasis in supporting STEM education, to help update its links 

and, with mentor oversight, its content. 

Significance: The site received several awards from independent science web 

evaluators including the NASA Astrobiology Program (“excellence in information and 

education”), the National Science Teachers Association SciLinks Program (“meets our 

rigorous standards”), and the scholarly publisher,Thomson ISI (for its “authority, 

accuracy and currency”). At NASA’s request, SpaceBio.net was evaluated by a panel 

of college science educators and given a recommendation for continued support. 

2) Spaceflight and Life Sciences Training Program: The Spaceflight and Life 

Sciences Training Program (SLSTP) was developed as “an investment in tomorrow”. It 

was designed as an intense, STEM-focused, academically challenging, six-week 

summer program at the KSC for college students interested in learning how to 

successfully design and conduct biological research and operations in space and to 

assess the environmental impacts of a launch site. The SLSTP was sponsored and 

implemented by NASA, the KSC Life Science Services Contract, NASA's SLSTP 

Academic Partner Alliance (NSAPA) and the USDA. NSAPA included Tuskegee 

University, South Mountain Community College, and Dine' College. Student projects 

ranged from “Plant Health and Evaluations for Earth and Space Applications” 

(http://weboflife.nasa.gov/slstp/mc.htm) to “Gene Analyses of Arabidopsis After 

Exposure to Stresses Associated with Spaceflight Environments” 

(http://weboflife.nasa.gov/slstp/kristen.htm). The last class was held in 2004. 

Significance: The Program received several awards for its education innovations and 

its hundreds of graduates were the source of several recruits to NASA’s space life 

sciences research endeavors. 

3) Online Space Biology Course: A college level comprehensive set of online lectures 

and accompanying slides was developed by Dr. Chris Brown, a FSB-sponsored PI. 

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Brown utilized funding from FSB Program Outreach, the Kenan Institute, and the NASA 

Specialized Center of Research and Training in Gravitational Biology for which he 

served as Director. IT expertise to develop this product was provided by the North 

Carolina State University Department of Communication Services and the Distance 

Education & Learning Technology Applications Department. This course 

(http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/plantbiology/spacebiology/index.html) provides an overview 

of the biology of plants, animals and humans as related to gravity and the spaceflight 

environment. Students will become familiar with: experimental approaches to 

gravitational and space biology; mechanisms for observed spaceflight effects on living 

systems; current and past research results in gravitational and space biology; and the 

role that space science plays in society. 

Significance: This is the only college-level course that exists to convey the breadth 

and depth of space biology. It is team-taught to ensure the quality of its content and 

to provide a broad view of the field. 

4) Flies in Space Site: (http://quest.nasa.gov/projects/flies/index.html) A complete 

online teaching unit for middle school students was developed by FSB that is focused 

on one of the best known model organisms used for genomic-based research, the 

fruit fly (Drosophia melanogaster). The reasons for studying the fruit fly in space, the 

similarity of its immune response to humans, its anatomy, behavior and life cycles are 

all available for student exploration. Also, an experiment is described that students 

can conduct themselves in the classroom that will provide a hands-on experience of 

how research is conducted. Students therefore are introduced to the benefits of 

studying simpler model organisms for the value they provide in better understanding 

more complex organisms than ourselves. 

Significance: This education unit for 5th-8th grade students is based on national 

education standards and provides a window into STEM-focused basic biology 

research as well as space biosciences research which makes it especially valuable to 

both teachers and students. 

References 

American Society for Gravitational & Space Biology, online at http://www.asgsb.org. 

CubeSat Program web site coordinated by San Luis Obispo and Stanford Universities at 

http://www.cubesat.org/ 

GeneSat 1,2 

http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm?http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/genesat1.htm 

Hertzfeld, Henry, “Measuring the Economic Returns from Successful NASA Life Sciences 

Technology Transfer”, The Journal of Technology Transfer, Vol. 27, No. 4, December 2002, 

see at http://www.springerlink.com/content/mx377r26428538p8/ 

Hines, J., Technologies for Space Biology: New Horizons, presentation to Space Biology for 

Engineers, NASA Ames Research Center, online at 

http://www.dsls.usra.edu/biologycourse/workbook/Unit1.6.pdf 

Ingbar, D, “Cellular Basis of Mechanotransduction”, Biol. Bull. 194: 323-327. (June, 1998), 

online at http://www.biolbull.org/cgi/reprint/194/3/323.pdf and 

http://weboflife.nasa.gov/currentResearch/currentResearchBiologyGravity/skeleton.htm 

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Leon, H.A. et al.: “Alterations in Erythrocyte Survival Parameters in Rats After 19.5 Days Aboard 

Cosmos 782”. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, vol. 49, 1978, pp. 66-69 

Lomax, Terri, Fundamental Space Biology: Accomplishments Report, 2000-2002, 2004, online 

at http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/185052main_FSB2000-2002REPORT.pdf 

PharmaSat. 

http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm?http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/genesat1.htm 

Ross, M., “Bioinformatics May Forever Change Medicine”, in Innovation: Aerospace 

Technology, Vol 7, No. 5, Sept/Oct 1999. See online at 

http://ipp.nasa.gov/innovation/Innovation_75/bio.htm 

Ross, M.D., “Synaptic Changes in Rat Maculae in Space and Medical Imaging: the Link”, 

Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg. 1998 Mar;118(3 Pt 2):S25-8 

Rubin, C. et al: (1999) Expression of novel gene products upregulated by disuse is normalized 

by an osteogenic mechanical stimulus: NASA Space Biology Program; Biomedical 

Investigators' Workshop, Jan. 11-13, League City, Texas. 

Souza, Kenneth, Robert Hogan, and Rodney Ballard, eds. Life into Space: Space Life Sciences 

Experiments. NASA Ames Research Center 1965-1990. Washington DC: National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1995. NASA Reference Publication-1372. Online at 

http://lis.arc.nasa.gov/lis/index.html 

Souza, Kenneth, Guy Etheridge, and Paul X. Callahan, eds. Life into Space: Space Life 

Sciences Experiments. Ames Research Center, Kennedy Space Center, 1991-1998. 

Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2000. NASA Special 

Publication 2000-534. Online at http://lis.arc.nasa.gov/lis/index.html 

Souza, Kenneth, ed. Life into Space: Space Life Sciences Experiments. Ames Research 

Center, 1996-2003. Partial online version contains experiments, hardware and publications 

only. See at http://lis.arc.nasa.gov/lis/index.html 

Souza, K.A. et al., “Amphibian Development in the Virtual Absence of Gravity”. Proceedings of 

the National Academy of Sciences United States of America, vol. 92(6), 1995, pp. 1975– 

1978. 

Walther, I, Cogoli, A., Hughes-Fulford, M., “Influence of the effects of microgravity on function 

and activation of human T-cells” results summary online at 

http://www.spacebiol.ethz.ch/missions/leukin 

Wheeler, R., et al, “Potato Growth and Yield Using Nutrient Film Technique” online at 

http://www.springerlink.com/content/h3v126671765t380/ 

Wilson, J.W., C.A. Nickerson, et al: “Media Ion Composition Controls Regulatory and Virulence 

Response of Salmonella in Spaceflight”, 

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003923 

Zhou, W., Advanced Astroculture Plant Growth Unit: Capabilities and Performance”, 35th 

Annual International Conference on Environment Systems, Rome, Italy, July 2005. 

Experiment summary online at 

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/ADVASC.html#publication 

s 

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Appendix 1
 

Fundamental Space Biology (FSB) Flight Hardware
 

Available for use on ISS
 

European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) 

The EMCS is an experiment facility for biological 

investigations under microgravity. It shall allow for 

cultivation, stimulation and crew assisted operation 

of biological experiments under well controlled 

conditions. Depending on the experiment specific 

hardware, it can be adapted to different 

applications e.g. to (larger) plants and 

invertebrates. The EMCS experiments use 

Experiment Containers (EC) and Experiment 

Unique Equipment (EUE) which are inside the EC. 

The Plant Growth EC’s have been designed to support experiments using 

small plants such as Arabidopsis. 

Each EC has an internal volume of 60 x 60 x 160 mm with a transparent 

cover and up to 8 of these EC's can be integrated into the EMCS. The EC's 

work with the EMCS to provide lighting, water, environmental control and 

monitoring, video, and digital still image capture. 

Single Loop Cell Culture (SLCC) 

The SLCC consists of individual, self-contained, spaceflight cell culture 

systems with capabilities for automated growth initiation, feeding, subculturing and sampling. The cells are grown and contained within a rigid cell 

specimen chamber (CSC). Bladder tanks provide flush and media fluid. SLCC 

uses active perfusion flow to provide 

nutrients and gas exchange, and to dilute 

waste products by expelling depleted 

media fluid into a waste bladder tank. The 

cells can be grown quiescently, or 

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suspended using magnetically coupled stirrers. 

Each system contains a cell specimen chamber and six removable 

sample/inoculation containers. The removable containers provide the 

capability to take cell samples at multiple time points that can be stabilized 

on-orbit for post-flight genetic or morphological analysis and for analyses of 

the effects of microgravity. 

Microbial Cryogenic Canister Assemblies 

The Microbial Cryogenic Canisters provide containment for microbial 

experiments. The canisters containing the Cryovials can be stored in 

temperature controlled environments during ascent, on-orbit, and descent. 

The Microbial Cryogenic Canister Assemblies consist of an aluminum 

canister. Each Canister contains three 8 ml polypropylene vials. The vials are 

inserted into vial jackets to improve contact and enhance 

thermal transfer. The compression pad eliminates space 

between the vials and canister lid. 

The unit can be used at ambient temperatures or onorbit in an incubator. 

Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) 

The Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) is an anodized-aluminum 

cylinder used to provide passive stowage for investigations studying the 

effects of space flight on small specimens. The BRIC have supported a wide 

variety of research on many Space Shuttle missions and has multiple 

configurations. 

•	 The BRIC-60 can hold a maximum of twelve, 60 mm petri dishes (total 

of 24 per full canister) or thirteen Teflon tubes 

(total of 26 per full canister) can be placed 

inside each canister chamber. No power is 

required. 

•	 The BRIC-100 can accommodate nine polycarbonate 100 mm petri 

plates. The bottom and top lids of each canister have twenty-five 0.5 

mm holes and a Teflon membrane (pore size 0.5 micrometers). Two 

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septa are located in the lid to allow gas sampling. Underneath this lid, 

the semi-permeable membrane is attached and supported by an 

anodized-aluminum ring. The ring and membrane assembly are 

supported by five stainless steel screws. If gas 

exchange is not required, the semi-permeable
 

membrane and capture ring can be replaced by an 

aluminum capture plate to provide a closed 

experimental environment. The petri plates inside
 

the canister are held in place by a petri dish cage
 

insert.
 

•	 The BRIC-100VC canister can accommodate standard 100 mm 

laboratory petri plates. The BRIC-100VC canister provides containment 

and structural support for the specimens and 

their associated hardware. The lid of the 

canister uses a toggle switch and O-ring 

assembly which allows quick sealing and 

removal of the lid. The bottom of the canister 

has sufficient storage space for passive temperature and relative 

humidity recorders. 

• The BRIC-LED can utilize a complement set of hardware, the Petri Dish 

Fixation Unit (PDFU). The PDFU is a specialized holder for a standard 

60 mm petri dish which delivers fixative to the sample within the petri 

dish. The PDFU is inserted into the BRIC-LED. Each BRIC-LED can 

house six PDFUs. Electrical requirements are 6 watts. The lid of each 

BRIC-LED is secured using ten screws, and includes a silicone gasket 

to provide a seal between the lid and the 

base. Six holes are present in the lid of the 

BRIC-LED for insertion of a PDFU actuator 

attachment which allows fixation of the 

specimens. Each of the holes is sealed 

using a silicone septum. The lid of each 

BRIC-LED also houses a circuit board which 

contains red surface mount LEDs (6 per 

BRIC) for specimen illumination; switches 

(6 per BRIC) for controlling on/off status of red LEDs; and green 

surface mount LEDs (6 per BRIC) for verification of the on/off status of 

the red LEDs. Each red LED is located on the bottom of the circuit 

board, with a corresponding green LED located on top of the lid. The 

green LEDs provide the crew with a method of verifying red LED 

illumination/operations. Each red LED provides a wavelength of 640 -

660 nm red light to the samples located inside the canister via a Pyrex 

light pipe. The switches are located on the top of the circuit board to 

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switch the LEDs on or off at the appropriate time. An additional orange 

LED is located on top of the circuit board to indicate that power is 

being properly supplied to the canister?s circuitry. A custom stowage 

tray is used to house the BRIC-LED canisters and power distribution 

box. The tray is made of anodized aluminum and contains a power 

connector to allow Orbiter power connection to the locker before flight. 

An enclosed fan prevents samples from reaching extreme 

temperatures. 

Advanced Biological Research System (ABRS) 

The Advanced Biological Research System (ABRS) is a single middeck locker 

replacement facility. As a middeck locker replacement, the ABRS is 

compatible with both the Space Shuttle and the ISS EXPRESS racks. While in 

the middeck, ABRS is a rear-breathing, powered locker that can be used as a 

primary facility or as an up and down specimen transportation device. In 

EXPRESS, the ABRS is a subrack facility 

payload that takes advantage of both 

rear air breathing and also intercooling 

via the moderate temperature loop 

(MTL). Sensor data and images are 

conveyed via Ethernet through the 

EXPRESS rack to the ground. ABRS may 

be commanded either from the ground 

or by the crew using an EXPRESS 

laptop. The current operating scenario includes a low-power ascent mode in 

the middeck and permanent residence of the ABRS facility on the ISS. 

Each ABRS Environmental Research Chamber (ERC) can independently 

provide the following services: 

• Temperature control to 8 degrees C below ambient 

• PAR of 50-300 micromol/m2/sec illumination 

• Continuous ethylene removal to below 25 parts per billion (ppb) 

• Controllable atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) level 

• Continuous removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) 

• Relative humidity control between 60-90% 

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•	 Generic chamber imaging from three cameras 

•	 Generically supports experiment unique equipment (EUE) including a 

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) imager 

Passive Dosimeter System (PDS) 

The Passive Dosimeter System (PDS) hardware consists of two kinds of 

radiation dosimeters and an electronic "reader." The “reader” and one of the 

dosimeters are currently on orbit and available for use. 

The PDS consists of two kinds of dosimeters and a reader. One of the 

radiation dosimeters is a thermoluminescent detector, or TLD. These 

detectors are used to measure incident ionizing radiation (protons, neutrons, 

electrons, heavy charged particles, gamma and x-rays). Each TLD, which 

resembles a fat fountain pen, contains calcium sulfate crystals inside an 

evacuated glass bulb. These crystals absorb energy from incident ionizing 

radiation (protons, neutrons, electrons, heavy charged particles, gamma and 

x-rays) as the radiation passes through them. This process results in a 

steady increase in the energy level of the electrons in the crystal. 

The other type of dosimeter is a 

set of Plastic Nuclear Track 

Detectors (PNTDs). The PNTDs are 

thin sheets of plastic, similar to 

the material used for some 

eyeglass lenses. As heavy charged 

ions pass through the PNTDs, the 

surface becomes pitted with tiny 

craters. When the PNTDs are 

subsequently returned to Earth, 

the plastic is etched to enlarge the 

craters. Then the craters are 

counted and their shapes and sizes are analyzed using a microscope. This 

information is used to improve the accuracy of the radiation dose the TLDs 

have recorded and to improve the estimate of the biological effects of the 

radiation. 

The TLDs and the reader used to anneal the TLDs prior to use are currently 

in stowage on the ISS. The PNTDs need to be launched in support of each 

individual experiment. 

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Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller (BSTC) 

The Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller (BSTC) provides a 

platform for the Cellular Biotechnology Operations Science System (CBOSS) 

investigations to study basic cell to cell interactions, in a microgravity 

environment and the formation of functional cell aggregates. 

BSTC is a self-contained apparatus designed to allow multiple experiments 

studying various cells types to operate simultaneously. It is a multicomponent cell incubator intended to grow three-dimensional clusters of 

stationary tissue culture modules (TCMs) at 

temperatures between 4 degrees C - 50 degrees C 

(39.2 degrees - 122 degrees F). The TCMs are 

clear Teflon bags that hold approximately 30 

milliliters (1 oz) of growth media. BSTC can also 

be reconfigured to include a gas purge system, 

carbon dioxide monitoring (provided by the front 

display), and an Ethernet connection to the ISS 

computer via the EXPRESS Rack. BSTC is equipped 

with systems and temperature monitors that are able to detect conditions 

inside its chambers. 

Certified for Shuttle Operations 

The hardware listed in this section has been certified and flown on the 

Shuttle. Additional work to upgrade and/or certify the hardware is required 

for use on the ISS. 

cells in microgravity. BSTC contains one large chamber which can house 32 

Animal Enclosure Module (AEM) 

The AEM hardware is used for experiments which study the influence of 

microgravity on rodent physiology and anatomy. Research conducted with 

the AEM is an analog to the human research program which has the 

objective are to extend the human presence safely beyond low Earth orbit. 

Animal research is a key component of solving critical human health and 

performance problems resulting from long-duration missions in space 

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The AEM is a self-contained habitat that provides its occupants with living 

space, food, water, ventilation, and lighting. Its internal waste management 

system guarantees that animals are isolated from their waste by-products 

and that these by-products and food crumbs do not escape into the open 

middeck where the crew is living.. 

The AEM supports up to five adult rats or eight adult mice and fits inside a 

standard middeck locker with a modified locker door. It is composed of a 

stainless steel grid cage module, fan blowers, a layered filter system, interior 

lamps, food bars and a water unit. Total animal floor space, with water box 

installed, is 645 cm2. A removable divider plate provides two separate 

animal holding areas (if required). The AEM remains in the stowage locker 

during launch and landing. On orbit the AEM may be removed from the 

locker and the interior viewed or photographed through the clear Lexan 

cover over the cage; the AEM must be pulled 

out of the locker approximately three quarters of its depth for observation of 

the rodents. Temperatures inside the AEM can be recorded with a data 

logger and the data is read out and provided to investigators postflight. A 

main breaker protects and distributes power to fan and lighting subsystems. 

Additional circuit breakers independently protect lights and fans in diagonally 

opposed corners to assure light and air circulation on each side of the AEM 

should one breaker fail. The AEM can be moved into the Orbiter 

approximately twelve hours before launch and removed approximately one 

hour after landing. 

Cabin air is exchanged with the AEM through a filter system. Four fan 

blowers, operated by a switch on the front panel, create a slight negative 

pressure inside the cage, causing an air sweep to pull animal waste products 

into a collection filter. Cabin air is drawn through the front panel inlet slots, 

then along the side plenum walls, to be directed though the inlet filter 

located at the rear of the AEM, into the animal habitat. High efficiency 

particulate air (HEPA) filters (electrostatic and phosphoric acid treated 

fiberglass pads) prevent any microbiological escape into the cabin 

atmosphere. Treated charcoal, within the unit, confines animal odors within 

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the closed system. After exiting the habitat through the exhaust filter, 

located at the front of the unit between the rodent cage and fans, the 

filtered air is drawn through the fans into the cabin and directed by the air 

deflector. 

The four internal lamps provide an average of 14 lux illumination and are 

controlled by an automatic timer to provide a programmable lighting cycle 

for the AEM. The lamps are mounted two to a side in the rear corners of the 

AEM, between the animal habitat and inlet filter, and are covered with a 

clear cap to protect each lamp from animal debris. The timing of the 

day/night sequence can be selected, and is typically set to a 12/12-hour 

day/night cycle. 

The AEM has a 1,500 and 2,000 cm3 capacity automatic watering unit that 

utilizes four "Lixit Drinking Valves" and two flexible plastic (polyvinylchloride) 

bladders for water storage. Sufficient water pressure is maintained via 

compression springs. Water consumption can be monitored in flight by 

observation of water levels via a Lexan window on the top of the water box. 

Rodent food bars are attached to up to four slide-in food bar plates inside 

the rodent cage. The food, a sterilized laboratory formula, is molded into 

rectangular bars (approximately 1.8 x 1 x 8 inches) accessible to the 

animals at all times during the mission. 

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Appendix 2
 

Planned Payloads 

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Planned Payloads 

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Appendix 3
 

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Appendix 4 

NASA Biological Payloads in Space, 1965-2010* 

Mission Launch 

Date 

Payload No. of 

Expts. 

Organisms 

(see legend) 

Gemini 3 03/16/65 Sea Urchin Experiment 1 35 

Gemini 8 03/16/66 Frog Egg Package 1 18 

Gemini 12 11/11/66 Frog Egg Package 1 18 

Biosatellite I 12/14/66 Experiments Capsule 14 18, 24, 29, 30, 31, 44, 50, 

56, 57, 59, 61, 65 

Biosatellite II 09/07/67 Experiments Capsule 14 18, 24, 29, 30, 31, 44, 50, 

56, 57, 59, 61, 65 

Biosatellite III 06/28/69 Primates Experiment Capsule 7 6 

OFO-A 11/09/70 Frog Otolith Experiment Package (FOEP) 3 1 

Apollo 17 12/17/72 Biological Cosmic Ray Experiment (BIOCORE) 6 10 

Skylab 3 07/28/73 Circadian Periodicity Experiment Package (CPE) 2 10 

Cosmos 782 11/25/75 Bion 3 18 13, 15, 24, 37 

Cosmos 936 08/03/77 Bion 4 8 13, 24 

Cosmos 1129 09/25/79 Bion 5 19 13, 20, 37 

STS-3 03/22/82 Office of Space Science 1 (OSS-1) 1 36, 48, 52 

STS-8 08/30/83 Student Shuttle Involvement Program (SSIP) 1 13 

Cosmos 1514 12/14/83 Bion 6 5 7, 13, 21 

STS-10 02/03/84 Student Shuttle Involvement Program (SSIP) 1 13 

STS-51B 04/28/85 Spacelab 3 (SL-3) 30 5, 8, 13 

Cosmos 1667 07/10/85 Bion 7 1 7 

STS-51F 07/29/85 Spacelab 2 (SL-2) 1 36, 48, 51 

Cosmos 1887 09/29/87 Bion 8 33 13 

STS-29 13/13/89 Chromosome and Plant Cell Division 1 (CHROMEX-1) 1 40, 43 

Student Shuttle Involvement Program (SSIP) 2 13 

Cosmos 2044 09/15/89 Bion 9 48 7, 13 

STS-34 10/18/89 Growth Hormone Concentration & Distribution (GHCD) 1 38 

STS-32 01/10/90 Characterization of Neurospora Circadian Rhythm (CNCR) 1 65 

STS-41 10/01/90 Chromosome and Plant Cell Division 2 (CHROMEX-2) 1 40, 43 

Physiological Systems Experiment 1 (PSE.01) 1 13 

STS-40 06/05/91 Spacelab Life Sciences 1 (SLS-1) 32 13, 25 

STS-48 09/12/91 Physiological/Anatomical Rodent Experiment 1 (PARE.01) 1 13 

STS-42 01/22/92 International Microgravity Laboratory 1 (IML-1) 4 26, 48, 56, 70 

STS-46 07/31/92 Pituitary Growth Hormone Cell Function (PHCF) 4 68 

STS-47 09/12/92 Spacelab J (SL-J) 2 3, 5, 17 

STS-52 10/22/92 Physiological Systems Experiment 2 (PSE.02) 1 13 

Cosmos 2229 12/29/92 Bion 10 12 7 

STS-54 01/13/93 Chromosome and Plant Cell Division 3 (CHROMEX-3) 1 46 

Physiological/Anatomical Rodent Experiment 2 (PARE.02) 1 13 

STS-56 04/08/93 Physiological/Anatomical Rodent Experiment 3 (PARE.03) 1 13 

Space Tissue Loss 3A (STL-3A) 1 21 

STS-57 06/21/93 Physiological Systems Experiment 3 (PSE.03) 1 13 

STS-51 09/12/93 Chromosome and Plant Cell Division 4 (CHROMEX-4) 3 46, 56 

STS-58 10/18/93 Spacelab Life Sciences 2 (SLS-2) 28 13 

STS-60 02/03/94 Immune System Experiment (IMMUNE.1) 1 13 

STS-62 03/04/94 Physiological Systems Experiment 4 (PSE.04) 2 13 

STS-59 04/09/94 National Institutes of Health Cells 1 (NIH.C1) 3 63, 68 

STS-65 07/08/94 International Microgravity Laboratory 2 (IML-2) 3 19, 25 

STS-64 09/09/94 Biological Research in Canisters 2 (BRIC-2) 1 49 

STS-68 09/30/94 Biological Research in Canisters 1 (BRIC-1) 2 33 

Chromosome and Plant Cell Division 5 (CHROMEX-5) 1 46, 53 

STS-66 11/03/94 National Institutes of Health Cells 2 (NIH.C2) 2 63, 67 

National Institutes of Health Rodents 1 (NIH.R1) 13 13 

STS-63 02/03/95 Biological Research in Canisters 3 (BRIC-3) 1 53 

Chromosome and Plant Cell Division 6 (CHROMEX-6) 1 56 

Immune System Experiment 2 (IMMUNE.2) 1 13 

National Institutes of Health Cells 3 (NIH.C3) 3 63, 68 

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Soyuz 70 03/15/95 Incubator 1 9 20 

STS-71 06/27/95 Incubator 2 9 20 

Greenhouse 1 1 56 

STS-70 07/13/95 Biological Research in Canisters 4 (BRIC-4) 1 32 

Biological Research in Canisters 5 (BRIC-5) 1 40 

National Institutes of Health Rodents 2 (NIH.R2) 5 13 

STS-69 09/07/95 Biological Research in Canisters 6 (BRIC-6) 1 65 

National Institutes of Health Cells 4 (NIH.C4) 2 64, 68 

STS-72 01/11/96 National Institutes of Health Cells 5 (NIH.C5) 2 63 

National Institutes of Health Rodents 3 (NIH.R3) 2 13 

STS-76 03/22/96 Biorack 1 3 26, 64, 67 

Incubator 3 9 20 

Environmental Radiation Measurements on Mir 1 1 N/A 

STS-77 05/19/96 Aquatic Research Facility (ARF) 1 34 

Biological Research in Canisters 7 (BRIC-7) 1 32 

Immune System Experiment 3 (IMMUNE.3) 1 13 

National Institutes of Health Cells 7 (NIH.C7) 2 63 

STS-78 06/20/96 Biological Research in Canisters 8 (BRIC-8) 1 40 

Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS) 3 13, 15, 42, 51 

STS-79 09/16/96 Greenhouse 2 1 56 

Environmental Radiation Measurements on Mir 2 1 N/A 

STS-80 11/19/96 Biological Research in Canisters 9 (BRIC-9) 1 54, 55 

National Institutes of Health Cells 6 (NIH.C6) 2 64, 67 

National Institutes of Health Rodents 4 (NIH.R4) 1 13 

Bion 11 12/24/96 Bion 11 15 7 

STS-81 01/12/97 Biorack 2 5 46, 58, 64, 67, 70 

Effective Dose Measurements during EVA 1 1 N/A 

Environmental Radiation Measurements on Mir 3 1 N/A 

STS-84 05/15/97 Biorack 3 4 46, 64, 67, 69 

Effects of Gravity on Circadian Rhythmicity 1 22 

Greenhouse 3 1 47 

Effective Dose Measurements during EVA 2 1 N/A 

Environmental Radiation Measurements on Mir 4 1 N/A 

STS-85 08/07/97 Biological Research in Canisters 10 (BRIC-10) 1 54, 55 

STS-86 09/25/97 Active Dosimetry of Charged Particles 1 N/A 

Environmental Radiation Measurements on Mir 5 1 N/A 

STS-87 11/19/97 Collaborative Ukranian Experiment (CUE) 11 47, 53, 66 

STS-89 01/22/98 Closed Equilibrated Biological Aquatic System (CEBAS) 2 2, 27, 45 

Microgravity Plant Nutrient Experiment (MPNE) 1 56 

STS-90 04/17/98 Neurolab 15 2, 9, 13, 14, 23, 27 

STS-95 10/29/98 Biological Research in Canisters 13 (BRIC-13) 1 49 

Biological Research in Canisters PEG/C (BRIC-PEG/C) 1 39 

National Institutes of Health Cells 8 (NIH.C8) 1 63 

Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU) 1 14 

STS-93 07/23/99 Biological Research in Canisters 11 (BRIC-11) 1 46 

Biological Research in Canisters 12 (BRIC-12) 1 41 

National Institutes of Health Biology 1 (NIH.B1) 1 24 

Plant Growth Investigations in Microgravity 1 (PGIM-1) 1 46 

STS-106 09/08/00 National Institutes of Health Biology 1 (NIH.B1) 2 24 

STS-108 12/05/01 Avian Development Facility 2 20 

STS-110 04/08/02 Photosynthesis Experiment and System Testing Operation (PESTO) 1 47, 56 

STS-107 01/16/03 Biological Research in Canisters 14 (BRIC-14) 2 66 

Fundamental Rodent Experiments Supporting Health 2 (FRESH-02) 3 13 

Biopack 2 58, 64 

Progress 13P 01/29/04 Yeast Group Activation Pack 1 (Yeast GAP-1) 1 71 

Soyuz 8 04/18/04 First International Caenorhabditis elegans Experiment (ICE-First) 1 26 

M2 05/31/05 Foton 4 4, 12, 28, 62 

STS-121 07/04/06 Phototropism (TROPI) 1 46 

Fungal Immunity (FIT) 1 31 

STS-115 09/09/06 Microbial Gene Expression and Virulence (Microbe) 1 60, 61, 72 

21P 09/18/06 

Role of Interleukin-2 Receptor in Signal Transduction and Gravisensing Threshold 

in Lymphocytes (Leukin) 

1 64 

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STS-118 08/08/07 Commercial Biomedical Testing Module-2 (CBTM) 1 9 

Streptococcus Pneumoniae Expression of Genes in Space (SPEGIS) 1 73 

M3 09/14/07 Foton 4 28, 12, 59, 60, 74, 75, 79 

STS-123 03/11/08 Microbial Gene Expression and Virulence (Microbe) 1 60, 61, 72 

Streptococcus Pneumoniae Expression of Genes in Space (SPEGIS) 1 73 

Bacterial Physiology and Virulence 1 60 

Drug Resistance and Virulence (MDRV) 1 71 

STS-126 11/14/08 Differentiation of Bone Marrow Macrophages in Space (BONEMAC) 1 77 

STS-129 11/16/09 Streptococcus Pneumoniae Gene Expression and Virulence (SPEGIS reflight) 1 73 

STS-130 02/08/10 Phototropism (TROPI-2) 1 46 

STS-131 04/05/10 Mouse Immunology-1 1 9 

Space Tissue Loss (STL) 2 61, 76, 78 

STS-132 05/14/10 Gravitational Effects on Biofilm Formation During Spaceflight (Micro-2) 1 60, 76 

STS-134 09/18/10 Mouse Immunology-2 1 9 

* This table lists payloads managed through NASA Ames Research Center and 

Kennedy Space Center, therefore some commercial biological experiments are not 

included. International experiments flown on US spacecraft and US experiments flown 

on Russian spacecraft are included. Experiment abstracts and associated publications 

for the majority of the payloads listed here are available in the Life into Space volumes 

at http://lifesci.arc.nasa.gov/lis_home. 

LEGEND 

Organisms Flown 

Vertebrates: Adults or Juveniles 

1 Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) 

2 Fish, swordtail (Xiphophorus hellerii) 

3 Frog, African clawed (Xenopus laevis) 

4 Gecko, Mediterranean house (Hemidactylus turcicuse) 

5 Human (Homo sapien) 

6 Monkey, pigtail (Macaca nemestrina) 

7 Monkey, rhesus (Macaca mulatta) 

8 Monkey, squirrel (Saimiri sciureus) 

9 Mouse, house (Mus musculus) 

10 Mouse, pocket (Perognathus longimembris) 

11 Newt, Japanese red-bellied (Cynops pyrrhogaster) 

12 Newt, Spanish ribbed (Pleurodeles waltl) 

13 Rat, Norway (Rattus norvegicus) 

14 Toadfish, oyster (Opsanus tau) 

79 Gecko, thick-toed (Pachydactylus turneri) 

Vertebrates: Embryonic Forms 

15 Fish, killifish/mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) roe 

16 Fish, medaka (Oryzias latipes) egg 

17 Frog, African clawed (Xenopus laevis) 

18 Frog, northern leopard (Rana pipiens) egg 

19 Newt, Japanese red-bellied (Cynops pyrrhogaster) egg 

20 Quail, Japanese (Coturnix coturnix japonica) egg 

21 Rat, Norway (Rattus norvegicus) 

Invertebrates: Adults or Juveniles 

22 Beetle, black-bodied (Trigonoscelis gigas) 

23 Cricket (Acheta domesticus) 

24 Fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) 

25 Jellyfish, moon (Aurelia aurita) 

26 Nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans) 

27 Snail, bloodfluke planorb (Biomphalaria glabrata) 

28 Snail, striped Roman (Helix lucorum) 

29 Wasp, parasitic (Habrobracon juglandis) 

Invertebrates: Embryonic Forms 

30 Beetle, confused flour (Tribolium confusum) pupa 

31 Fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) larva 

32 Hornworm, tobacco (Manduca sexta) pupa 

33 Moth, gypsy (Lymantria dispar) egg 

34 Sea urchin, painted (Lytechinus pictus) egg and embryo 

35 Sea urchin, purple-spined (Arbacia punctulata) egg 

Plants 

36 Bean, mung (Vigna radiata) seedling 

37 Carrot, wild (Daucus carota) tissue and/or cell 

Cell Cultures and Unicellular Forms 

57 Amoeba (Pelomyxa carolinensis) 

58 Bacteria (Burkholderia cepacia) 

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38 Corn (Zea mays) seedling 59 Bacteria (Escherichia coli) 

39 Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) seedling 60 Bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) 

40 Daylily (Hemerocallis) shoot 61 Bacteria (Salmonella typhimurium) 

41 Fern, triangle waterfern (Ceratopteris richardii) spore cell 62 Bacteria (Streptomyces lividans 66) 

42 Fir, Douglas (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings 63 Chicken (Galus galus) 

43 Flowering, yellow daisy (Haplopappus gracilis) shoot 64 Human (Homo sapien) 

44 Flowering, spiderwort (Tradescantia) plant 65 Mold, bread (Neurospora crassa) 

45 Hornwort/Hornweed (Ceratophyllum deresum) 66 Moss, ceratodon (Ceratodon purpureus) 

46 Mouse-ear cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) 67 Mouse, house (Mus musculus) 

47 Mustard, field (Brassica rapa) 68 Rat, Norway (Rattus norvegicus) 

48 Oat (Avena sativa) seedling 69 Sea urchin, painted (Lytechinus pictus) sperm 

49 Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata) 70 Sea urchin, purple (Strongylocentrotus pupuratus) sperm 

50 Pepper, cayenne (Capsicum annuum) plant 71 Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) 

51 Pine, Loblolly (Pinus taeda) seedlings 72 Fungus (Candida Albicans) 

52 Pine, slash (Pinus elliotti) seedling 73 Bacteria (Streptococus pneumoniae) 

53 Soybean (Glycine max) seed 74 Fungus (Aspergillus niger) 

54 Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) seedling 75 Bacteria (Lactobacillus casei) 

55 Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) seedling 76 Bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) 

56 Wheat (Triticum aestivum) seed and seedling 77 Mouse (C57BL/6J) 

78 Stem Cells (mouse) 

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