History of Space Life Sciences 

http://neurolab.jsc.nasa.gov/ustime.htm

The Beginning 

Balloon flights

Launched from 

Alamogordo, NM 

170 km altitude. 

1946-1947 Conducted to study the effects of cosmic radiation in the 

upper Earth atmosphere on fungal spores and fruit flies. 

V-2 rocket

Launched from 

White Sands 

Missile Range, 

NM 

Approximately 100 

km. altitude 

1946-1948 Suborbital V-2 rockets carried seeds, fungal spores and 

Drosophila fruit flies. Need for Life Support System 

identified. 

V-2 rockets

Launched from 

White Sands 

Missile Range, 

NM 

Eight suborbital 

flights 

133 km altitude 

1948-1952 Telemetric recording of physiological measurements of mice 

and monkeys, enabled scientists to study the influence of 

high g-forces and micro-gravity on the cardiovascular 

system. In addition the behavior of mice was recorded with 

movie cameras. 

Balloon flights

Launched from 

Alamogordo, NM 

27 - 30 km 

altitudes, 

up to 28 hours. 

1950-1954 Fruit flies, mice, hamsters, cats, dogs and rhesus monkeys 

were flown on several missions to study the effects of the 

thin atmosphere and radiation. 

Aerobee

Launched from 

White Sands 

Missle Range, NM 

71 km altitiude 

1951-1952 Rhesus monkeys and mice were flown to study the effects of 

cosmic radiation and changes in the cardiovascular system. 

Mouse in Able

Thor-Able missiles 

Three missions 

1958 Physiological data from the mouse was telemetered to the 

ground 20 minutes of microgravity during launch, flight and 

reentry. 

Bioflight 1

Jupiter rocket 

Dec/13/1958 Gordo, the squirrel monkey, had heart rate, heart sounds, 

body temperature, pressure and radiation monitored 
480 km 

Bioflight 2

Jupiter rocket 

480 km 

May/28/1959 Rhesus monkey Abel and squirrel monkey Baker; the same 

data as on Bioflight 1, plus muscle performance by 

electromyogram. Abel was trained to tap a switch when a 

red light flashed, to collect data on performance. 

Discoverer 3 1959 Launch failed. First attempt to orbit a biological payload (4 

mice). 

Little Joe

84 km altitude 

1959 + 1960 Rhesus monkey Sam and Miss Sam on the second flight; 

verification of Mercury life support equipment 

ATLAS

650 km altitude 

1960 Three mice in space 

MERCURY Initiated to demonstrate that humans can survive in space 

Mercury 2 Jan/31/1961 A suborbital flight, Chimpanzee, Ham was closely 

monitored for cardiovascular responses 

Mercury 3

Launched from 

KSC 

on a Redstone 

Rocket 250 km 

high, 15 minutes 

May/31/1961 First suborbital flight of man; monitoring the physiological 

responses of the astronaut American, Alan Shepard 

Mercury 4

Launched from 

KSC 

on a Redstone 

Rocket 

Jul/21/1961 Second human suborbital flight; monitoring the 

physiological responses 

Mercury 5

Launched from 

KSC 

on an Atlas Rocket 

Two orbit flight 

183 minutes 

Nov/29/1961 Chimpanzee Enos was recovered in excellent condition 

Mercury 6

Launched from 

KSC 

on an Atlas Rocket 

4 hours 55 min 

Feb/20/1962 First orbital flight of American astronaut, John Glenn. 

Physiological reponses of the astronaut were monitored 

Mercury 7

Launched from 

KSC 

May/24/62 General physiological adaptation processes 
on an Atlas Rocket 

4 hours 56 min 

flight 

Mercury 8

Launched from 

KSC 

on an Atlas Rocket 

9 hours 13 min 

Oct/3/1962 

Mercury 9

Launched from 

KSC 

on an Atlas Rocket 

1 day 1 hour 18 

min 

May/15-

16/1963 

First episode of postflight orthostatic intolerance 

GEMINI Between March 1965 and November 1966 the United States 

flew ten Gemini two-manned spacecrafts. 

Gemini 3 Mar/23/1965 First manually controlled maneuvers in Space. Experiment 

about Sea Urchin fertilization and development 

Gemini 4 Jun/3-7/1965 First spacewalk performed by an American, Ed White II. 

Astronauts exercised as a countermeasure to minimize some 

of the negative effects of space flight 

Gemini 5

7 days 22 hours 59 

min 

Aug/21-

28/1965 

Cardiovascular deconditioning monitored, testing exercise as 

a possible countermeasure 

Gemini 7 Dec/4-

18/1965 

Rendezvous with Gemini 6. Cardiovascular deconditioning, 

bone demineralization, calcium balance during space flight, 

sleep patterns, otolith function and exercising as a 

countermeasure. 

Gemini 6 Dec/15-

16/1965 

Rendezvous with Gemini 7 

Gemini 8

10 hours 41 min 

Mar/16/1966 First docking in space, Frog egg growth experiment 

Gemini 9

2 hours 7 min 

EVA 

Jun/3-6/1966 

Gemini 10 Jul/18-

21/1966 

First time there was no suit overheating during EVA 

Gemini 11 Sep/12-

15/1966 

Docking and joint flight with Agena 

Gemini 12 Nov/11-

15/1966 

Frog egg growth experiment 
3 EVA's, one 

lasting 5 hours 

BIOSATELLITE The Biosatellite program was the first major effort by the 

United States to exploit Earth-orbital missions to study basic 

biological processes in space. 

Biosatellite I Dec/14/1966 The 13 experiments of Biosatellite I were repeated during 

the Biosatellite II mission, since they were not recovered 

when the retrorocket failed to ignite 

Biosatellite II 

45 hours flight 

Sep/7-9/1967 13 experiments in developmental biology, plant biology and 

radiation effects studied on bacteria, fungus, frog eggs, 

beetle pupae, amoeba, fruit flies and wheat seedlings. The 

primary objective of the mission was to determine if the 

sensitivity of organisms to ionizing radiation changes under 

microgravity conditions. 

Biosatellite III Jun/28-

Jul/7/69 

Mission terminated after 9 days due to bad health of 

monkey, (plannned for 30 days). Study of a pig-tailed 

macaque monkey. The mission's objective was to investigate 

the effect of spaceflight on brain states, behavioral 

performance, cardiovascular status, fluid and electrolyte 

balance, and metabolic state. 

APOLLO Crew time and weight restrictions were very critical during 

the Apollo missions, therefore biomedical experiments 

requiring no or only small additional hardware items were 

flown. 

Apollo 7

First manned 

Apollo flight 

Oct/11-

22/1968 

Crew experienced upper respiratory symptoms during flight 

Apollo 8

First manned 

circumlunar flight 

Dec/21-

27/1968 

First report of space motion sickness, Health Stabilization 

Program is instituted 

Apollo 9

First flight of lunar 

lander 

Mar/3-

13/1969 

Viral infection postponed launch for 3 days, plans for EVA 

revised because of space motion sickness 

Apollo 10

Lander descending 

to 15m 

above the lunar 

surface 

May/18-

26/1969 

Fiberglass insulation caused skin, eye and upper respiratory 

irritation. 

Apollo 11

First moon (lunar) 

landing 

Jul/16-

24/1969 

Postflight quarantine established 
Apollo 12

Second lunar 

landing 

Nov/14-

24/1969 

Contact dermatitis from biosensor electrodes 

Apollo 13

Mission aborted 

Apr/11-

17/1970 

Urinary tract infection delayed launch 

Apollo 14

Third lunar landing 

Jan/31-

Feb/9/1971 

Apollo 15

First time usage of 

lunar rover. 

Jul/26-

Aug/7/1971 

Cardiac arrhythmias and extrasystoles noted during flight. 

Experiments investigating skeletal responses and eye 

functions. 

Apollo 16

Fifth lunar landing. 

Apr/16-

27/1972 

Skeletal responses to spaceflight in humans and tests 

investigating the function of the human eye. 

Apollo 17

Sixth and last lunar 

landing 

Dec/7-

19/1972 

BIOCORE, five pocket mice were flown to study HZE 

radiation effects; functional changes of the human eye were 

also studied 

APOLLO-SOYUZ (ASTP) ASTP was the first rendezvous and docking of an American 

and Russian spacecraft as a means of promoting 

international cooperation in space ventures. 

ASTP

First US/Russian 

joint mission 

Jul/15-

24/1975 

Electrophoresis, height measurements, Achilles tendon 

reflex, immunology, cardiovascular adaptation, fluid shift, 

muscle responses, endocrinology and pulmonary functions. 

ORBITING FROG 

OTOLITH (OFO) 

The main goal of OFO program was to study the vestibular 

organ function in space and enable researchers to collect 

neurophysiological data on the response of the otolith to 

prolonged expose periods of microgravity. Originally the 

OFO program was part of the Apollo flights, but because of 

low acceleration levels needed for the experiments ( a 

maximum of 3g was allowed) it was chosen to separate the 

programs. 

OFO-A

5 days 

Nov/9-

15/1970 

Two Bullfrogs were selected, because their otholith organ is 

similar to the human vestibular system. Upon entering 

microgravity several changes in vestibular responses of the 

bullfrogs were noted. All observed changes were back to 

normal during the last 10-20 hours of the space flight. 

SKYLAB Skylab was launched into orbit in May 1973 at an altitude of 

approximately 450 km. The space outpost was 28 m long 

and weighed 75 (metric) tons. 

Skylab2

28 days, first U.S. 

physician in space 

May/25-

Jun/22/1973 

During the Skylab flights similar or identical investigations 

flew on all three missions. These experiments investigated 

the dynamics of changes in fluid-electrolyte metabolism in 
Skylab 3

59 days 

Jul/28-

Sep/25/1973 

various bones and muscles, total body weight and tissue 

dehydration, orthostatic intolerance, physical endurance and 

the dynamics of postflight recovery. Factors determining the 

severity of space motion sickness symptoms, as well as 

potential predictive indicators and prophylactic 

countermeasures were studied. 

Skylab4

84 days 

Nov/16/73-

Feb/4/74 

COSMOS The Cosmos biosatellite program was a series of missions 

dedicated to biological experimentation in unmanned, Earthorbiting satellites and was inaugurated with the launch of 

Cosmos 110 in 1966. 

Cosmos 782

20 days 

Nov/25-

Dec/15/1975 

Experiments investigating development, immunology and 

musculoskeletal and regulatory adaptations as well as 

radiation effects on rats, fruit flies, killifish eggs and carrot 

tissue. 

Cosmos 936

19 days 

Aug/3-

22/1977 

Rats and fruit flies were flown to study effects on biological 

stems and effects caused by radiation. Evaluation of usage of 

a centrifuge as a countermeasure to microgravity. 

Cosmos 1129

19 days 

Sep/25-

Oct/14/1979 

Radiation studies and mammalian reproduction and 

embryogenesis in space on rats and Japanese quail 

Cosmos 1514

5 days 

Dec/14-

19/1983 

Circadian rhythms in rhesus monkeys and morphological 

develop- ment of rat fetuses 

Cosmos 1667

7 days 

Jul/10-

17/1985 

Cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary adaptation processes in 

primates (rhesus monkeys)

Cosmos 1887

13 days 

Sep/29-

Oct/12/1987 

Study the effects on biological systems in rats and 

quantitative analysis of skeletal changes in primates 

Cosmos 2044

14 days 

Sep/15-

29/1989 

Effects of spaceflight on circadian rhythms, temperature 

regulation and metabolism as well as neuromuscular 

adaptations in rhesus monkeys. And to repeat the rat 

analyses on Cosmos 1887. 

Cosmos 2229

13 days 

Dec/29/92-

Jan/10/93 

Bone, neuromuscular and vestibular physiology, circadian 

rhythms and metabolism, two rhesus monkeys served as 

experimental subjects. 

SPACE-SHUTTLE The Space Shuttle is the world's first reusable spacecraft and 

the first US vehicle having a standard sea-level atmospheric 

pressure and composition. 

STS-1

First flight of 

Space Shuttle 

Columbia 

Apr/12-

14/1981 

STS-2

First reflight of a 

Nov/12-

14/1981 
(reusable) 

spacecraft 

STS-3 Mar/22-

30/1982 

Plant lignification experiment 

STS-4 Jun/27-

Jul/4/1982 

Neurovestibular studies 

STS-5

First commercial 

satellite deploy 

Nov/11-

16/1982 

STS-6

First flight of 

Challenger, 

TDRS-A deploy 

Apr/4-9/1983 First Studies of orthostatic funtion during reentry shuttle 

EVA 

STS-7

First American 

female in space 

Jun/18-

24/1983 

Medical studies by physician astronaut 

STS-8 Aug/30-

Sep/5/1983 

Extensive monitoring of fluid shifts, vestibular and 

neurosensory changes, rodent studies 

STS-9

First Spacelab 

mission 

First non U.S. 

astronaut 

Nov/28-

Dec/8/1983 

Vestibular, cardiovascular, fluid and electrolyte changes, 

radiation experiments, biology experiments 

41-B

First use of MMU 

Feb/3-

11/1984 

Prebreathe time for EVA is shortened by reduced cabin 

pressure 

41-C

First satellite repair 

in space 

Apr/6-

13/1984 

Gravitational biology studies using rodents 

41-D

First flight of 

Discovery 

Aug/30-

Sep/5/1984 

Continous flow electrophoresis sample processing 

41-G

First EVA by U.S. 

female 

Oct/5-

13/1984 

Cardiovascular and neurosensory studies 

51-A

First retrieval of 2 

satellites 

Nov/8-

16/1984 

51-C

DoD 

Jan/24-

27/1985 

Aggregation of red blood cells experiment 
51-D Apr/12-

19/1985 

Echocardiography experiment, continuous flow 

electrophoresis sample processing 

51-B

Spacelab-3 

Apr/29-

May/6/1985 

Tests of Research Animal Holding Facility for rodents and 

small primates, visual observations confirmed motion 

sickness in primates, experiments on exercise and fluidloading as countermeasures for cardiovascular 

deconditioning. 

51-G Jun/17-

24/1985 

French echocardiography and posture experiments 

51-F

Spacelab-2 

Jul/29-

Aug/6/1985 

Endocrinology and gravitational-biology studies 

51-I Aug/27-

Sep/3/1985 

51-J

First flight of 

Atlantis 

DoD 

Oct/3-7/1985 Visual-adaptation studies 

61-A

Spacelab D1 

Oct/30-

Nov/6/1985 

Vestibular sled tests, studies of fluid shifts and central 

venous pressure (CVP) 

61-B Nov/26-

Dec/3/1985 

Inoculation of bacteria experiment, internal equilibrium 

tests, fluid shift measurements, pharmacokinetic tests, 

electrophoresis processing 

61-C Jan/12-

18/1986 

Noninvasive measure of central venous blood pressure, fluid 

shift, electrolyte balance, pharmacokinetics and 

cardiovascular responses to maximal exercise, 

characterization of space motion sickness. 

51-L

Challenger 

accident 

Jan/28/1986 

STS-26

TDRS-C 

Sep/29-

Oct/3/1988 

Experiment studying aggregation of red blood cells 

STS-27

DoD 

Dec/12-

16/1988 

STS-29

TDRS-D 

Mar/13-

18/1989 

Chromosome and plant cell division experiments, protein 

crystal growth and rodent bone-healing experiments, chicken 

embryo development 

STS-30

Magellan deployed 

May/4-8/1989 

STS-28

DoD 

Aug/8-

13/1989 

Large proton event 
STS-34

Galileo 

Oct/18-

23/1989 

First fiber-optic transmission of images back to Earth. 

Growth hormone concentration and distribution in plants 

STS-33

DoD 

Nov/22-

27/1989 

Non-invasive CVP measurements, baroreflex function test, 

muscle atrophy and echocardiography (pre-, in- and 

postflight) 

STS-32

LDEF retrieval 

Jan/9-20/1990 Exercise and muscle performance studies, LBNP tests, and 

respirable airborne particulates testing 

STS-36

DoD 

Launch delayed 3 

days by 

upper respiratory 

infection 

Feb/28-

Mar/4/1990 

Preflight adaptation and fluid loading experiments 

STS-31

Launch of Hubble 

Space Teleskope 

Apr/24-

29/1990 

Hyperosmotic fluid countermeasure experiment, radiation 

monitoring 

STS-41 

Ulysses 

Oct/6-

10/1990 

Orthostatic function tests during entry, landing and egress, 

postural equilibrium control tests during landing and egress, 

visual-vestibular integration studies, gravitational-biology 

studies using rodents 

STS-38

DoD 

Nov/15-

20/1990 

Noninvasive CVP and muscle performance studies 

STS-35

Astro-1 

Dec/2-

10/1990 

Variability in blood pressure, muscle size and lipids 

STS-37

Gamma-RayObservatory 

Apr/5-

11/1991 

Radiation monitoring 

STS-39 Apr/28-

May/6/1991 

Radiation monitoring 

STS-40

SLS-1 

Jun/5-14/1991 First space mission dedicated to biomedical research, 

experiments in cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, regulatory, 

neurovestibular, muscle and bone physiology in both 

humans and rodent subjects 

STS-43

TDRS-E 

Aug/2-

11/1991 

LBNP evaluated as countermeasure, exercise regimens 

evaluated for cardiovascular and musculoskeletal function 

STS-48 Sep/12-

18/1991 

Gravitational-biology studies with rodents, radiation 

monitoring and studies of cosmic radiation effects 

STS-44

DoD 

Nov/24-

Dec/1/1991 

Cosmic radiation monitoring and effects studies 

STS-42 Jan/22- Spacelab Mission Basic vestibular experiments 
IML-1 30/1992 

STS-45

ATLAS-1 

>Mar/24-

Apr/2/1992 

Neurovestibular and performance studies, radiation 

monitoring 

STS-49

First flight of 

Endevour 

Longest EVA to 

date (8 h 29 min) 

May/7-

16/1992 

STS-50

USML-1 

Spacelab Mission 

Jun/25-

Jul/9/1992 

Tested countermeasures to deconditioning that could affect 

landing first EDO mission and egress activities 

STS-46

TSS-1 

Eureca launch 

Jul/31-

Aug/8/1992 

Pituitary growth hormone cell function 

STS-47

Spacelab-J 

Sep/12-

20/1992 

Experiments investigating human health, cell separation, 

biology, developmental biology, animal and human 

physiology and behavior, radiation and biological rhythms. 

STS-52 Oct/22-

Nov/1/1992 

Canadian sponsored life sciences, and basic biomedical 

experiments, biotechnology studies using rodents 

STS-53

DoD 

Dec/2-9/1992 Cosmic radiation effects 

STS-54

TDRS-F 

Jan/13-

19/1993 

Gravitational biology studies, evaluation of cardiovascular 

and musculoskeletal deconditioning on rodents 

STS-56

ATLAS-2 

Spartan 201 

Apr/8-

17/1993 

Physiological and anatomical studies on rodents, tissue loss 

and radiation effects 

STS-55

Spacelab D-2 

Apr/26-

May/6/1993 

Life sciences experiments conducted in the fields of 

hormonal regulatory, cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary 

adaptation, and gravitational biology as well as cell fusion 

under microgravity. 

STS-57

Spacehab-1 

Eureca retrieval 

Jun/21-

Jul/1/1993 

Studies of body posture in microgravity 

STS-51 Sep/12-

22/1993 

Plant cell division, radiation monitoring 

STS-58

SLS-2 

Oct/18-

Nov/1/1993 

Second Spacelab mission dedicated to life sciences. 

Experiments investigating cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, 

regulatory, neurovestibular and musculoskeletal systems. 

STS-61

First Hubble repair 

Dec/2-

12/1993 
mission 

STS-60

Spacehab-2 

WSF-1 

Feb/3-

11/1994 

Biological and immune response studies. 

STS-62

USMP 

Mar/4-

18/1994 

Cell culture growth, biotechnology experiments 

STS-59

SRL-1 

Apr/9-

20/1994 

STS-65

IML-2 

Jul/8-23/1994 Gravisenory test of aquatic animals, rotating centrifuge 

(hypogravity experiments), spinal changes in humans and 

LBNP 

STS-64

Spartan 201 

Sep/9-

20/1994 

STS-68

SRL-2 

Sep/30-

Oct/11/1994 

Radiation monitoring, physiological processes in insects 

such as spiders, centipedes and crustaceans 

STS-66

ATLAS-3 

Nov/3-

14/1994 

STS-63

Spacehab-3 

Spartan 204 

Feb/3-

11/1995 

Plant studies rendezvous Shuttle/Mir 

STS-67

Astro-2 

Mar/2-

18/1995 

STS-71

First Shuttle/Mir 

docking 

100 th human U.S. 

space flight 

Jun/27-

Jul/7/995 

Investigations concerning the cardiovascular and pulmonary 

systems, neurosensory research, behavior and performance 

after long duration space flight, fundamental biology 

research. STS-71 "picked-up" Norm Thagard after his 4 

month stay onboard the Russian space station Mir (Mir 18 

mission) 

STS-70

TDRS-G 

Jul/13-

21/1995 

Radiation monitoring, effects of microgravity on 

embryogenisis of rats and Medaka embryos, plant growth 

and development 

STS-69

WSF-2 

Spartan 201 

Sep/7-

18/1995 

Bone loss, gravisensity of mammalian cells 

STS-73

USML-2 

Oct/20-

Nov/5/1995 

Starch accumulation in potato plants 

STS-74

Second Shuttle/Mir 

docking 

Nov/12-

20/1995 

Testing of biomedical hardware for space station 
STS-72

SFU retrieval 

Jan/11-

20/1996 

Micromolecular tissue samples, effects of microgravity on 

rodent development and metabolsim 

STS-75

TSS-2 

USMP 

Feb/22-

Mar/9/1996 

STS-76

Spacehab 

Third Shuttle/Mir 

Mar/22-

31/1996 

Bone density, T-lymphocytes, HZE radiation monitoring Mir 

docking 

STS-77

Spacehab-4 

Spartan 

May/19-

29/1996 

Immune system of rat, production of pharmaceutical relevant 

substances in plants and effects of space flight on anthopod 

and plant species 

STS-78

LMS - Life and 

Microgravity 

Jun/20-

Jul/7/1996 

Muskuloskeletal experiments, research in metabolic, 

pulmonary and neuroscientific areas, as well as 

investigations concerning human behavior and performance 

in space. Also biology experiments investigating bone loss 

in rats and lignin formation in plants. 

Thanks to Simone Thomas of the 

Mission Science Office for construction 

of this timeline!

Curator: Jacque Havelka & Julie Heath

NASA Official: Katherine Newkirk

Last Updated: 31 August 1997