In late May, NASA selected 31 proposals for biological research to be carried out on the International Space Station. In the list there are many types of research, ranging from the growth of plants to cell growth, from researches related to the development of new vaccines to others concerning the strength of human bones. These studies will benefit from a truly unique environment thanks to microgravity and other features that don’t exist on Earth.
What all the research that will be sponsored by NASA have in common is the possibility to help the growth of our knowledge of how biological systems adapt to space. This will enhance our ability to build more sophisticated space habitats and at the same time to solve existing problems on Earth. A classic example is that of osteoporosis, a problem that afflicts the elderly in particular but also the people who spend much time in a microgravity environment.
The researchers will also examine the reactions and adaptation mechanisms of various biological systems to an environment in which the level of radiation is greater than on Earth. Another peculiarity of the International Space Station is that obviously it’s an artificial habitat where the light doesn’t come from the Sun. Plants and bacteria can be studied outside of their ecological niches in a unique environment.
The 31 proposals selected by NASA will be developed in different ways. Fourteen studies will start on Earth to develop hypotheses for future testing aboard the International Space Station. Nine studies will be conducted from the beginning on the Station and the hope is that they can be completed within two or three years. The eight remaining studies will need preliminary data that will be collected by researchers at their first experience in the field of space biology.
NASA considers these space biology research very important. Many of them have already been carried out in the past and others are in progress, such as those on cancer. Medicine is one of the fields that can reap the greatest benefits from those research but the new discoveries can bring benefits also in the field of agriculture and others.
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