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News & Announcements
SpaceX-24 CRS Launches Space Biology Experiments to the International Space Station
 On December 21 the 24th commercial resupply mission of SpaceX carried three Space Biology flight experiments to the International Space Station; the PONDS-03 plant growth hardware, another in the series of experiments for Microbial Tracking-3 (MT-3), and the Rodent Research-18 (RR-18) experiment.
PONDS-03R
The Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System-03 Reflight (PONDS-03R) experiment is designed to test the capability of the newly-developed PONDS hardware to grow plants under ISS microgravity  conditions. To successfully grow plants on space vehicles, water and nutrients must be delivered to the plant seeds and roots without the aid of gravity. Delivering water and nutrients to plants on space vehicles has been challenging due to the microgravity effects on fluids. PONDS was designed to help NASA overcome this problem. PONDS is a new plant growth approach that contains both an area for a contained plant growth substrate and a reservoir for water and/or plant nutrient solutions. PONDS was developed at Kennedy Space Center to fit under the Veggie light cap and provide an alternative to the Reservoir/Pillow nutrient delivery system used within Veggie on ISS. The system provides reliable water delivery to seeds for germination and fulfills the requirement to transport water from a reservoir for plant growth while providing nutrients and aeration to the root zone under both 1g and microgravity conditions. PONDS was invented by Dr. Howard G. Levine, NASA Space Biology Portfolio Scientist at Kennedy Space Center, and developed through a partnership between NASA, Techshot, and Tupperware. Twelve PONDS units containing mizuna mustard seeds were flown to ISS on December 21. After 28 days of growth, plant tissues will be harvested and stored frozen until return to Earth.
Image (right): Expanded image of a single PONDS unit.
Advanced Plant Experiment 07 (APEX-07)
Advanced Plant Experiment-07 (APEX-07) will be examining how changes in gravity and other environmental factors associated with spaceflight affect plants at the level of gene expression. Previous research shows that microgravity conditions during spaceflight affects which genes turn on or off, which proteins are present and in what amounts, and the modifications made to those proteins. All of these processes are controlled by RNA, and this investigation analyzes the role of RNA regulation on gene expression during spaceflight in both roots and shoots of plants. Findings from this experiment will answer basic questions about how plants respond to changes in gravity and other environmental factors associated with spaceflight and build on past plant research to provide a better understanding of physiological responses of plants to spaceflight. This new knowledge that can facilitate the development of a bioregenerative life support system that includes growing plants for food other uses during deep space exploration.
MVP-Plant-01
Plant RNA Regulation Redux in Multi Variable Platform (MVP-Plant-01) will monitor shoot and root development in plants in microgravity, in order to understand the molecular mechanisms and regulatory networks behind how plants sense and adapt to changes in their environment. This understanding could contribute to the design of plants better able to withstand adverse environmental conditions, including long-duration spaceflight.
Microbial Tracking-3
 The Microbial Tracking-3 payload focuses on tracking pathogenicity (the ability to cause disease), antibiotic resistance in potentially disease-causing bacteria, and fungi present on the Space Station. The goal is to characterize microbes associated with closed habitation and predict which ones may pose a threat to crew health. Antibiotic resistance has become a world-wide health concern on Earth. This investigation will also be performing whole genome sequencing on all microorganisms on the space station, which could yield important discoveries related to antibiotic resistance and disease-causing ability. Data also may help improve understanding of how bacteria adapt to built environments, how this adaptation increases disease risk, and what steps could mitigate that risk. An integrated MT-3 database could be used to further enhance various strategies of screening for and identifying specific subsets of microorganisms such as viral and microbial pathogens and those resistant to antibiotics. The sampling kits sent to ISS on SpaceX-24 represent the third in a series of three spaceflight sampling missions for this investigation.
Image (right): NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Megan McArthur wipes a surface to collect a sample of microorganisms present on the International Space Station in July 2021 for analysis and tracking in the Microbial Tracking-3 study.
Rodent Research-18
The RR-18 experiment is an investigation evaluating the mechanisms of response and remodeling in the eyes in response to space hazards. Spaceflight increases oxidative stress resulting in cellular damage in the brain and eye of both humans and rodents. Environmental conditions during spaceflight also induce remodeling in the microvessels in the retina. Data from this experiment will provide insight into the underlying biological processes that form the adaptive response to irreversible oxidative damage in the retina during and after spaceflight exposure. The RR-18 experiment will also test metalloporphyrin as a countermeasure, an antioxidant that may protect against the oxidative damage observed in eye structure and function. A better understanding of how the space environment affects the vascular system and tissue remodeling could support the development of more effective countermeasures. Findings from this investigation may lead to new therapies to prevent, reverse or stop progression of neurovascular-related eye diseases and retinal degeneration in people on Earth.
NASA and DLR Host Antarctica Plant Research at Virtual Media Event
 On December 7 representatives from around the globe came together for a virtual media event to share the successes of the research being done in the Antarctic EDEN analog mission. Kennedy Space Center Plant Physiologist Dr. Ray Wheeler logged on from Florida, LASSO contractor Jess Bunchek connected directly from Antarctica and the DLR EDEN (Evolution and Design of Environmentally-Closed Nutrition-Sources) ISS Project Manager Dr. Daniel Schubert joined from Germany. The researchers discussed the year-long collaborative project between NASA and DLR, which began in May 2021 and is nearing its final harvest. Jess Bunchek arrived in Antarctica in March 2021 and has successfully grown peppers, legumes, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, mustard greens, herbs, and more. The harvests were shared with a team of researchers working in the test facility who enjoyed eating fresh food. Some of the harvested plant tissue will be sent to KSC and DLR labs for nutritional and microbial analyses. Participants discussed the benefits of conducting research in this unique test facility and what it is like to live and work in an overwintering environment, including growing and harvesting some of the same crops that are currently being grown on the International Space Station. Members of the media and the general public participated in the conference by submitting questions for the science team.
Image: KSC Scientist Jess Bunchek tending the crops growing in the EDEN facility in Antarctica.
NASA Space Biology Funding Opportunities for Plant & Animal Studies
E9: Plant Biology Studies
The E9 solicitation is seeking proposals for investigations that characterize how plants respond to stressors in spaceflight or spaceflight-like environments. In general, the Space Biology Program focuses on research that will increase NASA's understanding of how living systems respond to the unique environments that are encountered during space exploration. This includes the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment inside the International Space Station and deep space conditions beyond LEO, including transit to and maintenance in Lunar and Martian environments. This program element funding opportunity solicits three different Project Types: Research Investigations, Small Scale Research Investigations and Early Career Investigations pertaining to plant biology and related studies. To submit your proposal for plant biology research, go to the announcement on NSPIRES here.
E11: Animal Biology Studies
Research proposals are also being accepted for animal biology research through a separate announcement here, such as proposals for investigations that characterize how animals respond to stressors in spaceflight or spaceflight-like environments. In general, the Space Biology Program focuses on research that will increase NASA's understanding of how living systems respond to the unique environments that are encountered during space exploration. This includes the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment inside the International Space Station (ISS) and deep space conditions beyond LEO, including transit to and maintenance in Lunar and Martian environments. This program element funding opportunity solicits three different Project Types: Research Investigations (RI), Early Career Investigations (ECI), and Gene Lab Analytical Investigations (GLAI) pertaining to animal and related studies.
Step 1 proposals are due February 1, 2022.
Ames Research Center Scientist Jared Broddrick Selected for HERA Analog Mission
 Dr. Jared Broddrick, Discipline Scientist for the Space Biology Microbiology Element, was selected as a prime crew member for the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) program. HERA, run by the Human Research Program (HRP) at Johnson Space Center (JSC), serves as an analog for isolation, confinement, and remote conditions in exploration scenarios. In support of the Ames Space Biosciences contributions to the Model Translation and Space Biology Integration (MTSBI) cross-cutting project with HRP, Dr. Broddrick's participation will provide valuable data on behavioral health and performance, communication and autonomy, human factors, and medical capabilities relevant to long-duration spaceflight. These data are archived in the Ames Life Science and Data Archive (ALSDA), where, thanks to open science initiatives at ARC, they will contribute to mission planning and countermeasure development for long duration human exploration missions.
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Mice display learning and behavioral deficits after a 30-day spaceflight on Bion-M1
 In a newly published paper from the Bion-M1 collaboration between NASA and the Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems (IMBP), Dr. Jeffrey Alberts of Indiana University describes a suite of neurobehavioral changes in mice following prolonged (30-day) spaceflight. After landing, mice showed profound deficits in vestibular responses during aerial drop tests and decreased learning ability. Space flown mice also displayed reduced grip strength, rotarod performance, and voluntary wheel running, which improved gradually but incompletely over the 7-days of post-flight testing. Continuous monitoring in the animals’ home cage activity revealed a syndrome of persistent anxiety-like behavior. Results of the Bion-M1 tissue sharing program provided evidence that behavioral changes might be related to functional deficits in the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems and molecular and neurochemical changes in the brain and spinal cord of space-flown animals.
The 30-day-long Bion M-1 biosatellite flight was conducted at a relatively high orbit, exposing the mice to greater doses of radiation in addition to microgravity, a combination of factors relevant to Mars missions. Results of the present studies with mice provide insights into the consequences on brain function of long-duration spaceflight. This article is available online here.
Image: The science team recovering the Bion-M1 satellite after landing in Kazakhstan May 2013.
 This study was funded by NASA Space Biology grant NNH07ZTT001N to Dr. Jeffrey Alberts for a spaceflight experiment on the Russian free-flyer the Bion-M1. His research focuses on analyzing rodent behavior across the one-month duration of the orbital flight of Bion-M1 to understand the microgravity effects on the kinds and amounts of behavior that rodents will express.
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Viral Persistence on Indoor Dust and Effective Decontamination
In a recently published study, Space Biology Principal Investigator Karen Dannemiller, Ph.D. of Ohio State University College of Engineering, sought to determine the persistence of two representative RNA viruses, Phi6 and MS2, on indoor dust and carpet after different types of cleaning treatments. Both of these viruses are bacteriophages and have widely been applied as surrogates to assess the environmental fate of pathogenic viruses. Bacteriophages were nebulized onto carpet or dust in artificial saliva. Viability was measured at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 24, and 48 h and after cleaning by vacuum, steam, hot water extraction, and disinfection. This study demonstrates that MS2 and Phi6 bacteriophages can remain viable in carpet and dust for several hours to days, and cleaning with heat and disinfectants may be more effective than standard vacuuming. The results of this investigation have contributed significant knowledge about the transmission of pathogenic viruses and the effective management of the SARS-CoV-2 variant of coronavirus responsible for the current global pandemic. Understanding how disease-causing microorganisms can persist and contribute to transmission in the human environment is only part of the solution for stopping the spread. This investigation has successfully identified effective methods (disinfecting and heat treating) for reducing viral load in several different types of flooring commonly found in many indoor environments.
The article is available online here.
 This research was funded by a NASA Microbiome of the Built Environment (MoBE) Post-doctoral Fellowship to Dr. Karen Dannemiller of Ohio State University College of Engineering. Her research seeks to predict moisture-related changes to the indoor microbiome and astronaut exposure and provide added value to microbial data collected previously on the ISS.
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Indoor Vertical Farming Featured in NASA Spinoff
 Each year since 1976, the NASA Spinoff publication highlights NASA technologies that benefit life on Earth in the form of commercial products. The latest issue of Spinoff features an article focused on NASA’s work in controlled environment agriculture, which combines plant science and environmental control to optimize plant growth and maximize efficiency, frequently incorporating vertical growth structures. The technology enables the filtering of contaminants from crop water and delivers precise nutrient balances. Artificial lighting provides the necessary wavelengths at the right time, intensity, and duration while environmental controls maintain ideal temperature and humidity. Reusing a limited water supply, minimizing energy consumption, and eliminating soil as a growth medium are just a few ways the agency stretches the limited resources available in space. Research into solving these challenges to grow plants in a closed environment like a spacecraft has provided foundational knowledge for industry to expand upon controlled environmental agriculture.
 Kennedy Space Center Space Biology Project Scientist, Dr. Ray Wheeler (pictured at left) is interviewed for the article discussing his history and background with building the first vertical farm in the United States at Kennedy Space Center. Read the full article in the 'NASA Spinoff' online portal.
Image (above, right): The interior of the Biomass Production Chamber at Kennedy replicated the closed growing environment astronauts will use in space or on other planets to grow fresh crops. As the first controlled environment vertical farm in the United States, the chamber helped NASA provide critical data for the indoor farming industry. NASA scientists Bill Knott, left, and Tom Dreschel examine the growth of crops.
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Find us at Facebook.com/spacebiology.
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Inclusive Lunar Exploration, January 26 - 27, 2022
This Lunar Surface Science Workshop session is to begin an open dialogue about how to explore the Moon responsibly, ethically, and inclusively. The workshop is being held virtually, but you must be registered to participate. Register online here.
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- Application Deadline: Monday, February 7, 2022 5:00 PM PT
- Application Review: March
- Offers Extended: By March 30th
- Virtual Internship: June 13 - July 8, 2022, 8:00 am - 3:00 pm (Pacific) Monday - Friday
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 Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) Post-doctoral Fellowships: Seeking Mentors and Applicants
TRISH's postdoctoral fellowship solicitation is now open. The Institute is seeking exceptional proposals from postdocs ready to help solve the challenges of space exploration. Independent investigators with existing research grant support may request to be listed as possible mentors for this program by contacting Aurelia Vergeade.
Full proposals will be due on January 20, 2022, with projects starting by September 2022.
[ Read More + Apply ]
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Funding Resources for Prospective Researchers
 Are you a researcher and wondering where you can find funding opportunities to enable your research to be flown to the orbiting laboratory? There are several sources of funding available to scientists to be used for research and development, payload development, payload processing at NASA facilities, on-orbit operation, and more. Visit this link for a guide to online funding information for space station research.
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Biospecimen Sharing Program
Share | Research | Discover
 Help NASA maximize the scientific return from biological spaceflight investigations and encourage broader participation of the research community in space biology-related research. Non-human biospecimens are dissected, collected, and preserved by the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) BSP team. The biospecimens are made available for request through NASA’s online Biospecimen Data Request form, which is managed by the Ames Life Sciences Data Archive (ALSDA). Flight and ground control biospecimens are available from COSMOS, NASA’s space shuttle missions, and International Space Station (ISS) investigations. What will your discoveries unfold?
For more information about available tissues, or to request tissues visit the Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) biospecimen portal for request by the science community.
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