NASA Grant Awarded to USRA
NASA Grant Awarded to USRA
Will Study Effects of Deep Space Environment on Biological Systems
NASA recently awarded a three-year flight grant to Dr. Janani Iyer, a scientist at Universities Space Research Association (USRA), to investigate the effects of deep space on Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) spanning multiple generations. This comprehensive study will utilize fruit flies as a model organism to assess the impact of various stressors on the brain, heart and muscle of fruit flies, given their biological similarity to the human system.
Unlike the relatively protected Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment, deep space (beyond Earth's magnetosphere) subjects astronauts to significantly higher rates of ionizing radiation—approximately ten times greater. Understanding how chronic radiation interacts with other space stressors is of paramount importance.
Replicating deep space radiation in Earth-based analog facilities or on the International Space Station is challenging since it cannot be accurately replicated. However, the upcoming Artemis II mission provides a unique opportunity to study biological responses associated with the deep space environment.
Dr. Iyer's fruit fly study represents a groundbreaking effort to explore the interplay between increased deep-space radiation, microgravity, and other stressors on various organ systems. Additionally, by comparing the findings from this mission with data gathered during previous LEO -based missions, researchers hope to identify distinctive signatures specific to both LEO and deep space environments. This knowledge will contribute significantly to our understanding of how humans can adapt and thrive in deep space.
In the grand scheme of space exploration, this biological research is pivotal. It not only advances our understanding of our capabilities and knowledge but paves the way for humanity's future among the stars.
However, NASA offered the following caveat: "While it is the program's intention that this selected project will fly as a payload on the Orion Space Capsule, NASA is still in the process of making an official determination of what science experiments can be accommodated on the Artemis II mission for the Space Biology Program. In the event that this study cannot be flown on the Orion Spacecraft, it will instead be manifested to fly on the International Space Station."
(Source: USRA news release. Image from file)