NASA, NSBRI Select Proposals To Support Health On Space Missions

NASA's Human Research Program and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, or NSBRI, of Houston will fund 11 proposals to help investigate questions about astronaut health and performance on future space exploration missions. The selected proposals, representing 10 institutions in eight states, will receive a total of almost $10 million over a three- to four-year period.

The Human Research Program provides knowledge and technologies to improve human health and performance during space exploration. The program also develops possible countermeasures for problems experienced during space travel.

Goals include the successful completion of exploration missions and preservation of astronauts' health throughout their lives. The program quantifies crew health and performance risks during spaceflight and develops strategies that mission planners can use to monitor and mitigate health and performance risks.

The 11 projects were selected from 50 proposals received in response to a research announcement titled "Research and Technology Development to Support Crew Health and Performance in Space Exploration Missions."

The proposals were reviewed by scientific and technical experts from academia, industry and government. Seven of the projects will be assigned to the Human Research Program's team of principal investigators, while four will join NSBRI's team-based research program.

NSBRI is a NASA-funded consortium of institutions studying health risks related to long-duration spaceflight. The institute's science, technology and education projects take place at more than 60 institutions across the United States.

A complete list of the selected principal investigators, organizations and proposals is available on the Web at:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/acd/hrp_nsbri_awards_2010.html

For information about NASA's Human Research Program, visit:

http://humanresearch.jsc.nasa.gov

For information about NSBRI's science, technology and education programs, visit:

http://www.nsbri.org

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov