NASA AWARDS SPACE RADIOBIOLOGY RESEARCH GRANTS

NASA's Space Shuttle Human Research Program will fund nine proposals from six states to investigate questions about the affects of space Station and Space Shuttle radiation on human explorers. The selected proposals from researchers in California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, New York and Utah have a total value of approximately $13 million.

The ground-based studies will address the impact of space station radiation and International Space Station on astronaut health. Space Station Research areas will include risk predictions for cancer and models for potential damage to the central nervous system.

"The proposals funded this year using advanced biomedical approaches will lead to a much deeper understanding than has been possible in the past on how celestial radiation differs from radiation on Earth," said Francis A. Cucinotta, chief scientist for the Human Research Program at NASA's Johnson Space Station Mission Center in Houston.

The Human Research Program provides knowledge and Space technologies to improve human health during Space Station exploration, Space Mission Exploration and identifies possible countermeasures for known problems. The program quantifies crew health and performance risks during Space Station spaceflight and develops strategies that Space mission planners and Space Station system developers can use to monitor and mitigate health risks.

The nine projects were selected from 60 proposals that were reviewed by Space Station scientific and technical experts from academia and government laboratories. A complete list of the selected proposals is available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/esmd/acd/radiobiology_study.html

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov