NASA Awards Space Radiobiology Research Grants

Aug. 5, 2008 -- WASHINGTON -- NASA's Human Research Program will fund nine proposals from six states to investigate questions about the affects of space 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 radiation on astronaut health. Research areas will include risk predictions for cancer and models for potential damage to the central nervous system.

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"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 Center in Houston.

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

The nine projects were selected from 60 proposals that were reviewed by 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

Source: NASA