Report: Managing Space Radiation Risk in the New Era of Space Exploration

"For astronauts, however, there is one danger in space that does not end when they step out of their spacecraft. The radiation that permeates space-- unattenuated by Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere--may damage or kill cells within astronauts' bodies, resulting in cancer or other health consequences years after a mission ends."

Drug protects mice, monkeys from radiation damage, Reuters

"An experimental drug helped protect mice and monkeys from the damaging effects of radiation, researchers said on Thursday, in a finding that may lead to less toxic cancer treatments or an emergency treatment for radiation exposure."

An Agonist of Toll-Like Receptor 5 Has Radioprotective Activity in Mouse and Primate Models, Science (subscription)

"... Supported by grants CA75179 and AI066497 from NIH and grants from NASA (U.S. National Aeronuautics and Space Administration)"

Posted by Keith Cowing at 12:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) has released NASA Research Announcement (NRA) NNJ08ZSA001N, entitled "Ground-Based Studies in Space Radiobiology." This NRA solicits ground-based proposals for the Space Radiation Program Element (SRPE) components of the Human Research Program (HRP). Proposals are solicited by the SRPE in the area of Space Radiation Biology utilizing beams of high energy heavy ions simulating space radiation at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL), at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, New York.

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Posted by Keith Cowing at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As an extension of the "Radiation Biology Educator Guide" developed by the Space Biosciences Outreach Office in FY06, we are currently adapting the material to provide three hands-on activities that meet middle school national standards. This task is part of a Marshall Space Flight Center Education Affairs Office project entitled Radiation and Human Space Flight. We completed a significant component in the current project by presenting the material to an educator audience for review and evaluation.

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Posted by Keith Cowing at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NAI graduate student Irene Schneider from Jim Kasting's group at Penn State has been selected by NASA/Mars Society as crew physicist for the upcoming expedition 61 for the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). MDRS Crew 61/Spaceward Bound Crew Five is a two week mission simulation carried out in the dessert of Utah where NASA, in collaboration with The Mars Society, runs simulations for future manned missions to the red planet. There she will be developing and helping implement the first EVA emergency radiation protocols. Congratulations Irene! [Source: NAI Newsletter]

Posted by Keith Cowing at 8:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)