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33 chapters
Significant Achievements in Space Bioscience
Significant Achievements in Space Bioscience
NASA SP-92 T his volume is one of a series which summarize the progress made during the period 1958 through 1964 in discipline areas covered by the Space Science and Applications Program of the United States. In this way, the contribution made by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is highlighted against the background of overall progress in each discipline. Succeeding issues will document the results from later years. The initial issue of this series appears in 10 volumes (NASA Sp
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Foreword
Foreword
T he biological program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration had a late start. A small life sciences group, organized in 1958, was concerned with life support and use of primates for system and vehicle testing for the Mercury program. Three small suborbital flights of biological materials were flown in space. The Bioscience Program Office of the Office of Space Science and Applications was organized in 1962. The goals of the Bioscience Program are: (1) to determine if extraterres
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chapter 1
chapter 1
Space exploration has demanded a rigorous development, especially in the biosciences area. Investigation of the solar system for exotic life forms, the environmental extremes to which Earth organisms (including man) are being exposed, the possibilities for modification of planetary environments by biological techniques yet to be developed, and the problems of communication in biosystems are areas which have required refinement of the theoretical framework of biology before progress could be made
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THE EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF CHEMICAL EVOLUTION
THE EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF CHEMICAL EVOLUTION
Attempts have been made to simulate and approximate models of primitive Earth conditions for abiogenic synthesis, and successful synthesis of essential biochemical constituents necessary for maintaining life has been partly accomplished. Urey ( [ref.11] ) has clearly pointed out the possible role of a reducing atmosphere in the synthesis of prebiological organic molecules. Miller ( [ref.12] ) synthesized a variety of amino acids in a reducing atmosphere by means of an electrical discharge. A var
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METEORITES AND ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY
METEORITES AND ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY
A significant area of exobiological research is the investigation of a special class of stony meteorites known as "carbonaceous chondrites." It is increasingly apparent that almost all life-detection concepts rely on the eventual analysis of the solid materials that may be available on Mars and other planetary surfaces. Cosmic dust and meteorites are two classes of material bodies that reach the Earth from outer space. The carbonaceous chondrites are the only extraterrestrial materials known to
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CONCEPTS FOR DETECTION OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE
CONCEPTS FOR DETECTION OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE
It is not possible to present completely convincing evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial life. The problem often reduces to probabilities and to estimates of observational reliability. In almost all cases the evidence is optimistically considered strongly suggestive of—or, at the worst, not inconsistent with—the existence of extraterrestrial life. Alternatively, there is a pessimistic view that the evidence advanced for extraterrestrial life is unconvincing, irrelevant, or has another,
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SPACECRAFT STERILIZATION
SPACECRAFT STERILIZATION
The search for extraterrestrial life with unmanned space probes requires the total sterilization of the landing capsule and its contents. Scientists agree that terrestrial organisms released on other planets would interfere with exobiological explorations (refs. [ref.36] - [ref.43] ). Any flight that infects a planet with terrestrial life will compromise a scientific opportunity of almost unequaled proportions. Studies on microbiological survival in simulated deep-space conditions (low temperatu
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BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF WEIGHTLESSNESS AND ZERO GRAVITY
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF WEIGHTLESSNESS AND ZERO GRAVITY
A gravitational effect is known in the embryonic development of the frog Rana sylvatica . After fertilization, the eggs rotate in the gravitational field so that the black animal hemisphere is uppermost. Development becomes abnormal if this position is disturbed. If the egg is inverted following the first cleavage and held in this position, two abnormal animals result, united like Siamese twins. This phenomenon appears to be related to the gravitational separation of low- and high-density compon
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BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SPACE RADIATION1
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SPACE RADIATION1
The Air Force Discoverer series launched from the west coast had a few successful flights incorporating organisms. With severe environmental stress and long recovery times, data on radiation exposure were equivocal up to Discoverer XVII and XVIII when cultures of human tissue were flown, recovered, and assessed for radiation exposure effects. Comparison with ground-based controls revealed no measurable differences. Radiation dosimetry from the Mercury series established that minimal exposures we
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SIMULATION OF PLANETARY (MARTIAN) ENVIRONMENTS
SIMULATION OF PLANETARY (MARTIAN) ENVIRONMENTS
However, until the environmental conditions of Mars are defined more accurately, the experiments must be changed continually to fit newly determined conditions. Therefore, existing simulation data are made less valid for comparison. The data resulting from the simulation experiments for Mars have been compiled in table II , and the experiments are summarized below. The earliest simulation studies were carried out by the Air Force, and the studies during the past 6 years have been supported by NA
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EXTREME AND LIMITING ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS OF LIFE
EXTREME AND LIMITING ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS OF LIFE
Physical factors Minimum Organism Temperature -30° C Algae (photosynthesis), pink yeast (growth) Magnetism 0-50 gamma (=×10 -5 gauss) Human Gravity 0 g Human, plants, animals Pressure 10 -9 mm Hg (5 days) Mycobacterium smegmatis Microwave 0 W/cm 2 Visible 0 ft-c Animals, fungi, bacteria Ultraviolet 0 erg/cm 2 X-ray 0 rad Gamma ray Acoustic 0 dyne/cm 2 Physical factors Maximum Organism Activity Temperature 104° C (1000 atm) Desulfovibrio desulfuricans Grows and reduces sulfate Magnetism 167 000 g
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EFFECTS OF THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT ON BEHAVIOR
EFFECTS OF THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT ON BEHAVIOR
Gravity has long been known as one of the major factors influencing various life processes and the orientation of both plants and animals. One of the most challenging problems of space research has been to define this influence more precisely. Related to the effect of gravity on living processes is the problem of the effects of weightlessness. Of particular interest to psychologists are the possible modifications an altered gravitational environment might produce in behavioral patterns basic to
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BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS
BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS
The nature of memory has been the subject of considerable speculation in the past. It has long been felt intuitively that retention of information in the central nervous system involves either an alteration of preexisting material or structure, or, alternatively, synthesis of materials not present previously. The cellular site of operational alteration was unknown but, again intuitively, was felt to be closely associated with the synapses. The problems faced by early investigators were great; bu
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NEUROPHYSIOLOGY2
NEUROPHYSIOLOGY2
Neurophysiological studies concern the functions of the nervous system—in particular the central nervous system (CNS)—under normal, simulated, and actual flight conditions. Of paramount importance is the maintenance of equilibrium and orientation in three-dimensional space. The ability of man and his close relatives among the vertebrates to maintain these functions depends on an integrated sensory input from the vestibular organ; the eyes; the interoceptors of the muscles, tendons, joints, and v
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MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Jukes and associates ( [ref.154] ) at the University of California at Berkeley have been investigating the code for amino acids in protein synthesis, the key for translating the sequence of bases in DNA into the sequence of amino acids in proteins. The amino acid code was solely a matter of theory until Nirenberg and Matthaei ( [ref.155] ) at the National Institutes of Health carried out a crucial experiment. This experiment bridged the last remaining gap separating theoretical genetics and test
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BIOINSTRUMENTATION
BIOINSTRUMENTATION
Fernandez-Moran (refs. [ref.163] - [ref.165] ), at the University of Chicago, has devised a new multielectrode electrostatic lens which he has incorporated into an electron microscope. This necessitated the development of a novel high-voltage power source and voltage regulator of extreme stability and accuracy. Some promising work has now been done on superconducting lenses. In a series of experiments with a simple electron microscope without pole pieces, using high-field superconducting niobium
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ROCKETS AND SATELLITES
ROCKETS AND SATELLITES
Historically, biological experiments aboard rockets and satellites have been limited to a "piggyback" and "noninterference" basis on military rockets. For the past few years, however, as the effort toward manned space flight leading to lunar and Martian landings increased, more attention was devoted to experiments designed to show the effects of the space environment on living systems. As in the balloon flight programs, the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force played an important role, reaching what m
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LITTLE JOE FLIGHTS
LITTLE JOE FLIGHTS
The first step in an attempt at animal verification of the adequacy of the Mercury flight program was the development of two tests by NASA in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force School of Aviation Medicine in which there would be a biomedical evaluation of the accelerations experienced during the abort of a Mercury flight at and shortly after liftoff. These flights were launched at the NASA Wallops Station with a Little Joe solid-fuel launch vehicle. Two Little Joe launches were made with acti
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MERCURY ANIMAL TEST FLIGHTS
MERCURY ANIMAL TEST FLIGHTS
In the Mercury animal test program a Redstone missile carried the chimpanzee Ham on a ballistic flight to a height of 155 miles to provide animal verification of the success with which the Mercury system could be applied to manned flight. The male chimpanzee was trained to perform a two-phased reaction task during the 16 minutes of flight. The chimpanzee Enos was put into orbit for 3 hours and 20 minutes. Results of the two flights gave the following information: Pulse and respiration rates duri
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THE NASA BIOSATELLITE PROGRAM3
THE NASA BIOSATELLITE PROGRAM3
The space environment offers a unique opportunity to study the basic properties of living Earth organisms with new tools and opens up new areas of research for which biological theory fails to provide adequate predictions. Unique components of the space environment of biological importance are weightlessness or greatly decreased gravity, the imposition of an environment disconnected from Earth's 24-hour rotation (particularly its effect on biorhythms), and cosmic radiation with energies and part
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BIOREGENERATIVE LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEMS
BIOREGENERATIVE LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEMS
0.862 CO 2 output, kg 1.056 Drinking water, liters 2.5 Food rehydrating water, liters 1 Caloric value of food, kcal 3000 Water output: Urine, liters 1.6 Respiration and perspiration, liters 2.13 Feces, kg 0.09 Total heal output, Btu 11 100 Two types of biological regenerative systems have been proposed. The photosynthetic closed ecological system was proposed as early as 1951. This involves the use of single-celled algae or higher plants, including floating aquatic and terrestrial
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ELECTROLYSIS-HYDROGENOMONAS SYSTEM
ELECTROLYSIS-HYDROGENOMONAS SYSTEM
The bacterial synthesis requires 6 moles of H 2 , 2 moles of O 2 , and 1 mole of CO 2 (from the astronaut), as shown in equation 2: The respiration of the astronaut requires 1 "food" mole (CH 2 O) representing about 120 kcal, and 1 mole of O 2 , as shown in equation 3: The metabolic data in table VIII show that the CO 2 of the astronaut and the bacteria must balance at about 1.056 kg per day. The water relations are not completely balanced, but are fairly close. About 2.6 liters per day of water
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CABIN ATMOSPHERES9
CABIN ATMOSPHERES9
Localized or diffuse collapse of alveoli in the lungs may, if the condition persists, lead to arterial hypoxia which may be extremely undesirable under the stresses of space flight. The alveoli are probably unstable when pure oxygen is breathed; they tend to collapse if there is blockage of the airways, especially at low pressures. This collapse occurs because each of the gases present in the alveoli (oxygen, water vapor, and carbon dioxide) is subject to prompt and complete absorption from the
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PHYSIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
PHYSIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
NASA has emphasized that planning for manned space programs involves a systematic extension from physiological observations in animals to man, and finally the establishment of man as part of the man-vehicle system design. Moreover, these studies require the evaluation of central nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and other systems as a matrix in mutual interdependence. There is particular interest in the effects of weightlessness on flights exceeding 30 days. Mammalian fligh
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Metabolic Effects of Weightlessness
Metabolic Effects of Weightlessness
In both of these areas there was a return to normal within the postflight period of study. The Soviets have continued their biological experiments in space with the Vostok/Voshkod series. Fixing of histologic specimens in flight by Bykovsky demonstrated a critical role for man and made possible an expanded experimental program. Biopackages have become more complex with each succeeding flight. With the exception of postflight orthostatic intolerance after the third and fourth Mercury flights, cha
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DEPRESSED METABOLISM
DEPRESSED METABOLISM
Experimental evidence is being accumulated to show that hibernation and hypothermia somewhat protect animals against radiation. Clinical studies on irradiation of cancer patients indicate that lowering the body temperature reduces cellular metabolism and thus decreases tissue sensitivity to gamma radiation ( [ref.200] ). The use of prolonged hypothermia, hibernation, drugs, and electronarcosis appears to hold some potential for reducing astronauts' metabolic requirements. If one or mote of these
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NUTRITION IN SPACE10
NUTRITION IN SPACE10
The tacit assumption which now prevails, "Astronauts even on short-term missions require a diet of great variety," is apparently not well supported. In many parts of the world, people live on a monotonous diet consisting of only a few types of food with no apparent ill effects, provided their nutritional requirements are satisfied. Experimental evidence from many sources (e.g., the Army Medical Research and Nutrition Laboratory) shows that individuals can be kept on a single disagreeable formula
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Formula Diets
Formula Diets
There are many practical difficulties in providing for food storage and accessibility in spacecraft. The packaging of food materials, both dehydrated and liquid, has proceeded satisfactorily under the supervision of the Food and Container Institute. If packaging materials are to be made to withstand very high relative humidities and large variations in temperature, additional investigations are required, since such containers are not yet available. In packaging, serious consideration must be giv
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SIGNIFICANCE TO SCIENCE
SIGNIFICANCE TO SCIENCE
It should be fully realized that the accumulation and dissemination of biological and other scientific information is not only of great value to science and humanity but is of tremendous import to the prestige of the Nation....
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SIGNIFICANCE FOR PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
SIGNIFICANCE FOR PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
It can be predicted as confidently for space biology as for other space sciences that the economic costs will be amply repaid in the long run by applications of space-oriented biotechnology to other fields of biology and medicine. There are inevitable substantial, though indirect, contributions of NASA's continuing efforts in space biology. NASA-supported biological research has many practical applications and "spinoffs" which contribute to the fields of health and medicine, food and agriculture
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OUTLOOK FOR BIOSCIENCE—MAJOR PROBLEMS
OUTLOOK FOR BIOSCIENCE—MAJOR PROBLEMS
The problems undertaken are among the most challenging, if not the most challenging, man faces on the space frontier. These include the quest for the origin of life, the explanation of life and life processes, the elucidation of the environment's role in establishing and maintaining normal organization in living organisms, the possibility of extraterrestrial life on other planets—the concern of exobiology. The greatest promise for their solution lies in advances in biological theory rather than
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References
References
Kuiper, G. P.: On the Martian Surface Features. Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific, vol. 67, 1955, p. 271. Sinton, W. M.: Spectroscopic Evidence for Vegetation on Mars. Astrophys. J., vol. 126, 1957, p. 231. Rea, D. G.; Belsky, T.; and Calvin, M.: Interpretation of the 3- to 4-Micron Infrared Spectrum of Mars. Science, vol. 141, 1963, p. 923. Rea, D. G.; O'Leary, B. T.; and Sinton, W.: Mars and the Origin of the 3.58- and 3.69-Micron Minima in the Infrared Spectra. Science, vol. 147, 1965, p. 1286. Quim
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Transcription note The following typographic errors have been corrected:
Transcription note The following typographic errors have been corrected:
p. 121, l. 1: Hoffman, R. K., ——> Hoffman, R. K.; p. 124, l. -10: Rosenszweig ——> Rosenzweig p. 128, l. 29: AMRL Tech. Doc. Rept. ——> AMRL-Tech. Doc. Rept. Variant spelling: both forms microorganism and micro-organism have been retained, as quoted from different sources or bibliographic reference titles. Tables: Where necessary, the widths of columns have been adjusted, and some tables have been split to avoid them being excessively wide. In the original text, Table VI was s
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