Biomedical Research and Environmental Sciences Division

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The Biomedical Research and Environmental Sciences Division is responsible for the performance of biomedical research focused on: 1) understanding the normal human response to space flight, and 2) developing, testing, and delivering countermeasures to those untoward responses that may affect crew health, safety, and/or performance during or after space flight missions. The Division is comprised of three branches.

Biomedical Sciences Branch

The Biomedical Sciences Branch includes a variety of intramural life science discipline laboratories that conduct peer-reviewed applied research and provide clinical testing and expertise to the Space and Clinical Operations Division. The Branch scientists and physicians conduct biomedical research in flight on ISS, as well as in spaceflight analog environments to better characterize the effects of microgravity on human physiology and to evaluate the candidate countermeasures. Laboratory personnel also provide specific clinical/operational expertise in support of flight surgeons responsible for the health and safety of astronauts. Similarly, laboratory personnel support the research of NASA-approved extramural investigator experiments. The Human Test Subject Facility personnel provide test subjects for research studies (www.bedreststudy.com) and coordinate the C-9 Reduced Gravity Flight Program. In addition to their scientific and operational responsibilities, select Branch scientists also act in the capacity of project scientists supporting the projects managed by the Biomedical Projects Branch.

Biomedical Projects Branch

The Biomedical Projects Branch coordinates all directed strategic research projects that support Human Health and Performance within the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Project personnel implement an integrated, structured approach to understanding, projecting, and mitigating health risks for exploration, through various means including the correlation of test results with both flight data and ground studies. This correlation is used to determine the effectiveness of countermeasures by comparing operational use data to research activities data.

Environmental Sciences Branch

The Environmental Sciences Branch ensures environmental standards and crew health and safety are achieved onboard space vehicles. This branch provides operational support for all human space flight programs, including setting spacecraft environmental requirements, providing pre-mission or pre-increment analyses and planning, and evaluating actual on-orbit internal environmental conditions. Research activities include the development of advanced environmental monitoring technology concepts and a variety of applied research tasks focusing on evaluating and controlling environmentally induced risks to crew health and safety.