The International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft in 2018.NASA/Roscosmos
NASA last month awarded $2.5 million to establish a regional scientific consortium based at the University of Washington, in partnership with Washington State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, that will use an interdisciplinary approach to explore how the space environment - both in low-Earth orbit and beyond - affects living things.
The BioS-ENDURES Consortium, which stands for Biology in Space: Establishing Networks for DUrable & REsilient Systems, will focus on innovation, acceleration and implementation of knowledge and technology of space biology centered on human-plant-microbiome relationships. The long-term goal is to enable a durable human presence in low Earth orbit, 90 to 600 miles altitude, and beyond.
"The establishment of the BioS-ENDURES Consortium marks an exciting new chapter in space biology research at UW, WSU and PNNL," said principal investigator Kristi Morgansen, professor and chair of aeronautics and astronautics at the UW. "We've long recognized that successful long-term space presence requires more than just rockets and spacecraft - it demands a deep understanding of the complex interactions between humans, plants and microorganisms in space environments.
"I'm particularly excited that through this consortium, we're bringing together experts across all three institutions to develop new ways to monitor and predict these biological interactions in space, work that will be crucial for establishing a sustainable human presence beyond Earth."
The team includes biologists studying humans, animals and plants, who will work together with microbiologists and other experts to ensure an integrated view of the space flight biosphere by enhancing data acquisition, modeling and testing. BioS-ENDURES has three focus areas related to the effects of spaceflight stressors:
- Develop monitoring to measure underlying molecular status, or biomarkers, in humans, animals, plants and their associated microbial communities
- Create models that predict human-plant-microbe robustness and interactions among organisms in space
- Validate and apply understanding of human and plant health, including promoting beneficial human-plant-microbe interactions, to enhance health in space
At the UW, the interdisciplinary team includes Joseph Mougous and Kyle Asfahl in microbiology; Gregory Bratman and Sharon Doty in environmental and forest sciences; Drew Gorman-Lewis in Earth and space sciences; Edward Kelly in pharmaceutics; Marissa Kranz at the UW Medical Cyclotron Facility; Brook Nunn and Christine Queitsch in genome sciences; Dr. Stephen Salipante in laboratory medicine and pathology at the UW School of Medicine; Catherine Yeung in pharmacy; and Jodi Young in oceanography.
The BioS-ENDURES Consortium builds on a collaboration between the UW, WSU, PNNL and science and industry advisory boards. Consortium members will work with NASA to align work with current and projected needs. The funding is spread out over five years and will support yearly proof-of-principle demonstration projects to advance the science of the three focuses, annual symposia tracks, and physical testing.
"The University of Washington is excited to have this opportunity to contribute to the development of new capabilities that will enable a sustainable human presence in space," said Mari Ostendorf, vice provost of research at the UW and UW professor of electrical and computer engineering. "This consortium enables new partnerships and brings together investigators who have a long history with NASA and space applications with researchers who have deep expertise in human/animal, plant and microbial biology. This research will push the boundaries of our scientific understanding to reveal new biological mechanisms that will address both sustainability and risk mitigation needs in space. We look forward working with WSU, PNNL and NASA, as well as with other industry and science partners to accelerate space technology."
