NASA A Researcher’s Guide to International Space Station : Human Research

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
A Researcher’s Guide to:
Human Research

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This International Space Station (ISS) Researcher’s Guide is published by the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) ISS Research Integration Office.
Authors:
Suzanne G. McCollum
Michael B. Stenger, Ph.D.
Cherie M. Oubre, Ph.D.
Robert A. Pietrzyk
Nichole R. Schwanbeck
Executive Editor: Bryan Dansberry
Technical Editor: Carrie Gilder
Designer: Cory Duke
Published: April 2015
Revision: September 2020
Cover and back cover:
a.
Russian Space Agency (RSA) cosmonaut Sergei Volkov assists NASA astronaut Scott Kelly in
a Fluid Shifts data collection session using the NASA Ultrasound2 unit and the Russian Chibis
hardware during Increment 45.
b.
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson prepares to insert biological samples in the Minus Eighty
Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) for long-term storage prior to return to Earth for analysis during
Increment 50.
c.
ESA Astronaut Alexander Gerst is pictured after undergoing a generic blood draw during Increment
56 assisted by NASA Astronaut Serena Aunon-Chancellor in the European Laboratory/Columbus
Orbital Facility.

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The Lab is Open
Orbiting the Earth at almost 5 miles per second, a structure exists that is
nearly the size of a football field and weighs almost a million pounds. The
International Space Station (ISS) is a testament to international cooperation
and significant achievements in engineering, and is critically important to
NASA’s future exploration missions.
Within the NASA Human Research Program (HRP), the Research Operations
and Integration element (ROI) provides flight implementation services to
HRP-sponsored research, most of which involves human research subjects,
allowing investigators to address the human risks of spaceflight enabling
the safe exploration of space. For non-HRP-sponsored studies, ROI
supports the overall coordination of the flight studies into efficient science
complements for each crew member and the scheduling coordination of
pre- and post-flight data collection sessions.
The ISS is a truly unique research platform. The possibilities of what can
be discovered by conducting research on the ISS are endless and have
the potential to contribute to the greater good of life on Earth and inspire
generations of researchers to come.
As we increase utilization of the ISS, now is the time for investigators to
propose new research and to make discoveries unveiling novel responses
that could not be defined using traditional approaches on Earth.
NASA astronauts Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson perform a SPRINT session in the Columbus Laboratory of the International
Space Station. 3

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Table of Contents
Human Response to Living in Space 5
Flight Investigations 6
Research Operations and Integration Element Overview 8
Preparing for Exploration Class Missions 10
Flight Investigation Activities 11
Pre-flight Operations 11
In-flight Operations 12
Post-flight Operations 13
Spaceflight Research 15
Flight Support Capabilities 15
On-Orbit Research Hardware 15
Experiment-Unique Equipment 17
Data and Sample Sharing 18
Research Involving Human Subjects 19
Pathway to Flight Investigations 20
Funding Opportunities 22
Points of Contact 24
Future Directions 25
Acronyms 26

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Human Response
to Living in Space
The Human Research Program (HRP)
uses research findings to develop
methods to lessen the effects of the
space environment on the health and
performance of humans working in
that setting. With the goal of traveling
to Mars and beyond, the Program
is using ground research facilities,
the International Space Station, and
analog environments to develop these
procedures and to further research
areas that are unique to Mars.
HRP-sponsored multi-disciplinary
biomedical research currently under
way on the ISS include studies
addressing behavioral health and
performance, bone, muscle, exercise
and cardiovascular physiology,
nutrition, microbiome, immunology
and vision and brain adaptations.
These life sciences research
studies aim to provide a thorough
understanding of the many physiologic
adaptations and changes that occur
in a microgravity environment.
Countermeasures are developed and
validated for areas where research
has determined that the crew needs
additional support in the spaceflight
environment.
The research focuses on astronaut
health and performance and the
development of countermeasures that
protect crew members from the space environment during long-duration voyages,
evaluate new technologies to meet the needs of future exploration missions and
develop and validate operations procedures for long-duration space missions.
Figure 1. Human research on the ISS allows researchers to inves-
tigate the physiological and psychological effects of long duration
spaceflight.

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Flight Investigations
Following the selection and assignment of a research investigation to an ISS
mission, the Research Operations and Integration element (ROI) provides the
end-to-end integration, coordination and operational support to meet the science
requirements and objectives of the study.
To assist researchers from a variety of disciplines, HRP began the Spaceflight
Standard Measures Project during Increment 58. This project collects a set of
core measurements, representative of many of the human spaceflight risks, from
astronauts before, during, and after ISS missions. The project’s main aim is to
ensure that an optimized, minimal set of measures are captured consistently from
participating ISS crewmembers until the end of the ISS in order to characterize
the human in space. These Standard Measures serve as a data repository and are
available to other studies under data sharing agreements. The data undergo analysis
for trends in the astronaut population.
Data collected under the Standard Measures project includes analysis of blood,
urine, and saliva, questionnaires, and core measurements from the physiological and
psychological domains deemed critical to human spaceflight. This data is intended
to provide the following benefits:
• Enable high level monitoring of countermeasure effectiveness
• Enable meaningful interpretation of health and performance outcomes
•
Inform and support future hypothesis-driven planetary-mission-enabling
research
HRP also leads a multinational complement of integrated protocols for human
exploration research designed to investigate the effect of flight duration on the
human system. This study is composed of multi-disciplinary science measures that
can be integrated into a single research complement, and all measures are collected
for each participating crew member on missions of varying duration (short,
standard, and extended).
Whereas abundant data exists for 6-month durations in space, minimal data exists
for durations beyond one year. Additionally, scientific and anecdotal evidence
show differences in the effects of spaceflight between crewmembers on 6-month
and 12-month missions. It is not known whether 6-month flights are sufficient to
indicate that people can be sent on exploration-class missions with a reasonable
expectation of maintaining health, safety, and performance.

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With this multi-disciplinary experiment, HRP seeks to bridge the gap in knowledge
and answer questions about the physiological and psychological adaptations of
long-duration spaceflight.
Figure 2. The five categories of human exploration risks relate to the stresses they place on the human body.
The integrated protocol addresses the five hazards of human spaceflight (radiation,
isolation, distance from Earth, altered gravity, and hostile/closed environments) by
conducting the same research over different mission durations, allowing scientists to
extrapolate to multi-year missions. The knowledge gained from this research is used
to develop protective countermeasures and safeguard crewmembers for exploration-
class missions.

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Research Operations and
Integration Element Overview
The International Space Station (ISS)
provides an exclusive opportunity for
advancing research into the effects of
the unique spaceflight environment on
humans and the development of space
resources. Research Operations and
Integration (ROI) provides planning,
integration, and implementation services
for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) Human Research
Program (HRP). Figure 3. Fly-around view of the International Space Station
taken from STS-132 Space Shuttle Atlantis after separation.
The goals and objectives of ROI are to:
•
Maximize the utilization of the ISS to assess the effects of long-duration
spaceflight on human systems and to develop and verify strategies to ensure
optimal crew performance.
•
Enable development and validation of a suite of integrated physical,
pharmacologic and/or nutritional countermeasures against the damaging effects
of spaceflight that may affect mission success or crew health.
•
Support pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight activities.
•
Offer end-to-end, flight-experiment definition, development, documentation,
integration, procedure development and validation, and hardware development
and certification services.
ROI supports research investigators by defining science protocols as a set of
implementable functional requirements, designing operational scenarios and
developing as well as certifying hardware and software. Services provided by ROI
include developing and validating in-flight crew procedures, providing ISS crew
member and ground controller training, monitoring real-time, in-orbit experiment
and hardware operations, and facilitating data transfer to the principal investigators
(PIs). ROI maintains an expert team of professionals with the knowledge and
experience to guide science protocols through the flight-development process.
ROI coordinates with the ISS International Partners (IPs) to develop integrated
mission-specific science complements for human research investigations and
to negotiate inter-agency schedules, usage agreements and international crew
member subject participation. Support is provided for the human Institutional
Review Board (IRB) approval process and scheduling the Informed Consent

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Briefings (ICBs) for potential crew member participation in flight studies. ROI
offers investigator logistics support during all phases of the mission and maintains
a facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) for pre-flight and post-flight
collection of medical and scientific data for flight studies.
Figure 4. Expedition 56 Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor performing a saliva sample collection session in the
Columbus Module.
ROI hardware and software teams provide design, fabrication and testing services
for both ground and flight hardware and software systems. The application of
unique knowledge of safety controls in human systems enables the reduction of risk
in all flight-operational activities. Streamlined operational scenarios and optimized
crew procedures for research and facility protocols are used to maximize science
return within available resources, including end-to-end testing from experiment
systems to data display and transmission in order to verify science data flow.
The team provides complete integration support from initial hardware testing to
hardware delivery for multiple flight vehicles to the ISS including the Russian
Soyuz and Progress vehicles, Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) and commercial
launch vehicles.

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ROI provides services that result in the successful completion of a wide variety of
multidisciplinary, human physiology research studies enabling the safe exploration
of space and allowing for the future of exploration class missions.
Preparing for Exploration Class Missions
Figure 5. View of the moon over the Earth horizon taken by the Expedition 23 crew aboard the International Space Station.
NASA’s history has proven that humans are able to live safely and work in space.
The ISS serves as a platform to extend and sustain human activities in preparation
for long-duration, exploration-class missions. NASA uses the ISS for scientific,
technological and educational purposes supporting future objectives in human
space exploration. These objectives include protecting crews from the space
environment, ensuring crew health through countermeasure development, testing
research and technology developments, and developing and validating operational
procedures for long-duration missions. The ISS is an orbiting research laboratory
providing opportunities to address critical medical questions about astronaut health
through multidisciplinary research operations to advance our understanding and
capabilities for space exploration.

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Flight Investigation Activities
Pre-flight Operations
Once assigned to a mission, research
investigations proceed through a
number of milestones. ROI partners
with the investigators to ensure the
following: science requirements are
met; human institutional review
approvals are obtained; crew training
is scheduled; flight procedures are
developed; and pre-flight baseline
data collection (BDC) sessions
are completed. Pre-flight data are
collected for comparison with
subsequent research findings to
determine how spaceflight has affected
a particular measurement and what
effect the return to a 1-g environment
may have. ROI also leads the
Informed Consent Briefings (ICBs),
enabling the participation of ISS crew
members in each investigation and
coordinates the integration of NASA
and International Partner (IP) life
sciences research experiments.
Figure 6. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly participates in a training
session in an International Space Station mock-up/trainer in the
Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center
(JSC). Photo credit: NASA
The availability of ISS crew members prior to launch for training and BDC is
extremely limited because of a heavy training schedule requiring a great deal of
international travel to Russia, Europe, and Japan. All U.S. training and BDC
(including vehicle and ISS system training as well as all NASA payloads) must be
scheduled during the periods of time pre-flight when crew members are at JSC.
Some United States Operation Segment (USOS) Crew members launch on Soyuz
and depart for Russia approximately two months before launch (L-60 days). While
it is possible to perform some simple testing in Russia between L-60 and L-30 (i.e.,
minimal sampling, simple ambulatory monitoring, questionnaires), such testing is
difficult to schedule and will require strong justification for implementation. Also,
there are no unique NASA facilities available for performing BDC in Russia; the
only resources currently available are a freezer and centrifuge. In the L-60 to L-15

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day timeframe, crew members’ schedules are very busy with required simulations,
vehicle tests, and commissioning activities as well as time with their families, so
scheduling research testing of any kind is usually not possible.
The crew travels to the launch site at around L-15 days where there are no BDC
facilities available for investigator use. The only feasible activities during this time
are those that require passive monitoring (i.e., Actigraphy) or simple computer
or pen/paper entries. No freezers or other equipment are available at the launch
site. Retrieval of data and equipment must be arranged with crew surgeons (no
investigator travel to launch site).
With the majority of future USOS crewmembers launching on commercial crew
vehicles, there may be a little more time pre-flight before the crew travel to the
Kennedy Space Center (KSC) only a few weeks prior to launch. However, there are
also no BDC facilities planned at KSC. Therefore, the only feasible activities during
the immediate pre-flight and post-flight timeframe will be limited to simple passive
measures or very limited field testing at the landing dock.
Since crew time is constrained during their time at JSC, ROI optimizes the number,
length and timing of BDC sessions to maximize research opportunities. Training
sessions are limited to skills-based sessions as opposed to lecture-style overview
sessions. The ROI team works with HRP investigators to develop an appropriate
training plan for each investigation selected for flight.
In-flight Operations
Figure 7. NASA astronaut Jack Fischer performs a NeuroMapping
session on ISS during Increment 51.
The Soyuz and the Commercial Crew
launch vehicles are space constrained,
and it is not feasible to perform in-
flight operations before docking with
the ISS. After docking with ISS, crew
members are busy with handover
activities, and crew time for scientific
activities is limited for the first two
weeks. Crew time is also limited during
periods when other vehicles dock or
undock because of required preparation
activities and around extra vehicular
activities (EVAs). Weekends are

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protected as time off for crew members, and science is only performed if it is a
crew preference.
In-flight crew time constraints require investigators to build flexibility into their
scheduling requirements. In addition to the constraints mentioned above, many
investigations often have similar in-flight timing requirements, and they cannot all
be scheduled during the same week. The ROI team works closely with investigators
to document the reasoning for specific timing requirements and define the
flexibility (plus or minus number of days) for implementation.
Experiment implementation is more difficult to achieve under the following
conditions:
•
Complicated in-flight sessions before the second week in-flight (e.g., requires
set-up of multiple pieces of equipment, followed by testing session of more than
an hour; sessions that require privatized voice or video).
•
More than five complicated in-flight sessions involving multiple pieces of
equipment (e.g., requires set-up of multiple pieces of equipment, followed by
testing of more than two to three hours, requires extensive privatized resources).
•
A single session with one crew member requiring four or more hours in
one day.
•
Crew activity that must be performed daily or more than once a week.
•
Very precise/inflexible timing requirements for sessions (e.g., plus or minus
window for testing of less than one week, multiple, timed blood draws,
sessions that are linked to other crew activities like meals, EVAs, etc.).
Note that occasional fasting data collections upon crew wake up are not difficult
to implement.
•
Extended, continuous activities over multiple days that could interfere with
other operations.
Post-flight Operations
The post-flight priority is to rehabilitate the crew from the flight and return them
to safe terrestrial function. Crew members are returned from the ISS via both the
Soyuz spacecraft after landing in Kazakhstan and on Commercial Crew vehicles
in the USA. In either case, USOS crew members (includes participants from
IP agencies of Europe, Canada, and Japan) are returned directly to JSC within
approximately 24 hours after landing via a NASA plane. Crew members may have
significant circadian disruption. Limited testing is possible during their return flight

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to JSC (i.e., Actigraphy, urine and saliva sampling). There is some opportunity
for limited passive testing upon immediate crew return to JSC (blood draws,
ultrasound scans), but extensive or lengthy testing is not possible. The time from
crew landing to crew sleep after return to JSC is considered landing day or “R+0.”
The start of R+1 begins after crew wake up the day after their return to JSC.
Figure 8. NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir smiles for the camera after landing on the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft in Kazakhstan on
April 17, 2020.
The total amount of time available for science BDC in the first week post-flight
(R+0 - R+7) is only 11.5 hours, and this scarce resource must be shared with
multiple investigations. Therefore, BDC during this timeframe is prioritized based
on study requirements. In addition, scheduling flexibilities for each investigation are
used to optimize the post-flight schedule.
ROI integrates all of the implementation constraints for pre-, in-, and post-flight
sessions early in the complement development process in order to allow maximize
the number of experiments performed simultaneously.

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Spaceflight Research
Flight Support Capabilities
ROI services include the
management, maintenance,
operations, and use of the
Telescience Support Center
(TSC) located at JSC,
providing a focal point for
real-time ROI operations
and a distribution point
for remote investigators to
monitor their experiments
and acquire telemetry data for
HRP sponsored experiments.
The TSC interfaces with the
Payload Operations Integration
Center (POIC) at NASA’s
Marshall Space Flight Center
(MSFC). The TSC provides
investigators and ground teams with ISS Space-to-Ground audio capabilities
allowing the relaying of commands and software uplinks to the ROI facility
systems. This facility serves as a gateway to distribute ISS digital data and video over
virtual private networks to support the ROI science and engineering communities.
Real-time system and experiment data displays are available over a secure network
between the ISS and remote investigator data facilities.
Figure 9. Real-time science monitoring services are provided through the
Telescience Support Center.
On-Orbit Research Hardware
ROI provides the Human Research Facility (HRF), which is comprised of a suite
of hardware that provides core capabilities to enable research on human subjects.
These research tools are available to HRP-sponsored investigators who wish to
conduct human physiological research on the ISS. Most flight hardware must
be specially built or modified to suit the space environment. ROI provides flight
hardware development processes designed to meet rigorous requirements for safety,
mass, operation, human factors, electrical power usage, computer interfaces, and
thermal properties. All flight hardware must be tested to verify that it can withstand
the mechanical and acoustic vibrations encountered during launch, the acceleration
forces during ascent into orbit, and the microgravity conditions in orbit.

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The HRF consists of items mounted on two
racks located in the Columbus module, as well
as separate portable equipment kept in stowage
locations and brought out as needed. The HRF
enables human life science researchers to study
and evaluate the physiological, behavioral,
and biochemical changes induced by long-
duration spaceflight. The two HRP racks
contain a clinical ultrasound, 2 centrifuges
(one for rodent and one for human samples),
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) drawer,
HRF consumable supplies and the Space
Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device
(SLAMMD) for measuring in-orbit crew
member mass. The HRF Racks are regularly
used for data collection and downlink of
experiment data.
Figure 10. Human Research Facility 1 (HRF1) on ISS
in the Columbus Module.
Supplies for collection of human biological samples, including blood, urine and
saliva are available for investigators who require them. Standardization of this
type of hardware reduces costs and provides a familiar interface for crew members
regardless of which investigation(s) they may be performing.
More information on the HRF hardware is available at:
https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/elements/roi/facilities/rack
https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/elements/roi/facilities/portable
Investigators should not assume that hardware previously flown but not listed on
this website is available for their use. Potential investigators should check with the
appropriate facility managers for current hardware functionality and availability.
International partner agencies have also launched several hardware facilities
designed for use in human life sciences experiments. Information about these
facilities can be found at: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/
experiments/explorer/search.html?#q=i=p=c=g=Facilitys=. Filter on
Category: Human Research and then by Partner. Investigators should be aware
that while these facilities will be aboard the ISS, use of them by NASA investigators
must be negotiated.

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Hardware is available aboard the ISS for investigations that require conditioned
storage of samples. Information about these facilities can be found at: https://www.
nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/search.html?#q=i=
p=c=g=Facilitys=. Search on “Refrigerator or Freezer.”
Information on all ISS facilities can be found at: https://www.nasa.
gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/search.
html?#q=i=p=c=g=Facility.
Executing flight experiments necessitates different constraints than are usually
found in ground-based research. All hardware is launched to ISS using an
International Partner resupply vehicle or a U.S. commercial vehicle. Return of
hardware and samples from the ISS is only possible using U.S. commercial vehicles,
with a very limited capability on the Soyuz.
Experiment-Unique Equipment
Some investigators may need to develop their
own experiment hardware to work in conjunction
with the facilities and functional capabilities of
existing hardware. Development of Experiment-
Unique Equipment (EUE) can be costly and
extend the preparation time for an experiment
to design, build, and test the hardware to meet
spaceflight requirements. Commercially-available
hardware is often more feasible to prepare for flight
than custom-made hardware, but it still requires
additional resources and certification in order to
meet the requirements levied on all hardware
flying to the ISS. It should not be assumed that
any device can fly “as is” off the shelf.
Figure 11. HRP Fecal Sample Collection Kit.
ROI assesses experiment-required hardware during the definition phase of the study
as part of the overall feasibility assessment. The following questions are used during
the ROI hardware assessment:
•
Is new flight hardware required? The level of difficulty of development depends
on how much design and development is required for custom-made equipment
and how much any off-the-shelf equipment must be modified. Resources such
as up-mass and volume could constrain launch opportunities.

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•
Does the hardware need to be returned to the ground for refurbishment or data
retrieval? Down mass resources are protected for critical science samples; data
should be planned to be downlinked, and hardware no longer being used will
likely be discarded.
•
Is conditioned stowage required in orbit or for return? The ISS has freezers and
refrigerators aboard the ISS, but conditioned down-mass volume is limited.
Data and Sample Sharing
Some experiments plan to collect identical or similar data as standard medical tests
or other concurrently scheduled investigations. Duplication may be avoided via data
sharing. A Data Sharing Plan (DSP) is implemented for each mission to minimize
crew time and inconvenience. The plan also allows individual investigators to
enhance their studies through interpretation of their data within the context of
the many physiologic adjustments provoked by spaceflight. The correlation and
comparison of all experiment results will, in turn, produce a more coherent and
comprehensive understanding of human physiologic adaptation to spaceflight.
In addition, data produced from NASA-funded life sciences research must be
archived in the Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) for the benefit of the greater
research and operational spaceflight community. Archival data products may
include but are not limited to low-level (raw) data, high-level (processed) data,
and data products such as calibration data, documentation, related software, and
other tools or parameters that are necessary to interpret the data. To protect the
right of first publication, funded investigator(s) are generally allowed a period
of one year after final data collection before making the data available to other
investigators through release from the LSDA. This archive, as well as other NASA
data repositories, allows investigators to implement research by enabling analysis of
existing astronaut experiment, medical, and/or performance data.
ROI works with the investigative teams to determine if sample sharing may be
available, depending on the type and quantity of sample requested. Similar to
the DSPs, sample sharing minimizes valuable crew time and inconvenience and
decreases up and down mass.

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Research Involving
Human Subjects
Prior to 2020, the maximum number of crew members aboard the ISS at any
given time was six; this nominally included three Russian and three USOS
crew members. With the success of commercial crew, the maximum number of
crewmembers on ISS will increase by one USOS crewmember to seven. On-orbit
durations are typically about six months, and the crew rotations are staggered, so
there may be periods when only three crew members are living on ISS. Currently,
NASA-sponsored investigations may only seek participation from USOS crew
members; therefore, the maximum number of subjects available per year for any
one experiment is eight. For planning purposes, four to six subjects per year should
be assumed for any experiment since other constraints and crew consent may limit
participation.
All flight investigations involving USOS crew members must receive approval
by the NASA/JSC Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the Human Research
Multilateral Review Board (HRMRB). Approval by the ESA Medical Board
(MB) and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) IRB are also needed if
participation of crew members representing those agencies will be recruited. Crew
members are given an informed consent briefing (ICB) that describes each human
research study proposed for their mission at approximately one year before launch.
A large number of human life sciences investigations are typically being performed
concurrently such that it is not possible for one crew member to participate in all
of them, even if that crew member is willing. This constraint is due to resource
limitations described in this document as well as science conflicts between
investigations. Based on crew members’ interests and program priorities, a specific
complement of research is developed that can be performed within the flight
resource constraints.
With a small subject pool and a large number of investigations requiring human
subjects, the number of subjects required to complete an investigation becomes
an important aspect of technical feasibility for all flight proposals. In addition to
taking a long time to complete, studies that require large subject numbers limit
the throughput for overall human spaceflight research. An investigation that has
multiple constraints that effectively reduces the number of other investigations in
which a subject can participate will be more difficult to implement. It is important
to note that one crew member can participate in up to 20 human life sciences
investigations, depending on complexity, across all USOS partners.

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Pathway to Flight
Investigations
A proposal can be submitted for consideration to the Human Research Program
in many different ways including, among others, in response to a NASA Research
Announcement (NRA), NASA Space Act Agreement (SAA), NASA HRP-Directed
Task, and through an International Announcement of Opportunity (AO). ISS
investigators may receive funding from NASA and many other sources. These
sources determine the sponsorship for access to the orbiting laboratory. Studies that
involve only pre-flight and post-flight testing of crew members before launch and
upon return from their spaceflight may also be performed. Additional information
for prospective investigators can be found at: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/
station/research/research_information.html.
Following submittal to HRP, a research proposal undergoes a peer-review process
to evaluate the relevance of the study to NASA’s goals and objectives and the
scientific merit of the proposed investigation. The outcome of this review may lead
to a refinement of the study followed by selection as a flight investigation. After
selection of a research proposal is made by the sponsoring organization, the process
formally begins to define the overall research requirements, objectives, and probable
costs. Critical to conducting a successful study is obtaining agreement on a set of
realistic mission objectives, including establishing the technical, functional, and
performance requirements to satisfy the objectives.
Increment
Stage Stage Stage
Launch Launch Launch Launch
Strategic Tactical ISS Flight Operations Post-flight
Experiment and Hardware
Requirements and Definition
(Design, Development, Test, Safety
and Verification)
Mission Integration
(Increment Planning, Training
and Baseline Data Collection)
ISS Crew
Rotation
ISS Crew
Rotation
Real Time
(Operations)
Post Flight Ops, Baseline
Data Collection, (H/W,
Sample and Data Return)
Hardware development time varies per payload
36 months to days
Manifest
Approved
L –X months L –12 months L –1 m 6 months Crew Return
Figure 12. Example pathway following select-for-flight for a research investigation.

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After the peer review, ROI will conduct a feasibility assessment of the investigation
focusing on the functional requirements, including the use of any experiment-
unique hardware and development time and the requested number of subjects.
Ground-based requirements for conducting the pre-flight and post-flight operations
necessary for performing the flight experiment must also be defined. Included in
the feasibility assessment is a determination of the complexity of the experiment,
the crew time requirements, and the testing schedule.
The ROI team plays a critical role in conducting HRP human life sciences
investigations on the ISS and provides an experienced team to each investigation
to assist each investigator in defining their experiment hardware, software, and
operational requirements.

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Funding Opportunities
What Should Principal Investigators Know About Conducting
Research on ISS?
Supporting research in science and technology is an important part of NASA’s
overall mission. NASA solicits research through the release of NASA Research
Announcements (NRAs), which cover a wide range of scientific disciplines. All
NRA solicitations are facilitated through the Web-based NASA Solicitation and
Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES), http://nspires.
nasaprs.com/external/. Registering with NSPIRES allows investigators to stay
informed of newly-released NRAs and enables submission of proposals. NSPIRES
supports the entire lifecycle of NASA research solicitations and awards, from the
release of new research calls through the peer review and selection process.
In planning the scope of their proposals, investigators should be aware of available
resources and the general direction guiding NASA research selection. The Human
Research Roadmap (https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/) identifies the
approach and research activities planned to address the highest risks to human
health and performance in spaceflight. In addition, principal investigators should be
aware that spaceflight experiments may be limited by a combination of power, crew
time, or volume constraints. Launch and/or landing scrubs are not uncommon, and
alternative implementation scenarios should be considered in order to reduce the
risk from these scrubs. Preliminary investigations using ground-based simulators
may be necessary to optimize procedures before spaceflight.
To understand previous spaceflight studies, prospective PIs should become familiar
with the Space Station Research Explorer (SSRE) database on nasa.gov, found
at www.nasa.gov/stationexperiments. This searchable system describes research
previously conducted on the ISS, including that of the International Partners.
In addition, a detailed catalog of previous, current, and proposed experiments,
facilities, and results, including investigator information, research summaries,
operations, hardware information, and related publications, is available through the
NASA Research and Technology website’s pages at https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science.
Additionally, details pertaining to research previously supported by the Biological
and Physical Sciences (BPS) Division of NASA’s Human Exploration and
Operations Mission Directorate can be located in the Space Life Physical
Sciences Research and Applications Division Task Book in a searchable online
database format at: https://taskbook.nasaprs.com/Publication/welcome.cfm.

23
NASA generally uses Broad Agency Announcements (BAA) to solicit proposals
for research and technology investigations. Such BAAs may take the form of
Announcements of Opportunity (AO), NRAs or, less frequently, Cooperative
Agreement Notices (CAN). In addition, for specific, well-defined research end
points or tests, NASA may elect to use Requests for Proposals.
NASA solicits this research through the release of various research announcements
in a wide range of science and technology disciplines. NASA uses a peer review
process to evaluate and select research proposals submitted in response to these
research announcements.
The AO is used to solicit and competitively select research investigations
characterized as having a well-defined purpose and end product; for example,
science investigations with hardware responsibility for a unique spaceflight mission,
a program of flight missions or unique but large-cost, non-flight programs.
The NRA solicits research characterized as being a part of the HRP’s ongoing
approved research program under the budgetary discretion of the HRP program
manager. HRP’s standard times for issuing NRAs are July, November, and March.
Flagship solicitations contain specific research emphases that proposers must address
in order to be considered responsive to the solicitation. Example Flagship topics
include Evaluation of the Neurobehavioral Effects of a Dynamic Lighting System
on the ISS and Effects of Spaceflight Durations up to One Year in Low Earth Orbit
on Cardiovascular Structure and Function in Astronauts. In addition to Flagship
solicitations, HRP issues Omnibus solicitations that request investigations lasting
no more than one year that provide innovative approaches to any of the risks and
gaps contained in the Integrated Research Plan of the Human Research Program.
The CAN is used to solicit and competitively select proposals to support NASA
program interests that require a high degree of cooperation between NASA and the
selected institution. The scope of activities solicited by a CAN may be as modest
as those for an NRA or as complex as those through an AO. The cooperative
agreements awarded as a result of a CAN are similar to grants except that both
NASA and the selected institution are required to provide resources, and both are
involved in decisions related to the activities carried out by the selected institution.
NASA issues annual program solicitations that set forth a substantial number
of research topics in areas consistent with stated agency needs or missions. Both
the list of topics and the description of the topics and subtopics are sufficiently
comprehensive to provide a wide range of opportunity for Small Business Concerns

24
to participate in NASA research programs. Topics and subtopics emphasize the need
for proposals with advanced concepts to meet specific agency needs.
Congress established the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
in 1982 to provide increased opportunities for small businesses to participate
in research and development, to increase employment, and to improve U.S.
competitiveness. The program’s specific objectives are to stimulate U.S. technologic
innovation, use small businesses to meet federal research and development needs,
increase private-sector commercialization of innovations, and foster and encourage
participation by socially disadvantaged businesses. Legislation enacted in 2000
extended and strengthened the SBIR program and increased its emphasis on
pursuing commercial applications of SBIR project results.
The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program awards contracts to
small business concerns for cooperative research and development with a non-
profit research institution such as a university. Congress’s goal in establishing the
STTR program is to facilitate the transfer of technology developed through the
entrepreneurship of a small business and is modeled after the SBIR Program with
the same basic requirements and phased funding structure. STTR is nevertheless
separate from the SBIR Program and is funded separately. It differs from SBIR
in several important aspects including existing as a smaller program. The small
company must take the research and intellectual property of the research institution
and convert it into a useful product. Additional information and a current list of
solicitations are available at: http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov.
Points of Contact
ROI provides planning, integration, and implementation services for HRP, enabling
the research communities as well as NASA’s International Partners requiring access
to space. For more information regarding ROI, please visit: https://www.nasa.gov/
hrp/elements/roi.

25
Future Directions
The ISS is a test bed to continue
validation of countermeasures, assess
autonomous operations, and evaluate
new technologies to acquire the
knowledge, skills and capabilities
to venture beyond low-Earth
orbit. With a growing portfolio of
laboratory facilities and capabilities
onboard, scientific research is a top
priority for ISS utilization. ROI is
uniquely positioned to support life
science investigations to produce
a biomedical research portfolio to
mitigate space human health risks
and to extend and sustain human
activities for future human space
exploration.
Figure 13. The ISS is the only facility allowing researchers
to evaluate the capabilities needed in preparation for
missions to the moon and Mars. ((Image Credit: NASA)

26
Acronyms
AO Announcements of Opportunity
BAA Broad Agency Announcements
BDC Baseline data collection
CAN Cooperative Agreement Notices
DSP Data Sharing Plan
ESA European Space Agency
EUE Experiment Unique Equipment
EVA Extra vehicular activities
HTV H-II Transfer Vehicle
HRF Human Research Facility
HRF 1 HRF Rack 1
HRF 2 HRF Rack 2
HRMRB Human Research Multilateral Review Board
HRP Human Research Program
ICB Informed Consent Briefing
IP International Partner
IRB Institutional Review Board
ISS International Space Station
JAXA Japanese Exploration Agency
JSC NASA’s Johnson Space Center
KSC Kennedy Space Center
L- Launch Minus (days before launch)
LSDA Life Sciences Data Archive
MB Medical Board
MELFI Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS
MSFC Marshall Spaceflight Center
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NRA NASA Research Announcement
NRC National Research Council
NSPIRES NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System
PI Principal Investigator
POIC Payload Operations Integration Center
R+ Return Plus (days after landing)

27
RFID Radio Frequency Identification
ROI Research Operations Integration
RSA Russian Space Agency
SAA Space Act Agreement
SBIR Small Business Innovation Research
SLAMMD Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device
STTR Small Business Technology Transfer
TSC Telescience Support Center
US United States
USOS United States Operation Segment

28
The Complete ISS Researcher’s
Guide Series
1. Acceleration Environment
2. Cellular Biology and Regenerative Medicine
3. Combustion Science
4. Earth Observations
5. Fluid Physics
6. Fruit Fly Research
7. Fundamental Physics
8. GeneLab
9. Human Research
10. Macromolecular Crystal Growth
11. Microbial Research
12. Microgravity Materials Research
13. Physical Sciences Informatics Systems
14. Plant Science
15. Rodent Research
16. Space Environmental Effects
17. Technology Demonstration
28

29
For more information...
Space Station Science
http://www.nasa.gov/iss-science
Station Research Facilities/Capabilities
http://go.nasa.gov/researchexplorer
Station Research Opportunities
http://www.nasa.gov/stationopportunities
Station Research Experiments/Results
http://go.nasa.gov/researchexplorer
Station Research Benefits for Humanity
http://www.nasa.gov/stationbenefits
29

30
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Johnson Space Center
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson
www.nasa.gov
NP-2020-08-017-JSC

NASA A Researcher’s Guide to International Space Station : Human Research

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