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Correspondence: D. Schmitt, MSM-GS, European Space Agency/ESTEC, Keplerlaan1, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
To enhance cooperation in space life sciences, an International Space Life Sciences Working Group (ISLSWG) was formed in 1991. This worldwide association has developed a strategic plan with two main goals: strengthen space research and enhance knowledge and information exchange. It started its activity by screening existing space hardware and exchanging information to plan for the development of new hardware. It continued by defining a strategy for offering a common pool of research equipment on the International Space Station, issuing annual joint space research announcements, and evaluating the proposals by an international peer group. The ISLSWG has also initiated a series of workshops that address today's critical issues in defined research fields in order to reach a set of conclusions and make recommendations for implementation by the space agencies.
The first part of this workshop, Cell & Molecular Biology Research in Space, was organized around 18 presentations in three sessions. Large proportions of these lectures described potential mechanisms of gravity sensing and response on the cellular and molecular level. Experts not currently involved in space research presented the majority of these lectures:
Signal transduction, membrane transport, and channels
Cytoskeleton, adhesion molecules, and biomechanics
Gene expression, cell proliferation, and apoptosis.
The second part was dedicated to parallel discussions related to these three sessions with about 15 participants in each workshop. The third was a joint session during which participants issued conclusions and recommendations.
Workshop organizers were Prof. R. Bouillon, University of Leuven; Prof. C. Lapièrre, University of Liège; and Dr. D. Schmitt, senior life scientist, European Space Agency.
The following workshops have already been organized and corresponding papers published: International Workshop on Cardiovascular Research in Space. Med. Sci. Sports Exercise (1996) 28, S1–S112; International Workshop on Muscle Research in Space. Int. J. Sports Med. (1997) 18, S266–S333; International Workshop on Plant Biology Research in Space. Planta (1997) 203, S1–S219; International Workshop on Bone Research in Space. Bone (1998) 22, 71S–161S; International Workshop on Radiation Research in Space. Mutation Res. Suppl. (1999) in press; Space Neuroscience Research. Brain Res. Rev. Suppl. (1998) 20.
The guiding principles behind this international research collaboration have been established to
promote the highest quality of scientific investigation
and scientific return from space experiments.
optimize the utilization of resources by avoiding unnecessary
duplication of equipment and by sharing equipment and flight
opportunities, and
maximize the access to space, which is considered a precious
resource.
We hope that the results of the workshops, and the conclusions and recommendations, will serve not only those already engaged in this field, but also reach a wider scientific community in order to stimulate the potential use of the upcoming International Space Station as an extension to research on Earth.
Web page addresses for the participating agencies are:
http://life1tksc.nasda.go.jp/life.html
www.dlr.de/FuW
www.science.sp-agency.ca
http://lifesci.arc.nasa.gov/islswg/home /nasalinks.html
http://www.estec.esa.int/spaceflight/index.html
http://www.cnes.fr
FOOTNOTES
The ISLSWG includes space agency representatives from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA).
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