CU researchers help to reach the final frontier
A planned expedition to the International Space Station will provide valuable information in keeping astronauts healthy and help doctors on earth more effectively combat infections, thanks to the continued work of BioServe researchers at CU.
According to NASA’s Web site, the May 31 mission will deliver the Pressurized Module and robotic arm of the Japanese Experiment Module. Accompanying the astronauts is a vaccine containing Salmonella enterica bacteria that will be used in space flight to combat infections that could be encountered in microgravity.
Stefanie Countryman, business development manager for BioServe, said the payload is one of many that have been provided to NASA in the past 17 years, during which time the group contributed to around 29 space missions.
“Space gives a good clean model for bone and muscle loss without the complications of disease,” Countryman said. “This research could allow astronauts to stay in space for extended periods.”
The most recent payload arrived on Earth March 27 on the Shuttle Endeavor and was intended to research microbial disease and their resistances, as well as observing how well they developed in space.
BioServe is currently undertaking many different research projects. The areas of focus range from creating wireless health monitoring systems for astronauts to trying to deal with issues like bone loss and muscle deterioration, important innovations Countryman said would allow astronauts to travel further into space.
Without the threat of muscle and bone loss, Countryman said astronauts would be able to spend less time keeping themselves conditioned and have more time to do work or rest. Countryman said eventually the group’s research on muscle and bone loss could be used to help deal with similar issues on earth.
Andrea Hanson, a CU graduate student who has been working with BioServe since 2004 to address the issue of bone and muscle loss in space, is also making major contributions to the group’s work.
Hanson just returned from Washington D.C. where she was lobbying for support for the type of research that BioServe conducts.
Hanson said the experiences and opportunities she has had with BioServe were invaluable.
“It’s been an amazing experience,” Hanson said.
Dr. Kevin Gifford is a BioServe researcher currently working on BioNet, a software framework he said he hopes will provide astronauts with an all-encompassing software framework.
Gifford said the goal of his research would be to integrate different networks and equipment used for space exploration into a single interface for astronauts to use, reducing costs and enabling inter-operability.
“BioNet enables all devices and digital networks to talk to each other,” Gifford said.
In addition to their research, BioServe has also been working with Orion’s Quest in providing educators the tools to give students hands-on learning experiences.
“Kids have classroom-based experiments that mirror experiments done in space,” Countryman said. “They love it.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Stephen Oskay at Stephen.oskay@colorado.edu.
