NewMissions

The morphing of the space station8217;s role has not been without controversy. Some scientists fret that critical research in medicine and on atmospheric change is being de-emphasised in favour of splashy projects that will have little earthly benefit. Much of US research is focused on the rigours of living long term in zero gravity and with constant bombardment from solar radiation8212;among the greatest hazards faced by crews travelling in deeper space.

8216;8216;As it was originally planned, the space station would be a facility for all users,8217;8217; said Donald Thomas, NASA8217;s space station programme scientist. 8216;8216;Any scientist with an interesting experiment to do8212;combustion and fluid scientists, plant and cell scientists, crystal growers8212;they could all come to NASA, and we would try to accommodate them. But our cutbacks and refocusing have changed that.8217;8217; So instead of learning how a particular gas or cell behaves in space, NASA8217;s scientific effort is directed toward such problems as how to keep kidney stones from developing in astronauts and how to use long-distance ultrasound technology to diagnose stones if they develop.

Avoiding bone and muscle loss is also a high priority, as are learning why immune systems of astronauts tend to deteriorate and how to stop that. This refocusing does not mean basic science on the space station has ended or planning for more elaborate and dramatic research is over. Rather, NASA8217;s partners in the space station8212;most notably Japan, 11 European nations and Canada8212;will do substantial research of their own.

By the end of next year, the Japanese-developed science module Kibo and the European-built Columbus module are scheduled to be in place at the station, and both will be filled with basic research experiments. 8216;8216;They8217;ve gone ahead with their programmes pretty much unchanged, so they8217;ll be doing what we initially planned to do,8217;8217; Thomas said. The Japanese programme will focus on collecting information about trace chemicals in the atmosphere that might be associated with ozone depletion or global warming, and on the effects of weightlessness on a broad range of living things. It will also send up the world8217;s largest wide-angle X-ray camera for use in examining very deep space.

The Columbus module, developed and manufactured by the European Space Agency, will also focus on basic biological and earth sciences research8212;with experiments such as assessing the ability of bacteria to survive on an artificial meteorite and looking at volcanic activity far below Earth8217;s surface. Because US space shuttles will carry much of the big equipment to the station, American researchers in return get room on the research modules and some access to the experiments of other nations.

But to many scientists in this country, the shift in emphasis from research to furthering space travel is misguided. 2005 report from the National Academy of Sciences reflected that concern, with the panel worried that US objectives 8216;8216;no longer include the fundamental biological and physical research that had been a major focus of space station planning since its inception. In addition to increasing fundamental scientific understanding, much of that research was intended to have eventual terrestrial applications in medicine and industry.8217;8217; Without greater support, the panel concluded, the scientists who came together to work on space station experiments will soon be lost. Even if US science policy had not changed, however, it would be difficult to maintain an active research programme on the station. It has housed only two or three crew members since the demise of the shuttle Columbia in 2003, and experts say it takes two people just to keep the space station operative.

One of the astronauts on Discovery, Thomas Reiter of Germany, will remain at the station in the hope that a three-person crew can do more scientific work. Despite the cutbacks and disappointments, NASA8217;s Thomas said more than 100 journal articles have been published based on space station data. He said researchers have made important discoveries by growing protein crystals in space that could not be grown on Earth8212;research that could lead to new drugs. Research into the nature of vibrations only possible in space, he said, could have implications for better understanding of earthquakes and protecting buildings.

He also said he was excited by the presence of bowling-ball-size satellites at the space station8212;battery- and gas-powered units that astronauts are learning to control and perhaps will someday use on missions. Thomas said that a second mini-satellite was ferried up by Discovery and that crew members will work on synchronizing its movement in tandem with the other. A third satellite is expected up soon. Thomas said that the satellites are largely sponsored by the Defense Department, but that NASA has some use of them and is excited about the possibilities. If the three can be controlled, he said, they could be the prototype for a free-flying space telescope. 8216;8216;To be able to test them in the space station, where there8217;s zero gravity but where they can8217;t fly away, is an enormous plus,8217;8217; he said. 8212;Marc Kaufman