CASIS & ISS National Lab: Still Ignoring Their Own Stuff
Space: The New Frontier For Medical Breakthroughs, US News & World Report
“Deadly bacteria that have spent time in space are already on Earth–but instead of killing humans, they might just save lives. Scientists are using bacteria cultivated on the International Space Station to help develop vaccines that experts say could revolutionize the medical field.”
Keith’s note: Wow. Actual benefits to people back on Earth from research done in space on the ISS. Deputy Administrator Garver tweeted a link as did the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. Neither @ISSCASIS or @ISS_NatLab could be bothered to do so. Alas, neither CASIS or the ISS National Laboratory are mentioned in this article. CASIS and the ISS National Laboratory ignore lots of things like this – including this regular NASA summary (not posted online) of space biology and medicine research done on the ISS. The CASIS and ISS National Lab folks are having their big meeting in Denver right now. I wonder if they are talking about how to make the ISS more relevant to the people who pay for it?
Keith’s update: Oh yes: CASIS just released “CASIS Announces First Solicitation for Proposals: Advancing Protein Crystallization in Microgravity“. No mention by @ISS_NatLab or at the ISS National Laboratory website. No one bothers to work with anyone, it would seem. [Update: a link was added later in the day – well after the release went out.]
Anyone who is anybody in the ISS utilization game is in Denver for days now. You know how that goes Keith, it’s a giant presentation, networking, and dinner party and there is little urge for anyone to transmit to outside of the party, to the nation, or into the press other than some tweeties. After everyone flies home some news will get written and a few articles will roll out next week on NASA and CASIS websites; typical conference mode. Stop with the delusional stuff about ISS relevancy to the payers. It’s about the leading edge science and the interests of those flying and using the ISS. It’s not about you, its about them, their work and their interests.
http://www.aviationweek.com…
Interesting article. Basically says that they never quite got around to planning utilization in the first 28 years, but that now its a priority. Unfortunately its a priority which cannot be implemented unless and until there is regular up and down logistics.
Maybe that day is coming.
The US News & World Report story about medical breakthroughs using the ISS shows that the ISS is (at least recently) finally being used in the best manner possible. Put aside the issues about CASIS and publicity for a moment; if this “vaccine from space” research exercise pans out the way that some of the players are predicting, then that by itself, in my opinion, will justify every dollar ever spent on the ISS, and will be an irrefutable argument for continuing its operation for many years to come. This is research and its results that, quite simply, couldn’t have been accomplished any other way.
If you consider the long list of diseases/medical conditions that different experts have alleged might be more treatable/curable by virtue of this research, then suddenly it affects a great many people in the world, and space stops being just an expensive hobby for the elite few. This is one of the major reasons for having a civil space program; we’ve finally arrived at a situation that we first recognized as extremely desirable and beneficial many decades ago. I hope we have the wisdom to run with it and expand it, to everyone’s benefit, instead of cutting it back or throwing it away like we have so many other opportunities in the past. I don’t have the words to describe how important I think this is to the human race.
Steve
It sounds like the medical breakthrough was not a planned experiment; perhaps it was a serendipitous discovery; maybe they were looking at food that was returned after expiration? The program scientist seems to be making the case that until there is regular and frequent up and down logistics they really cannot plan for most science experiments.
Did anyone read the CASIS RFP on Advancing Protein Crystallization by Using Microgravity? Particularly the sections on “Research Objectives”, “Required Deliverables” and “Economic Impact of Project Success”?
If you have, is it clear who owns what when the research is completed? Is it clear to you that the federal grant money only requires the delivery of periodic written reports?
Is the CASIS RFP indicative of the RFP’s that will be put out for ISS utilization? If so, then the end result of $100 billion dollars worth of Station and laboratories and $75 million dollars of CASIS funding will be a pile of science reports, is that correct? There is no requirement to create anything. The deliverables only require reports.