ELMS provides key legislators an overview of NASA's life sciences programs and the impacts of anticipated NASA budget reductions
The ELMS Coalition discussed the contributions and value of NASA's life sciences research program with House and Senate members and their staffs. ELMS advocated that the Congress request NASA to avoid cancellation of science until Congress was fully briefed on the proposed cuts to life sciences and program content. Following these discussions, The House authorization bill (H.R. 3070) and Senate authorization bill (S.1281) contained the following revised language regarding NASA's life sciences program:
- ISS research will not soley be used as a testbed for exploration.
- Fulfill ISS partner agreements and provide a diverse range of research capacity, including a high rate of human biomedical research protocols, countermeasures, and applied bio-technologies.
- Restore and protect such potential ISS research activities such as animal research, cellular biotechnology, and cellular research.
- Consider the need for a life sciences centrifuge on ISS.
- Identify at least $100M to be used for this research in FY06 (S1281).
Joint advocacy letters sent to NASA Administrator by ELMS and international science community
On September 6, 2005, ELMS and the the Japanese Society for Biological Sciences in Space (JSBSS) and the Japan Society of Aerospace and Environmental Medicine (JSASEM) sent a joint letter to NASA Administrator, Dr. Michael Griffin expressing a concern about the potential cancellation of biological research and supporting equipment for the International Space Station (ISS). The letter requested Dr. Griffin to restore a core capability to sustain life sciences research both on the ground and in space. Read the letter
A similar letter was sent on October 19, 2005 by ELMS, the European Low-Gravity Research Association (ELGRA), European Space Science Committee Office (ESF-ESSC), and European Space Agency (ESA) Life Sciences Working Group. Download the letter
