Biological and Medical Research in Space: An Overview of Life Sciences Research in Microgravity

Life Science studies in space were initially driven by the need to explore how man could survive spaceflight conditions; the effects of being launched un­ der high accelerations, exposed to weightlessness and radiation for different periods of time, and returned to Earth in safety. In order to substantiate the detailed knowledge of potentially adverse effects, many model experiments were launched using organisms which ranged from bacteria, plants, invertebrates, rodents and primates through...