Conference 7.286::space

    It is not the first time a Monkey has had fun in Space, The American
    Monkey 'Ham' was taught to send morse code depending on which 
    color light was lit. Someone train Ham with out the knowledge of
    the ground crew to response to a certain combination of lights to
    send SOS. Not sure if this was a true story or if Ham did send
    SOS even if trained.
    
    but as for the Monkey on Bio_SAT, this could expland why the radio
    telemetry has been so spotty form Bio_SAT.  The only transmission
    that was  heard was over Europe on Acending passes .  None monitored
    on the East Coast of the USA.  I thought maybe they were using a
    store and dump system, collecting the data over the orbit and doing
    a whole orbit dump only when in radio range of the Mother Land.  Now
    with this news I will again monitor the down link (239.5 Mhz NBFM)
    to see if I can hear BIO-SAT.  Bio-Sat was launch on the 29 th of
    Sept with a nominal 14 day flight expected (13 Oct), it will be
    interesting to see if the Flight ends near the 13th or not.
    
                                                       
    I wonder if they know when the control of the space capsule when
    to the Monkies
    
    

    This morning's news claimed that the monkey had calmed down but
    had pulled away some wiring inside the capsule.
    
    gary

** RM and the Monkeys **

RM announced today that the Monkeys have not done that much damage,
in fact they claimed that only one monkey has managed to get his 
left hand free and rip off his nametag on his hat, and that there 
was no need to bring the space craft down early,  it was supposed 
to be a 14 day mission lets see when they bring it down.

it looks like Bio-Sat is not xmitting over the North USA, only
reports from the UK that it is xmitting on ascending orbits on 239.5 MHz
recent element set follows:

1987 083A
1 18380U          87274.28246079 0.00061367           92001-4 0    74
2 18380  62.8210 143.6201 0125309 112.4914 248.9824 15.91041244   288


    also
    RM news changes from the 1100 utc and the 1200 utc
    on  the 1100 utc they had the news about Bio_SAT and
    on  the 1200 utc they had the news about MIR and the Crew
     unloading progess unit and getting ready for a medical check up
    
    
    

    	What exactly is the *purpose* of this mission?  If it is only
    going to be 14 days (hardly a space endurance record any more),
    what can the Soviets be learning from monkeys that they haven't
    already got from the much longer human missions?
    
    	Larry
    

    What is the reason for orbiting a monkey?

    
    	I believe the reason for the 14 day mission is that by strapping
    them into their seats (i.e. no daily exercise like the human astronauts
    get), they can accelerate the effects of long-duration flight. It
    would be curious to see what their formula is: how many days of
    flight with exercise = 1 day of being strapped into the seat?
    

    	They probably got their answer - being strapped to your seat
    for two weeks drives you crazy and you start ripping things apart!
    I wonder how many years in the salt mines Comrade Chimp is going
    to get for ruining the mission?  :^)
    
    	Seriously, they have already determined with human cosmonauts
    that failure to exercise even *one* day will weaken the human muscular
    system to dangerous levels of low functioning, so I still wonder
    about the purpose of this mission.
    
    	Larry
                                      

    Why , is a good question, I have been wondering the same, but I
    think the answear may be a political one.  This is a joint project by 12
    countries or at least Radio Moscow says that 12 counties will
    have access to the data.                    
    
    Interesting point about accelerating the time factor by not
    exercising. Maybe it has something to do with the article carried
    in AW about a descrepency in the way the CCCP monitor medical
    problems in space, there seem to be some dought as to how valid
    it is.  Maybe this was to be a test of several different methods
    and to compair them.
    
    I have been wondering about Yuri R. he has been up in MIR for
    over 9 working months, and he is getting tired  else seems ok
    so they cut his work day to 5 1/2 hour, I am not sure if that
    include his exercise program which I think is over 2 hours per
    day. But How can you relate the Monkeys 14 days to Yuri 9 months, 
    This is approaching a 20:1 ratio.
    
    A much more interesting experiment would be 2nd and 3rd
    genreration monkeys who have never been a flat-lander. 
    
    I guess they had no back up system  to the recovery of the Monkeys, 
    else they could have put the Monkey to sleep.
    
    john                                        
    
    lets hope the Monkeys dont make a record while in space :>)
                                       

Just heard on the radio (BBC World Service).  The flight will run its
full planned duration.

jb

    One item no one seems to notice or comment on. When has any nation
    sent a HUMAN into orbit with physiological sensors BURIED in the
    BRAIN? This is just SUPPOSITION; but have you noticed that the
    so-called "CAP" on the monkey has a large electrical cable coming
    out of it? Also on the news media it was mentioned that the monkey
    tried to rip his "CAP" but was unsuccessful! Since there doesn't
    appear to be any kind of restraining strap on the "CAP", ergo, it
    is "glued" on or "pinned" on, or both, maybe? My guess is that
    phsicological information such brain wave activity; electrical
    stimulation of nerve centers for various reasons, while under zero
    gravity might be the reason for all this.
    
    This is reaching far out, but I'm a far out guy.

    Note that despite all the humans that have stayed in space for a
    particular period of time, there is one thing you can't do with
    them:  Dissect them when they come back.
    
    Burns

    the Russian did have the three man soyuz mission come back with
    the  cosmonauts died, most likly they were Dissected
    
    As for the Monkeys , Sunday Radio Moscow said the experiment would
    end on Monday (today ) as planed and that one of the Monkeys with
    a name that sounded like ' E Raw Ch ' had freed his left paw from
    a restaining cup and rip off his name tag from his hat.  The other
    experiments were not at risk they went on to say.
    
    An interesting article not related to the Monkeys , was about a
    new lazer Telescope that uses Green Light, it is now operational
    in Rega and can be used to measure satellite from football size
    up to orbits 7000 km away.
    
    If you are in Regia on a clear night would will be able to see it
    
    john
    

>    the Russian did have the three man soyuz mission come back with
>    the  cosmonauts died, most likly they were Dissected
    
  Um, we don't dissect people.  We perform autopsies on them.

John

Well, the satellite has landed but something went wrong.

It came down in a town in Eastern Siberia, over 1000 miles away from the
intended landing site.

There's no news (yet) on what has become of the occupants of the craft.

jb

    	Did the monkey take manual control of the capsule and guide
    it in?  :-)

    	The monkey who did all the uniform-ripping is named - appropriately
    enough - Troublemaker!
    
    	The Soviets haven't lost all their old behavior yet to Glasnost;
    they refused to give *any* information on the capsule landing last
    night.
                          
    	Larry
    

    YEROSHA took his fellow Monkey YURI to a crash landing in a heavly
    wooded lot near the city of Mirny in the Siberian region of Yakutia.
    As mention before YEROSHA name means "trouble maker" in Russian.
    
    RM did not say who (local or landing  crew) found the capsule and
    covered it with blankets to keep it warm as a deep freeze had alreaday
    set into that area.  Later Helocopter  came to  rescue the capsule, all
    survived  the trip (Monkeys, rats, insects, amphibians and fish)
    
    Soviet Scientist have said that YEROSHA who has gained fame in his
    13 days in space would not be killed in  order to dissect and analyze
    the effects of weightlessness and other factors on the animal's
    organs.
    
 (*: Maybe YEROSHA knew he was going to Siberia and tried
    to save them the trip or maybe he was just tring to go West... :*)
                                                                      
    YEROSHA got his left paw free on the 5th day and apparently started
    fiddling with buttons onthe control panel, according to Soviet
    Accounts.  The Soviet scientists reportedly put another monkey in
    a replica spacecraft and let left his left paw free to see what
    potential damage he could do....
    
{*:    There is no truth to the rumor that the monkey picked up the
    micophone and said, "this is your captain speaking , if
    you look out your right window you  will see Moscow going by .... :*}                                           
    

      The monkey was actually Mathias Rust disguised in a Monkey Suit.
      That's why it came down in Siberia.
    
                                   Bob Walsh

                   AEROSPACE INDUSTRY WEEKLY NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
  
                        For the Week of October 5, 1987
 
                                 Sponsored by

                         Aerospace Industry Marketing

                           Information  Provided By
 
                             CSP Associates, Inc.
                             Cambridge, MA  02140
  
                         SOVIETS LAUNCH BIOSATELLITE

    DMS announced the September 29 launch of COSMOS 1887, a biosatellite
    carrying research equipment to study the effects of space flight on
    monkeys and other biological objects as well as radiation and physics
    research equipment.  One of the monkeys on the flight freed an arm and
    reportedly went "ape" exploring everything within reach, but the animal
    is in a sealed capsule and apparently won't be able to harm the other
    animals and insects on board. [This was written before the capsule 
    was returned to Earth safely. - LK]
 
    SOVIETS BEGIN SHUTTLE FLIGHT TESTS
    The Soviets are conducting a series of shuttle flight tests within the
    atmosphere in preparation for a launch to orbit next year.  Several
    more flights of the shuttle booster ENERGIA (such as sending a module
    to the MIR space station) will be necessary before it is used to launch
    a shuttle.
  
    EUROPEAN COMPANIES BLAST AMERICAN SPACE PROGRAM
    Representatives of several European companies have gone on record that
    they are tired of U.S. indecision and inaction in space and that
    because of it the U.S. is losing its leadership position to the
    Russians.  They accuse the U.S. of lacking direction and being
    unreliable partners and say they may be forced to take their space
    business to the Soviet Union.
  
    GM, GE CONTINUE TO FIGHT GOVERNMENT BAN ON SOVIET LAUNCHES
    General Motors and General Electric, both with subsidiaries which
    produce and market satellites, are continuing to lobby the government
    for permission to use Soviet space services.  Reagan is unyielding on
    his position that the use of Soviet boosters to launch satellites would
    pose security risks.  Industry officials maintain that they have the
    right to pursue the cheapest options available, especially since there
    are currently no American rockets available for commercial missions.
 

    
    WHY Bio-Sat     Here is one reason why
    
    Bio-sat tested out a new Centrifugal system.  
    
    One of the Goals for Bio-Sat was to test out a new device to help 
    combat weigh lost do to long term duration in micro-gravity.To do 
    this a Centrfug was use just before deorbiting to recondition the 
    space travlers from mirco-gravity to earth's gravity. The Soviets 
    announced that the weight lost was regained when the centrfugal 
    system was used.  No other info was given as to what animals, how
    long etc
    
            
    John
    
    

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!LL-VLSI.ARPA!glenn
Subject: Soyuz TM-5 flight docks to Mir
Posted: 10 Jun 88 20:03:03 GMT
 
    The Soviet's Soyuz TM-5 craft successfully docked with the
Mir/Kvant space station complex at 20:00 hours Moscow Daylight time
(12:00 noon EDT) today (June 9th).  This was a slight delay from the
initially announced docking time of 19:00 hours.  This of Anatoly
Solovyov, Viktor Savinykh and Alexander Alexandrov have now joined the
long duration Mir crew of Vladimir Titov and Musahi Manarov.  The
visitors have a scheduled 47 experiments to accomplish and will stay
on board Mir for about 8 day.  Note that the station cosmonauts have
now been in orbit for 171 days, more than twice the time of the
longest Skylab mission.  They are still expected to stay aloft for a
full year. 

    One correction, lift off time was stated in my June 7th message as
11:03 EDT but it should actually be 10:03 EDT.  Meanwhile the
Soyuz TM-6 is entering its final checkout at the Baikonour cosmodrome.
This will go up in August and will carry an Afghan guest cosmonaut. 

    I heard an interesting story concerning the Cosmos 1889
biosatellite that the soviets launched last September.  As you may
recall one of the monkeys in it worked its hand loose from the
restraining straps so that the Soviets had to bring the satellite
home several days early.  That resulted in the vehicle landing 2000 Km
off course.  The Soviet officials phoned up the mayor of the nearest
town and told him to send people to get the capsule into a safe warm
place, but not to open it.  He sent the Soviet eskimos off on snow
mobiles. When they found the lander they built an igloo around it, and
a fire within the igloo.  When the real recovery team arrived the
monkeys were conformably warm, instead of frozen to death as would
have happened otherwise.  Nice mixture of old craft and high tech in
that story (The Soviets told this to the people at Payload Systems
during their discussions about doing work on the Mir space station). 

     The flight schedule for the end of the year looks very strong for
the Soviets.  Let us work to get the Shuttle flying so that we do not
fall further behind. 
 
                                                    Glenn Chapman
                                                    MIT Lincoln Lab

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!unmvax!pprg.unm.edu!hc!ames!yee
Subject: Cosmos mission results and future U.S./USSR missions announced.
Posted: 16 Feb 89 22:08:12 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
Paula Cleggett
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                February 16, 1989
 
C. J. Fenrick
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.
  
RELEASE:  89-18
 
    COSMOS MISSION RESULTS AND FUTURE U.S./USSR MISSIONS ANNOUNCED
  
     The science results of the collaborative U.S./USSR biosatellite
mission from Cosmos 1887 have confirmed the adverse physiological and
biomedical effects of prolonged space flight. 
 
     The analyzed mammalian biospecimens suggest that adolescent
vertebrate animals will experience significant alterations in calcium
metabolism, immune functions and musculoskeletal mass and structure. 
 
     The Soviet Union launched Cosmos 1887 on Sept. 29, 1987, for a
12-plus-day mission.  Cosmos 1887 was the sixth in a series of
unmanned Soviet satellites that flew U.S. and USSR life sciences
experiments.  This cooperative activity is being carried out under the
l987 U.S./USSR agreement concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and
Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes. 
 
     The U.S. experiments on Cosmos 1887 investigated the effects of
space flight on the major body systems, including skeletal bones and
muscles, nervous system, heart, liver and several glands and blood. 
Special tissue culture studies, using pituitary cells, studied the
growth hormone.  Spleen and bone marrow cells were used to investigate
the effects of microgravity on the immune system.  The U.S. also had a
radiation measurement experiment on the spacecraft. 
 
     The Soviet experiments were developed and managed by the Institute 
for Biomedical Problems, Moscow.  The USSR provided the U.S. tissue samples 
from 5 of 10 rats that were flown aboard the spacecraft. 
 
     The majority of the scientific specimens were returned to the U.S. 
in late October 1987 and distributed to the scientific teams around the 
country.  The remainder of the biosamples arrived at NASA's Ames Research 
Center, Mountian View, Calif., for analysis in early November. 
 
     The science results of Cosmos 1887 bone studies indicated
structural changes occurred without significant changes in the mineral
content.  For example, the bending strength of the rat humerus bone
was decreased by 40 percent and the compression strength of the lumbar
vertebra was decreased by 27 percent. 
 
     Muscle studies on the rats showed that, while individual muscle
weights were similar for both flight and ground control animal groups,
the fast muscle types showed significant decrease in cross-sectional
area, atrophy and extracellular edema, while at the same time showing
increased necrotic fibers and motor end plate degradation.  Slow
muscle types showed little evidence of atrophy but some biochemical
changes.  The mitochondria in the heart muscle also showed
degeneration and fiber changes. 
 
     Observations on other body organs and physiological systems
confirmed what was learned on previous flight research experiments,
such as a decreased mass and spermatogenesis in the testes, decreased
growth hormone release by the anterior pituitary cells, increased
cholesterol, triglycerides and organ weight in the liver and a reduced
immune response suggested by several types of measures involving the
spleen, bone marrow and blood. 
 
     The U.S. Space Biology and Medicine Program has received many
benefits from scientific cooperation with the USSR, including the
opportunity to conduct experiments on the physiological effects of
12-plus-days of space flight on rats and rhesus monkeys.  This length
of the Cosmos missions is approximately twice the exposure time in
microgravity that is presently experienced in U.S. Spacelab flights on
the Shuttle. 
 
     While a comparable 8-day U.S. mission with rats is expected to
fly in mid-1990, a U.S. mission with rhesus monkeys is not expected
until late 1992 or 1993.  These early Cosmos flights serve as a
testbed for the development of U.S. scientific experiments, technology
and flight hardware.  In addition, both sides benefit from the sharing
of research data in all areas of space biology and medicine. 
 
     The U.S. has three opportunities to fly experiments with the
Soviets in the next few years.  The USSR has invited the U.S. to
participate on the USSR 1989 and 1991 biosatellite missions. 
 
     The science focus will be in biomedical research with the following 
payload specimens:  Rhesus monkeys, male wistar rats, fish, fish eggs, 
newts, drosophila, beetles, seeds, unicellular organism and planaria. 
 
     In reciprocal fashion, Soviet scientists have been invited to
participate in analysis of specimens from the U.S. Shuttle Spacelab
life sciences mission to be launched in June 1990. 

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: U.S.-U.S.S.R. life science investigations to be launched.
Date: 6 Sep 89 21:09:58 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
Paula Cleggett-Haleim
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.              September 6, 1989
 
Debbie Rahn
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
  
RELEASE:  89-138
 
    U.S.-U.S.S.R. LIFE SCIENCE INVESTIGATIONS TO BE LAUNCHED
 
     More than 85 NASA-sponsored researchers from 19 states and three
foreign countries are participating in 29 cooperative investigations
on a Cosmos biosatellite mission to be launched by the Soviet Union on
September 8, 1989. 
 
     The Cosmos biosatellite is an unpiloted recoverable spacecraft
that accommodates plant and animal experiments. Cooperative
investigations on the 14-day Cosmos '89 mission will address questions
related to the biomedical effects of prolonged space flight. 
Biological specimens on the mission include rhesus monkeys, rats,
fish, fish eggs, newts, drosophila, beetles, seeds, unicellular
organisms and planaria.  Investigations cover bone and muscle
alterations, circadian rhythms and thermoregulation, neurophysiology,
radiation biology and gravitational biology. 
 
     Nearly 3,000 biological samples from the Cosmos '89 mission's
flight and control groups of subjects will be returned to laboratories
across the United States for analysis.  Many of the cooperative
U.S.-Soviet investigations on this mission will expand upon
investigations flown on previous Cosmos missions. The last Soviet
biosatellite mission, Cosmos 1887, launched on September 29, 1987, was
a 13-day mission that involved 60 U.S. investigators in cooperative
experiments.  Results of these investigations were announced at a
science symposium in Moscow in late 1988.  Data were obtained on
radiation dosimetry; changes in rodent bone, muscle, and organs; and
bone tissue calcium loss in primates. 
 
     The Cosmos '89 mission is the seventh Soviet biosatellite mission
in which NASA has participated.  The U.S.S.R. also has invited the
United States to participate in cooperative investigations on a 1992
Cosmos mission.  A NASA Research Announcement released in June 1988
solicited proposals for participation in the 1989 and 1992 Cosmos missions. 
 
     NASA's space medicine and biology program has benefited from
scientific cooperation with the U.S.S.R. on Cosmos missions through
the opportunity to conduct experiments with animal subjects on the
effects of long-duration flights. 
 
     U.S. participation in Cosmos investigations is currently
coordinated by the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Joint Working Group on Space Biology
and Medicine, established under the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Space Science
Cooperation Agreement signed in April 1987. 
 
                        COSMOS FACT SHEET
                         September 1989
  
     NASA has a long history of cooperation with the U.S.S.R. in space
biology and medicine, dating from the signing of a  U.S.- U.S.S.R.
Space Science Cooperation Agreement in 1972.  Under this agreement, a
Joint Working Group on Space Biology and Medicine was established by
the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences and NASA. 
 
     At the fifth meeting of this Joint Working Group meeting on
November 4, 1974, held in Tashkent, U.S.S.R., Soviet officials invited
U.S. scientists to cooperate in life sciences experiments to be flown
on a U.S.S.R. Cosmos biosatellite, an unpiloted spacecraft that
accommodates plant and animal experiments.  This invitation led to
U.S. participation in five Cosmos biosatellite missions - Cosmos 782,
936, 1129, 1514, and 1667 - during the period 1975-1985. 
 
     A new Space Science Cooperation Agreement was signed in April
1987 by U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign
Minister Eduard Shevardnadze.  The first meeting of the new
U.S.-U.S.S.R. Joint Working Group on Space Biology and Medicine
established under the 1987 Iagreement was held in the U.S.S.R. in
August 1987.  The Joint Working Group met again in Washington, D.C.,
in September 1988, and a third meeting is scheduled for December 1989
in the U.S.S.R. 
 
     Sixty U.S. investigators participated in 26 life sciences
experiments on the Cosmos 1887 mission launched September 29, 1987. 
In addition to participating in life sciences investigations on Cosmos
1887, U.S. investigators placed eight radiation detector packages
inside and outside the biosatellite to measure radiation dosages in
space.  Results of the Cosmos 1887 investigations were announced at a
science symposium in the U.S.S.R. in late 1988. 
 
     More than 70 NASA-sponsored researchers from 19 states and three
foreign countries are participating in 31 cooperative investigations
on a Cosmos biosatellite mission to be launched by the Soviet Union on
September 8, 1989.  The U.S.S.R. has invited U.S. scientists to
participate in cooperative life sciences experiments on a Cosmos
mission to be launched in 1991. 

From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: NASA Headline News for 10/04/89 (Forwarded)
Date: 9 Oct 89 05:17:18 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
                          NASA Headline News 
Wednesday, October 4, 1989                    Audio: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 
    This is NASA Headline News for Wednesday, October 4:
 
    Two female monkeys have checked out fine after completion of their
14-day flight aboard the Soviet biosatellite that returned to Earth
last Friday.  Other occupants of the so-called "living corner" of
Cosmos 2044 included rats, fish, insects and plants. Over 80
experiments were aboard the satellite.  The United States, France,
Canada and the European Space Agency participated in the mission. 
--------------------------------------------------------------
These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon, 
Eastern time.   
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A service of the Internal Communications Branch (LPC), NASA 
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

Date: 25 Sep 90 22:38:24 GMT
From: [email protected]  (Peter Yee)
Subject: U.S. and U.S.S.R. continue space biology and medicine cooperation 
         (Forwarded)
 
Debra J. Rahn
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                 September 25, 1990
(Phone:  202/453-8455)
 
Paula Cleggett-Haleim
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone:  202/453-1549)
  
    RELEASE:  90-130
 
    U.S. AND U.S.S.R. CONTINUE SPACE BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE COOPERATION
  
     American and Soviet scientists made significant progress in
standardizing methods and procedures used in ground and flight
experiments at the fourth meeting of the U.S.-U.S.S.R Joint Working
Group (JWG) on Space Biology and Medicine, held in San Mateo, Calif.,
Sept. 17-22. 
 
     Both countries exchanged biomedical data resulting from prior
year, space missions.  In addition, specialists of both countries
began to analyze data obtained from short- and long- duration missions
dealing with bone, muscle and cardiovascular physiology.  Some of
these data were collected by Soviets using equipment provided by NASA.
 
     Results of the recent Soviet Biosatellite missions also were
discussed and plans were made for joint publication.  Both countries
agreed to expand cooperation in areas of immunology and hematology. 
These experiments will be conducted jointly on the ground, on the Mir,
on the Space Shuttle during Spacelab Life Sciences missions and on
Soviet Cosmos flights in 1992. 
 
     Discussions were initiated on standardizing the format and inputs
to the data base on physiological changes associated with spaceflight.
 
     In telemedicine, the JWG agreed to investigate implementing an
18-month demonstration project linking U.S. and Soviet medical
facilities to study possible applications of telemedicine to space
medical emergencies and disaster-stricken or remote areas on Earth. 
 
     The U.S. has participated in the Soviet Cosmos Biosatellite
program since 1975 and will continue to fly experiments on the next
mission in 1992.  The U.S. will reciprocate for these flight
opportunities by flying Soviet experiments on Spacelab Life
Sciences-1, -2, and -3 and a Shuttle middeck flight in 1993. Both
countries will exchange tissue samples from different experiments
flown in space. 
 
     The JWG's exobiology cooperation continues to focus on the 
study of life on Mars, planetary protection procedures, and various
activities pertaining to remote observations important to exobiology. 
In the area of life support, the JWG agreed to begin discussions on
standardizing requirements for spacecraft environmental parameters on
manned missions and to conduct precursor inflight experiments as
biologically based life support systems. 
 
     During the upcoming year, the JWG will work on the second edition
of Foundations of Space Biology and Medicine, scheduled to be
published in 1992. 
 
     The U.S. delegation was headed by Samuel W. Keller, NASA
Associate Deputy Administrator, and Dr. Arnauld Nicogossian, Director
of Life Sciences.  The Soviet delegation was headed by Eugene B.
Shulzhenko, of the Ministry of Health, and Anatolyi I. Grigoriev,
Director of the Institute of Biomedical Problems. 
 
     The next meeting of the JWG is scheduled for the second half of
1991 in the U.S.S.R.  The JWG was established by the U.S.- U.S.S.R.
Civil Space Agreement signed in April 1987. 
 

Article: 55331
Date: Wednesday, 20 Jan 1993 18:38:08 CET
From: Hermann Schneider <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: ESA press release
 
     Press Release No. 03-93
     Paris, 19 January 1993
 
     The Euro/Russian BION 10 mission completed
 
          On 10 January 1993, at 04.16 UT, eight experiments jointly
     developed by scientists in five ESA member states, Russia and
     Ukraine, landed in a forest near the city of Karaganda
     (Kazakhstan), after a space journey of eleven and a half days.
     The experiments, covering research areas in biology, medicine
     and cosmic radiation, were carried by the retrievable "Bion-10"
     satellite, which had been launched from Plesetsk in Northern
     Russia on 29 December 1992. Due to thermal control problems the
     satellite had to be landed two days earlier than planned. On the
     whole the payload does not seem to have been adversely affected
     by these problems.
 
          The flight of these experiments was the result of a
     cooperation agreement between the European Space Agency (ESA)
     and the Institute of Bio-Medical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow.
 
          A major part of the payload on "Bion-10" was ESA's
     "Biobox" facility, a fully automatic and programmable incubator
     for research in gravitational biology, which housed three of the
     eight experiments jointly prepared by ESA and IBMP. The
     experiments in "Biobox", dealing with studies in bone tissue and
     cells under conditions of microgravity, were successfully executed
     during the first nine days of the mission. The first analyses
     carried out on some of the samples immediately after their retrieval
     from Space indicate a reduced mineralization in microgravity,
     confirming earlier flight results.
 
          Three joint experiments were also flown to study the effects
     of microgravity on the development and ageing of fruit flies, and
     on the cell structure development of unicellular algae. The fruit
     fly experiments produced a wealth of high quality data. The algae
     experiment, which, for scientific reasons had to be executed
     during the final days of the originally planned thirteen and a half
     days spaceflight, was unfortunately truncated because of the
     early return of the spacecraft, and will yield only partial results.
 
          The remaining two experiments, parts of which were
     directly exposed to the space environment, investigated the
     effects of cosmic radiation on plants and plant seeds, and
     performed dosimetric studies of the radiation in the "Bion-10"
     orbit. The results of these experiments will not be known until a
     few months after their retrieval.
 
          As was the case on the four previous "Bion" missions
     carried out since 1983, the payload provided by IBMP consisted of
     two Rhesus monkeys, which were subjected to numerous
     physiological, neurological, behaviourial and other investigations
     during their stay in Space. According to the first post-flight
     reports, both animals were in a reasonably good shape after their
     mission, though one of them had experienced problems with the
     food supply system after some days in orbit.
 
          Pre-launch and post-landing work on most of the
     experiments, as well as all engineering activities on "Biobox",
     were done in MOSLAB, the ESA facility built on the IBMP premises
     in Moscow.