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genuinegirly · 03-22-2011, 07:03 PM

ASU, unless it's somehow mandated by Congress, the USDA and NIH will never fund basic research in gravitational biology.

There are two big reasons for this:
1) they are focused on applied research
2) they too are facing budget cuts and will not take on a new area of research that they feel strongly belongs under the jurisdiction of NASA.

Here's an interesting fact... in 2004 there were 3,000 university students involved in fundamental microgravity research (physical sciences + life sciences) in the United States. Today in 2011, there are less than 200. Read that again... three thousand has been widdled down to TWO HUNDRED. This huge cut in the number of students involved with fundamental research projects means that there are significantly fewer people coming out of universities with this kind of hands-on experience in research labs, expertise which are in high demand by general industry, but also now especially by commercial spaceflight.

This is how the funding was cut so drastically: the money was funneled from fundamental research into the rocket development for the Constellation project, and has yet to be allocated back to basic research. Over the past few years, Congress has mandated 15% of the ISS research budget to go toward non-exploration research, with the original intent to allocate approximately $200million to fundamental life & physical science research. In response to this brilliant move by Congress, NASA sliced the overall ISS research budget to a tiny fraction of its former size, then began classifying random non-Sovient payloads into the same money pool which have absolutely nothing to do with basic research. The result was a widdling down of that $200 million down to a mere $35 million, barely enough to keep a handful of the most prominent university space research labs limping along with an ever-decreasing shadow of staff.

Students are suffering the most. Those that were stung by the Space bug early in their education are finding it nearly impossible to locate undergraduate and graduate opportunities in space research labs. The precious, motivated few that do find their way into the few remaining labs end up frustrated and/or broke as they realize the overwhelming necessity of working with European collaborators (who have triple the funding for ISS space life and physical science basic research).

Students are getting the shaft, and the knowledge base of the older experts are not being passed down. Scientists are leaving the field, seeking alternate projects that have nothing to do with space life and physical sciences, just so they can keep their labs running - and they often don't have space for undergraduate and graduate student researchers in such a transition.

We have an International Space Station, funded mainly by US tax dollars, that is designed for basic life science research to answer the pressing questions necessary to further NASA's mission directorate... and now the US is providing essentially no funding for that research. We have industry interests and non-peer-reviewed-pseudoscience taking up valuable research space on the ISS which have nothing to do with the original intention of the Station. The European Space Agency is providing 100x the funding in this area for European research teams, and therefore they are making many of the scientific breakthroughs that grab media attention, rather than US scientists.

What do we have to show for cutting almost all the funding that once went to space life and physical science research? We have a halfway-conceived Constellation project that was supposed to be a gateway to long-duration spaceflight, which neglects crucial bioregenerative life support systems. Yeah, that was a stupid move.

03-22-2011, 07:03 PM	#20 (permalink)
genuinegirly Eat your vegetables Super Moderator Location: Arabidopsis-ville	ASU, unless it's somehow mandated by Congress, the USDA and NIH will never fund basic research in gravitational biology. There are two big reasons for this: 1) they are focused on applied research 2) they too are facing budget cuts and will not take on a new area of research that they feel strongly belongs under the jurisdiction of NASA. Here's an interesting fact... in 2004 there were 3,000 university students involved in fundamental microgravity research (physical sciences + life sciences) in the United States. Today in 2011, there are less than 200. Read that again... three thousand has been widdled down to TWO HUNDRED. This huge cut in the number of students involved with fundamental research projects means that there are significantly fewer people coming out of universities with this kind of hands-on experience in research labs, expertise which are in high demand by general industry, but also now especially by commercial spaceflight. This is how the funding was cut so drastically: the money was funneled from fundamental research into the rocket development for the Constellation project, and has yet to be allocated back to basic research. Over the past few years, Congress has mandated 15% of the ISS research budget to go toward non-exploration research, with the original intent to allocate approximately $200million to fundamental life & physical science research. In response to this brilliant move by Congress, NASA sliced the overall ISS research budget to a tiny fraction of its former size, then began classifying random non-Sovient payloads into the same money pool which have absolutely nothing to do with basic research. The result was a widdling down of that $200 million down to a mere $35 million, barely enough to keep a handful of the most prominent university space research labs limping along with an ever-decreasing shadow of staff. Students are suffering the most. Those that were stung by the Space bug early in their education are finding it nearly impossible to locate undergraduate and graduate opportunities in space research labs. The precious, motivated few that do find their way into the few remaining labs end up frustrated and/or broke as they realize the overwhelming necessity of working with European collaborators (who have triple the funding for ISS space life and physical science basic research). Students are getting the shaft, and the knowledge base of the older experts are not being passed down. Scientists are leaving the field, seeking alternate projects that have nothing to do with space life and physical sciences, just so they can keep their labs running - and they often don't have space for undergraduate and graduate student researchers in such a transition. We have an International Space Station, funded mainly by US tax dollars, that is designed for basic life science research to answer the pressing questions necessary to further NASA's mission directorate... and now the US is providing essentially no funding for that research. We have industry interests and non-peer-reviewed-pseudoscience taking up valuable research space on the ISS which have nothing to do with the original intention of the Station. The European Space Agency is providing 100x the funding in this area for European research teams, and therefore they are making many of the scientific breakthroughs that grab media attention, rather than US scientists. What do we have to show for cutting almost all the funding that once went to space life and physical science research? We have a halfway-conceived Constellation project that was supposed to be a gateway to long-duration spaceflight, which neglects crucial bioregenerative life support systems. Yeah, that was a stupid move. __________________ "Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq "violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy