NASA Concurs with Independent Review of Bion 11 Mission
NASA Headquarters, April 22, 1997 RELEASE: 97-77
NASA is suspending its participation in primate research on
the Bion 12 mission, part of an international project to study the
physiological effects of low gravity and space radiation. NASA's
decision is based on the recommendations of an independent review
board requested by the Agency to look into the post-flight death
of a rhesus monkey following the successful flight and landing of
the Bion 11 satellite.
The panel found that there was an unexpected mortality risk
associated with anesthesia for surgical procedures (biopsy of bone
and muscle) on the day following return from space. NASA has
determined that this risk is unacceptable and is therefore
discontinuing its participation in the primate experiments on Bion 12.
The independent review was led by Dr. Ronald Merrell,
chairman, Department of Surgery, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
Dr. Merrell closely consulted with the Russian Bioethics
Commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which conducted the
Russian inquiry.
Based on the difficulty encountered with post-flight
anesthesia on the Bion 11 mission, the research protocols
originally developed for the Bion 12 mission cannot be conducted
without an unacceptable risk to the primates. NASA therefore
plans to:
- incorporate lessons learned from this mission into ongoing
scientific research, reviews and medical considerations for
space flight;
- in concert with the biomedical community, conduct research with
the appropriate models to investigate medical care in relation
to space physiology;
- work with the biomedical research community to develop new
technologies for collecting critical data needed to continue
this important research.
The Bion program is a cooperative space venture among the
U.S., Russian and French space agencies for conducting biomedical
research using Russian-owned rhesus monkeys. The 14-day Bion 11
mission, carrying two rhesus monkeys as well as other life science
and microgravity experiments, began on Dec. 24, 1996, with its
launch from Russia's Plesetsk launch site. The flight was
successfully completed when the spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan on
Jan. 7, 1997.
Experiments flown on the Bion missions encompass a broad
range of important investigations that expand our understanding of
a variety of fundamental and applied life sciences questions.
In space, as on the ground, biomedical research on animals
plays a vital role in expanding NASA's capacity to understand and
treat medical problems. NASA is deeply concerned with the welfare
of its animals and is fully committed to conducting its animal
research programs in conformance with the highest ethical
standards. The Bion experiments were thoroughly reviewed four
times by NASA and outside panels to ensure that they met ethical
standards, and that they pursued worthwhile and important
scientific objectives that could not be achieved without the use
of animals.
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