As I mentioned yesterday in my post about Breakfast with Instapundit, we verified that there was never a follow-up to the Frog Embryology Experiment (FEE) on Spacelab J/STS-47. I talked about that experiment, and it’s implications, in my Sex In Space post a while back. For those interested in the mission, there is a link to download a PDF of the mission brochure here.
I will also note that while many missions did 90-Day and 1-Year science reports, I can’t find any record of such for Spacelab J. In researching the Frog Embryology Experiment I found a potential reason for now follow-up experimentation in that the lead investigator (PI), Kenneth A. Souza, tragically passed away unexpectedly while still quite young. However, I was able to get in contact with one of his co-investigators, Steven D. Black, who was kind enough to share a copy of a paper done on the experiment and some general observations with me.
I’ve read the paper (PNAS, Vol. 92, March 1995, pp 1975-1978), and confirmed that my memory of “funky” tadpoles in orbit was partially correct. To quote from the abstract: “Eggs were fertilized in vitro, and although early embryonic stages showed some abnormalities, the embryos were able to regulate and produce nearly normal larvae.” As I noted in the previous post, they did grow into normal frogs that could reproduce normally once back on Earth. There were also some differences in lung size between the microgravity and 1G tadpoles/frogs, but this did resolve as well over time with exposure to a 1G environment. But, what happens if there is no rapid return to 1G?
However, the authors of the study (and paper) note that more experimentation in regards amphibians and other vertebrates. Sadly, this has not happened and I think it is time to do so. Especially given that within the next few years (if all goes well) we are likely to become a truly interplanetary species. The U.S., China, and others are looking at lunar bases. Elon has his eye on Mars (and beyond to the asteroids I suspect). I’m with Elon in respect to having such settlements as “lifeboats” if bad things happen on Earth. Given that we are in a major change of how things are done (see here if you didn’t read it the first tiime), and those who have been in power are not happy at seeing it end, not to mention politicians are fairly stupid overall, I think lifeboats are a great idea. Frankly, lots of them. I want The Island Worlds and I want them ASAP.
But, to truly have that and to deal with the fact that boys and girls are going to be boys and girls whether on Earth, Mars, the Moon, etc., we really need to be sure we understand embryology under those other circumstances. The original abnormalities seen in the FEE are a concern for me. Yes, they did appear to self-regulate and recover; but, do we really understand the “why” in either case? Do we know that this will hold true for other experiments or future generations? No, we don’t, and so we need to get such data rather quickly. Which means ISS is right out and we need to make full utilization of commercial space.
On the previous post, you my good and kind readers, helped flesh out the basic hardware and protocol. Let’s expand on that a bit, and see what we can come up with as a suggestion for those who can do something about this need.
First, the hardware will require a glovebox or similar concept for in vitro fertilization, and microgravity “living quarters” for both amphibian and mammalian subjects. It will also need four centrifuges that can contain “living quarters”/development chambers for both amphibian and mammalian subjects. The centrifuges should be divided as follows: 1G (control); 0.5G; 0.38G (Mars); and 0.16G (Luna). While it would be nice to have an additional centrifuge at 0.75G, it’s not essential and this beast is going to be enough of weight and space constraint as it is. Especially since some form of sonogram and/or other imaging is going to be needed to monitor the mammalian embryology and development. We need to be seeing what’s happening before birth.
Hopefully storage will be available outside of the experiment hardware for fixed or preserved samples; and some provision will be needed for returning live specimens to Earth on a regular basis. Otherwise, storage of preserved and live specimens needs to be incorporated in the hardware design. I will note that the Spacelab Frog Environmental Unit (FEU) could make a good start for helping with an updated design.
Frogs having been frequent fliers over the years, from sounding rocket experiments to the FEE on Spacelab, they make a good place to start. Lots of good data extant for comparison, known quantity in terms of resilience, handling, etc.
Where we have less knowledge (to the best of my knowledge) is mammalian development. While monkeys have flown in space, their size does not make them good subjects for such experimentation. Mice come to mind, but may not be optimal. We need rapid development and maturity, small size, and fairly resilient. Thoughts?
The basic protocols would be very similar to the FEE. Fertilize, grow, gather data, gather samples, and once mature start the next generation. For amphibian and mammalian I’d like to see this run out 10-15 generations. If a regular return service is available, it would be good to return at least one male and one female of each generation to Earth (mammalian, more better) and several of the amphibians of each generation to see how they do over time.
My two largest concerns, again, are normal development and the differences seen in lung size/development between microgravity and 1G tadpoles. Yes, they all did “normalize” and grow into normal adult frogs. But, will that happen without exposure or a full return to a 1G environment? Will this hold true for mammals? Pretty important questions, and just the start of some that are occurring to me. We are a predator species optimized for a 1G environment, what happens when we develop in a totally different environment?
Okay, there are the main concerns, some thoughts on hardware and protocol. Let’s flesh this out a bit and see if we can find someone who can make this happen.
EDIT I: Added link to PDF of PNAS paper.
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