In the framework of the European Space Agency, ESA, Europe participates in the development of the International Space Station (ISS). The scientific utilisation of the ISS is planned to start in 1999 in the first research laboratory of the ISS the "US-Lab". Full operational status of Space Station will not be achieved before mid-2002. Not only the development of the infrastructure elements of the ISS but also the utilisation of the Station, is accompanied by a move to worldwide scientific and technological cooperation.
In order to enable and enhance worldwide cooperation in space life sciences, NASA has already in 1991 taken the initiative to establish an International Space Life Sciences Strategic Planning Working Group (ISLSSPWG).
The guiding principles of this international research cooperation are to:
This Life Science Research Announcement (LSRA) is not necessarily linked to Space Station, although the Space Station would of course offer the main research location from 1999 onwards, when the present era of manned spaceflight elements such as Spacelab and the Russian MIR station come to an end.
The Working Group (ISLSSPWG) includes the space agencies of the USA (NASA), Europe (ESA), Japan (NASDA) and Canada (CSA) as the Space Station Partners (the Russian Space Agency RKA later became the fifth Space Station Partner) and those European national space agencies, i.e. CNES of France and DARA of Germany, which for many years - in addition to their participation in ESA's programmes - have also had their own national space life- sciences programmes.
This worldwide coordination, which started with the screening of existing space hardware and the exchange of information on the planning for the development of new hardware resulted in a strategy of offering a common pool of research equipment on the ISS and the periodic (annual) issuing of joint space research announcements.
ESA, CNES and DARA intend to contribute space research or support equipment to this common pool of life-sciences facilities on the ISS. This ESA Life Sciences Research Announcement (LSRA) issued in the 14 Member States of the Agency to solicit space life science investigations for the period 1999 and 2000 has therefore been coordinated with CNES and DARA.
Corresponding to this approach, research announcements will be released annually from 1996 onwards according to jointly defined considerations and rules. It has principally been agreed that the announcement should consist of two parts, one part specific to each member agency of the ISLSSPWG, and the so-called "companion document" which is identical for all partners. In the "Space Life Sciences Standard Companion Document" the evaluation process, the available flight opportunities and the facilities are described and application forms and instructions for proposal preparation are also provided. In the agency-specific part, the Life Sciences Programme of the respective agency is described and further information that is essential for scientists from that country or group of countries is given.
The ESA-specific part is composed of two chapters:
CNES and DARA will send an additional document to life scientists in their countries describing the specific national life-science programme objectives and the precursor research/flight opportunities offered at national level.
The above-mentioned "Space Life Sciences Standard Companion Document" can be consulted on Internet at the URL: http://peer1.idi.usra.edu from 6 January 1997 onwards.
European scientists interested in preparing a proposal for a flight experiment on the Shuttle system or on the International Space Station should read the companion document carefully and follow the instructions precisely. In addition to the information given in that document the following guidelines have to be followed:
Letter of Intent
To facilitate proposal processing, potential investigators are requested to confirm plans to submit a proposal responding to this Announcement by sending a Letter of Intent, which is not binding, by
This Letter of Intent, which should be no more than two pages, should contain:
Proposals
An original signed Proposal, plus twenty (20) complete copies of that Proposal, and a 3.5 inch computer diskette containing the entire text in either Macintosh or IBM (or clone) format must be received by
Letters of Intent and Proposals are to be sent to the following address:
Information Dynamics, Inc.
Subject: Life Sciences Research Proposal
300 D Street SW
Suite 801
Washington, DC 20024, USA
In addition, Letters of Intent and one copy of the proposal have to be sent to ESA, by the same due dates, to the following address:
Mr G. Seibert
Head Microgravity and Space Station Utilisation Department
Directorate of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity
European Space Agency, ESTEC
Keplerlaan 1
P.O. Box 299
NL-2200 AG Noordwijk
The Netherlands
In addition, a copy of the Letter of Intent and of the Proposal must be sent by the experiment proposer by the same due date to the national delegate (or listed Life Sciences Agency representative) of his country in the ESA Microgravity Programme Board. These delegates/agency representatives are listed as Annex 1.
ESA will inform the national space authorities of Austria, Finland and Ireland, who do not participate in the ESA Microgravity Programme, about Letters of Intent and Experiment Proposals from scientists in these countries.
In this context it should be noted that ESA does not cover financially the work of selected experimenters. ESA covers only the provision/development of the orbital research facilities (multi-user facilities), the mission costs (space transportation, data links) and the payload integration. Investigator-related costs are the responsibility of the selected investigators, who must try to obtain research funding from their national funding organisations.
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