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THE MARS GRAVITY BIOSATELLITE: A NEW PLATFORM FOR PARTIAL GRAVITY RESEARCH. E.L. Brown^1,2_, C.E. Carr^1,2_, and J.E. Keesee¹. ¹MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, ²Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

   The Mars Gravity Biosatellite, an international student-led program, will provide an artificial gravity testbed to study mammalian adaptation and development in partial gravity. The baseline mission profile specifies a launch of eleven female mice, including four pregnant dams, and utilizes both rotational and non-rotational time-delayed ground controls. The mission will last for seven weeks, allowing sufficient time for the young to be born and reared to maturity. Animals will be recovered rapidly after reentry to minimize the effects of reloading.

   Scientific priorities include evaluation of bone loss, muscular atrophy, neurovestibular adaptation, and changes in reproduction and development. Limited physiological and environmental parameters will be collected on board the satellite throughout the mission, but primary studies will take place pre- and post-flight.

   General studies will include a broad analysis of animal health and pathology. Principal investigators, chosen from the science community at large, will conduct detailed primary science investigations that focus on the musculoskeletal, vestibular, and developmental effects of the 0.38-g artificial gravity environment. Other studies will be selected on the basis of compatibility with the primary science investigations. Remaining flight and control animal tissues will be preserved and made available via a biospecimen sharing program. 

   All studies will be carried out in accordance with NIH and NASA guidelines for ethical research and will be subject to peer review. Data from the Mars Gravity Biosatellite mission will provide insights into fundamental questions of gravitational biology and the use of artificial gravity as a countermeasure to microgravity deconditioning.