challenge appropriately. The committee was impressed by the progress that appeared in the BR during the course of its review. The reader should not lose sight of these many positives when reading the following analyses, conclusions, and recommendations, which focus on opportunities for improvement. The current version of the BR is a useful first step, but it will not be adequate to achieve its stated goals unless the recommendations provided here are incorporated into the document and into the thinking and actions of NASA management. The BR must constantly be updated and maintained, the resulting action plans that flow from the BR must be supported by adequate allocation of resources both to NASA and within NASA, and the action plans must be implemented fully. If these criteria are met, the committee believes that the BR will be an effective mechanism to mitigate the risks to human health and thus contribute to ensuring mission success during extended space flight.

The report has been structured according to the committee’s charge insofar as the BR content (Chapter 2) and process (Chapter 3) are concerned. Chapter 4 deals with issues relevant to the BR context and thus addresses what the committee views as the unique challenges faced by NASA in accomplishing the roadmap’s goals and objectives. Specific questions posed in the charge are addressed in the relevant sections of this report. The Summary presents the committee’s finding and recommendations, highlighted throughout the report.

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2005. Preliminary Considerations Regarding NASA’s Bioastronautics Critical Path Roadmap. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). 2005. Bioastronautics Roadmap—a risk reduction strategy for human space exploration. On-line [available: http://ston.jsc.nasa.gov/collections/TRS/-techrep/Sp-2005-6113.pdf]. Accessed 1/6/2006.

White House. 2004. President Bush announces new vision for space exploration program. Remarks by the President on U.S. space policy. On-line [available: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040114-3.html]. Accessed 5/26/05.