consistent across national boundaries. There must be common criteria for evaluation and utilization of countermeasures and international cooperation in their development.

NASA funding for biomedical research is increasingly distributed among a diverse set of organizations and programs. These include the program of NASA Research Announcements (NRAs), intramural investigators in NASA center science programs, the NSBRI, and the NASA Specialized Centers of Research and Training. NASA science benefits from the unique strengths of each of these program constituents, but careful planning is required to delineate the roles, responsibilities, and appropriate funding levels for each; to ensure effective collaborations; and to integrate research findings. In particular, NASA should maintain a healthy NRA program as the primary mode for support of space-related biomedical research because it remains the best method of accessing the entire investigator community and exploring novel ideas and approaches.

National Research Council (NRC), Space Studies Board. 1998. A Strategy for Research in Space Biology and Medicine in the New Century. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.