The biological program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration had a late start. A small life sciences group, organized in 1958, was concerned with life support and use of primates for system and vehicle testing for the Mercury program. Three small suborbital flights of biological materials were flown in space.

The Bioscience Program Office of the Office of Space Science and Applications was organized in 1962. The goals of the Bioscience Program are: (1) to determine if extraterrestrial life exists anywhere in the solar system and to study its origin, nature, and level of development, if it is present; (2) to determine the effects of space and planetary environments on Earth organisms, including man; (3) to conduct biological research to develop life support and protective measures for extended manned space flight; and (4) to develop fundamental theories in biology relative to origin, development, and relationship to environment. Research and development has been carried out to design life-detection experiments and instruments for future flights to Mars and to develop experiments to study the effects of the space environment on living organisms. A biosatellite program, started in 1963, has the first of six flights scheduled for 1966.

Space exploration has demanded a rigorous development, especially in the biosciences area. Investigation of the solar system for exotic life forms, the environmental extremes to which Earth organisms (including man) are being exposed, the possibilities for modification of planetary environments by biological techniques yet to be developed, and the problems of communication in biosystems are areas which have required refinement of the theoretical framework of biology before progress could be made rapidly enough to keep pace with technological advances in transportation.

Of all the sciences, biology alone has not yet benefited from comparisons with the universe beyond Earth. It is reasonable to suppose that breakthroughs might be made in biology on the basis of comparisons with life from other worlds. Organisms elsewhere may have found alternatives to processes we think of as basic characteristics of life.

In contrast, physical science has advanced sufficiently to provide a great body of laws which may be expressed in mathematical terms, and by which phenomena may be predicted with complete accuracy. A well-known characteristic of biological phenomena is variability. The Darwinian concept of evolution is perhaps the only pervading generalization in biology. This concept has been supported by evidence of a hereditary mechanism in the discovery of genes and gene mutations.

Space bioscience represents the convergence of main disciplines with a single orientation, whose direction is determined by the problems of manned space travel which have, in turn, created a host of bioengineering problems concerned with supporting man in space.

Foremost among these questions is the possibility of the existence of extraterrestrial life. The field which is concerned with the search for extraterrestrial life has come to be called "exobiology." In addition to the challenge of great technological problems which must be solved, exobiology is so closely related to the central scientific questions in biological science that it is considered by some to be the most significant pursuit in all of science.

One of the major opportunities already presented by the advances in propulsion systems is the ability to escape from the influence of the Earth, which has made possible the study of organism-environment relationships, particularly the role that environmental stimuli play in the establishment and maintenance of normal organization in living systems.

Transcending even these formidable objectives of space bioscience is an objective shared by all life sciences, the discovery of nature's scheme for coding the messages contained in biological molecules. Extraterrestrial biology seeks to find not only evidence of life now present, but the vestigial chemicals of its previous existence. The ways and means have already been made available to study molecules on whose long, recorded messages is written the autobiography of evolution—the history of living organisms extending back to the beginnings of life. On this same basis, it is now within the realm of science to foresee the means of predicting the development of life from primordial, nonliving chemical systems. Closely allied to the search for extraterrestrial life is research which seeks to identify the materials and the conditions which are the prerequisites of life.

Space bioscience research is now extending human knowledge of fundamental biological phenomena, both in space and on Earth, just as the physical sciences explore other aspects of the universe. The accomplishment of bioscience objectives is totally dependent upon advances in the technology of space flight. A highly developed launch-vehicle capability is essential to accomplish the long-duration missions required in the search for extraterrestrial life.

Life on other planets in the solar system (with emphasis on Mars) will be investigated by full exploitation of space technology which will allow both remote (orbiter) and direct (lander) observations of the planetary atmosphere, surface, and subsurface. Certain characteristics of terrestrial life, such as growth and reproduction, provide a basis for relatively simple experiments which may be used on early missions to detect the existence of life on Mars. Later missions will provide extensive automatic laboratory capabilities for analyzing many samples taken from various depths and locations. Because of the hypothetical nature of current experiment designs, it is likely that visual observations of the planet will be required. Many technical problems are involved in storing and transmitting the large amounts of data over planetary distances. Such visual observations might very well be crucial in interpreting results from other experiments. Critical to all exploration of the Moon and planets are the requirements to: (1) prevent contamination of the environment with Earth organisms and preserve the existing conditions of the planet for biological exploration; (2) provide strict quarantine for anything returned to Earth from the Moon and planets.

The biological exploration of Mars is a scientific undertaking of the greatest significance. Its realization will be a major milestone in the history of human achievement. The characterization of life, if present, and study of the evolutionary processes involved and their relationship to the evolution of terrestrial life would have a great scientific and philosophical impact. What is at stake is nothing less than knowledge of our place in nature.

Extended Earth orbital flights with subhuman specimens will be used to determine the effects on Earth organisms of prolonged weightlessness, radiation, and removal from the influence of the Earth's rotation. Such flights of biosatellites and other suitable spacecraft are expected to: (1) establish biological specifications for extending the duration of manned space flight; (2) provide a flexible means of testing unforeseen contingencies, thus providing an effective biological backup for manned missions; (3) yield experimental data more rapidly by virtue of the greater number and expendability of subjects; (4) anticipate possible delayed effects appearing in later life or in subsequent generations, through use of animal subjects with more rapid development and aging; (5) develop and test new physiological instrumentation techniques, surgical preparations, prophylactic techniques, and therapeutic procedures which are not possible on human subjects; and (6) provide a broad background of experience and data which will permit more accurate interpretations of observed effects of space flight on living organisms, including man.