Rockets Get Us to Mars. Biology Decides If We Can Stay | Ryan T. Scott of NASA AMES | Ep. 44

In this episode, NASA space biologist Ryan T. Scott explains why biology, not rocket science, is the real limiting factor in humanity’s goal of becoming a multi-planetary species. We discuss how NASA’s Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) is transforming space biology by making decades of multi-modal data openly available, standardized, and reusable.

Ryan breaks down why studying hazards like microgravity and radiation in combination (instead of in isolation) is critical for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars. He also shares how open data and AI are accelerating discoveries, how high school students are now publishing peer-reviewed NASA space biology papers, and what it will actually take, biologically, for humans to thrive beyond Earth.

If we want to become a true spacefaring civilization, we need to treat biology as seriously as propulsion. This conversation goes deep into the data infrastructure, research gaps, and mindset shifts required to make that future possible.

List of studies cited:

1. Federated Learning paper

Title: Bridging Earth and Space: A Flexible and Resilient Federated Learning Framework Deployed on the International Space Station

Authors: Casaletto, Foley, Fernandez, Sanders, Scott, et al.

Link: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.14.633017v2

2. Mitochondrial stress paper (Cell)

Title: Comprehensive Multi-omics Analysis Reveals Mitochondrial Stress as a Central Biological Hub for Spaceflight Impact

Link (ScienceDirect): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867420314616

Open access (PMC): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7870178/

3. Multimodal MRI + combined hazards paper

Title: Multimodal Magnetic Resonance Imaging Reveals the Combined Effects of Simulated Microgravity and Space Radiation on Brain Structure and Function

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667325826002414

4. Anesthesiology for Spaceflight review

Title: Fundamentals of Anesthesiology for Spaceflight

Authors: Komorowski, Fleming, Kirkpatrick

Link: https://www.jcvaonline.com/article/S1053-0770(16)00008-2/fulltext

5. FLUID federated learning figure (model weights diagram)

This figure is from the same body of work as the federated learning paper above (AI4LS / FLUID framework).

Primary paper link: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.14.633017v2

6. Biofilms paper

Title: Biofilms: from the cradle of life to life support

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41522-025-00875-8

7. Bone density / microgravity paper

Title: The effects of microgravity on bone structure and function

Link (npj Microgravity): https://www.nature.com/articles/s41526-022-00194-8

Open access (PMC): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8983659/

8. Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) – Bone Fracture Risk

This is from NASA’s Human System Risk Board (HSRB) documentation.

Main collection: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20220015709

#spacebiology #nasa #spaceexploration #multiplanetary #openscience #marsmission #spacedata #BiologyForSpace #spaceflight

Resources & Links:

NASA Open Science Data Repository (OSDR): https://osdr.nasa.gov

Analysis Working Groups (AWG): https://science.nasa.gov/biological-physical/data/awg

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