Memorandum 61
Submission from Dr Vishal Nangalia
1. EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
(a) There are innumerable benefits to supporting
Human Spaceflight, specifically: Health, Scientific, Economic,
Educational and Inspirational. There are significant issues if
parliament does not support human spaceflight specifically political,
security and a long lasting intellectual brain drain. To support
Human spaceflight in the UK a new body or a significant re-organisation
of existing research councils need to be carried out as the current
institutions are not fit for purpose.
2. PERSONAL BACKGROUND
(a) Currently a Senior House Officer in
Anaesthetics at the North West London Hospitals Trust.
(b) Founding member, IT Executive and Webmaster
of the UK Space Biomedicine Group (UKSBG).
(c) The current President of the Aerospace
Medicine Students and Residents Organisation (AMSRO)—The
international organisation for all students and residents interested
in or engaging in aerospace medicine—a constituent of the
Aerospace Medical Association (ASMA—www.asma.org).
(d) Over 15 years of involvement with human
spaceflight both performing research and setting up outreach activities.
(Full list of activities and accomplishments available).
(e) Leicester Medical School Graduate.
(f) I set-up and then undertook the Intercalated
BSc in Aerospace Physiology focusing on Space Physiology at Kings
College London.
(g) International Space University Alumnus.
BENEFITS
Health
3. Various physiological effects take place
during spaceflight. The keys being alterations to the Cardiovascular,
Musculoskeletal and Neuro-Vestibular systems. These changes are
similar to what happens to the elderly population here on earth
examples include strokes, osteoporosis, angina, heart attacks,
dizziness, weight loss, immunological impairment. However the
key difference is that with the astronaut population the majority
of these changes are reversible while in the elderly population
these are not. This is the only situation this exists in modern
medicine, and provides us with a unique opportunity to understand
the mechanism of these changes and more importantly the ways these
can be prevented, and reversed.
4. This is of paramount importance particularly
in the UK with its National Health Service and the Free at the
point of Delivery philosophy. Why because, the cost of treating
an increasingly elderly population is rising daily and estimates
that as the demographics of our country change the stress on the
NHS and thus directly on the exchequer will increase. The National
Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) in the United States
has identified a list of problems associated with spaceflight
and that need to be resolved before a trip to Mars can be made
and these correlate with problems in populations on earth that
I have already mentioned. Therefore support for research and programmes
of space medicine will directly contribute to the health of the
UK.
5. I myself am involved in systems research
looking at the system benefits of hypobaric hypoxia, the design
of special pressure suits, identification and training of the
skillsets of the future spacesurgeon. All of which have direct
earth based applications.
6. The astronaut health programmes of NASA
and ESA are the gold standard in preventative health medicine.
Identifying and mitigating problems in the astronaut population
before during and post spaceflight. Supporting human spaceflight
in the UK will allow us access to and the capability to expand
on these programmes which can then be applied to the UK population
supporting the creation of a healthier and thus economically more
productive nation.
7. Therefore supporting Human spaceflight
will support unique research that will enable the NHS to better
cope with future demands placed on it, both by enabling better
treatment and also by supporting the preventative health effort,
which will overall contribute to a healthier and economically
stronger nation.
Scientific
8. Human spaceflight is probably the most
multidisciplinary speciality that exists today. There is a unique
interplay between doctors, life scientists, materials scientists,
physicists, Engineers and Astronomers among others. To succeed
in the goal of enabling human beings to live and thrive outside
of the earth has forced disciplines that previously had no interaction
with each other to collaborate to find unique solutions to previously
impossible problems. This can be seen throughout the history of
human spaceflight. The unique interdisciplinary environment forces
each speciality to look at a problem from various points of view.
This allows an appreciation of other disciplines but more importantly
results in breakthroughs and cross fertilisation of know-how and
technology that would not previously have happened. Shape memory
alloys used in prosthetic limbs and medical implants, new sensors
for blood and gas analysis, lab on a chip, being but a few of
the numerous examples.
9. Currently I am working on a two medical
devices originally conceived for spaceflight but now being developed
to apply to earthbound populations. These devices consist of an
automatic method of obtaining blood and analysing it that does
not require a doctor or nurse present and also a device to automatically
collect an ECG trace of the heart again with no skill input required.
These were developed because of the constraints of the spaceflight
system where there are presently no trained personnel and therefore
methods for medical diagnosis and data acquisition needed to be
devised. This situation does occur on earth and specifically in
the community in the UK, however as research is geared towards
hospital based practice there is no incentive to pursue this kind
of research normally. However now that the initial development
is completed there is a move to utilise it in the health care
market allowing patients to be diagnosed and treated outside of
hospitals which uniquely fits in with the government agenda in
this sphere. However we have still to this date not received a
penny of funding from any of the research councils or trusts as
we fall between the cracks of their respective research and because
of government policy.
10. Exploration of the solar system and
the search for life on other planets is the holy grail of life
science and can be argued that of philosophy and religions as
well by answering the question are we alone in the Universe. This
can be regarded as akin to the search for the ultimate building
block of matter that the UK funds PPARC and is a part of the large
Hadron collider for. If we accept that one scientific goal is
justifiable then surely the search for life which transcends pure
science and goes beyond boundaries and can be understood by the
common man is of equal importance if not more. However, currently
no support is given to the community trying to answer these questions.
The human spaceflight case for the search for life is that The
Royal Astronomical Society Report and Steve Squires (the Principal
Investigator of the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) that are currently
on Mars) both are adamant that Human capability will always be
superior to robotic capability alone and the amount of scientific
discovery done by both MERs in one yr could have been performed
in five minutes by well equipped and trained Astronaut on Mars.
Analysis of excursions on the moons surface by Apollo astronauts
has also further proved that human beings are indispensable for
the exploration of planetary bodies.
11. Exploration by Human beings in space
and other planets including the moon and mars cannot be quantified
in the traditional sense as serendipitous discovery results in
new fields of science and discovery that change the face of science
and humanity forever. Examples of serendipitous discovery include
the discovery of the Medical X-ray properties of Radium by Marie
Curie and the antibiotic nature of Penicillin by Alexander Fleming.
In fact in the Government's "Science and Innovation Investment
Framework 2004-14: Next Steps" Discussion paper, in chapter
2 it states "The Government cannot, and should not attempt
to, predict where and in what form these innovations will occur"
but should be "Supporting world-class health research"
as stated in chapter 5.
Economic
12. The Space Program has paid for itself.
It is a myth that "we can't afford Space". Confirmation
that "Space pays" may be found in the 1989 Chapman Research
report, which examined just 259 non-space applications of NASA
technology during just eight years, 1976-84 (The primary project
during these years was the development of the Space Shuttle System—a
Human Spaceflight project), and found more than:
(a) $21.6 billion in sales and benefits.
(b) 352,000 (mostly skilled) jobs created
or saved.
(c) $355 million in federal corporate income
taxes.
13. Other benefits, not quantified in the
study, included: state corporate income taxes, individual personal
income taxes (federal and state) paid by those 352,000 workers,
and uncalculable benefits resulting from lives saved and an improved
quality of life. The 259 applications represent only about 1%
of an estimated 25-30,000 Space program spin-offs. The benefits
were in addition to benefits in the Space industry itself and
in addition to the ordinary multiplied effects of any government
spending.
14. A short article in the prestigious journal
Nature (1/9/92, pp 105-106), reported, "The economic benefits
of NASA's programmes are greater than generally realized. The
main beneficiaries may not even realize the source of their good
fortune." When Space program money was spent, new industries
were left behind to generate more money (eg, computers, electronics,
fabrics, composites, ceramics, metallurgy). Without the focus
of our space goals, such cutting-edge technologies would not have
emerged.
Education
15. In the present age in the UK where university
departments are closing, science based courses are being taken
off the curriculum and intake into science fields at university
is dropping. Space Biomedical related courses are expanding and
being set up going firmly against the trend. I myself helped setup
the first one year Aerospace Physiology related BSc at Kings College
London back in 1999 and was the first to complete the course.
Since then University College London has implemented both a Bachelors
and Masters Programme that is underpinned by space medicine. There
are modules available at Glasgow University Medical School and
Imperial focussing on Space Medicine as well. All these courses
are at present increasing their intake year on year showing the
education spur that Space Medicine and Human Spaceflight can provide.
16. In fact we are the only nation in the
World that provides this level of course at undergraduate level
and are our postgraduate courses are on par with that provided
by NASA sponsored institutions. However this push is being supported
by a few dedicated individuals and without formal support and
funding this may be jeopardised as these individuals leave the
UK for other European countries or the United States where their
expertise is recognised and appreciated.
Inspirational
17. Human spaceflight has always been looked
at with awe and wonder. Most people can remember where they were
and what they were doing when they first saw Neil Armstrong and
Buzz Aldrin walk on the Moon. The Apollo Soyuz mission was seen
as a beacon for hope and peace in the middle of the cold war.
Even today whenever a private individual pays 20 million dollars
to fly into space every media channel in the UK reports it as
major news story. Whenever I chat to students and members of the
public about human spaceflight they exhibit a sense of wonder
which is only tempered with the false perception that the goal
of one day themselves travelling to space is insurmountable. However
Apollo has demonstrated that a committed long-term human spaceflight
programme can encourage the young to work harder and encourages
them to specialise in the science and maths so they can be part
of the adventure. The years from the middle of the Apollo programme
till a few years after its end showed a significant rise in all
PhDs awarded in the United States.
18. The dot com boom has also been attributed
to the children of Apollo, a new breed of entrepreneurs are spending
significant amounts of their own money to develop human spacecraft
systems. These include the founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos and his
Blue Origin project, The creator of the Game Doom and his company
Armadillo Aerospace, Microsoft co Founder Paul Allen and SpaceShip
One, the craft that our own Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic
has taken over to develop into the first commercial space tourism
spacecraft. Elon Musk (founder of paypal) and his company SpaceX
that has been awarded a 300 million dollar contract to develop
his Dragon spacecraft for Orbital spaceflight. Mark Shuttleworth,
Anousheh Ansari, and the list goes on ... The common thread in
all of these peoples lives were there passion for the sciences
was triggered by human spaceflight and they then went on to be
leaders in their field and have contributed immensely to society
and the economy and continue to do so.
ISSUES IF
NO SUPPORT
IS GIVEN
Politics and Security
19. The United States is forging ahead with
its Vision for Space Exploration which calls to establish a permanent
outpost on the moon by the end of the next decade and put a man
on mars by the end of the decade after that. Russia has similar
ambitions. The European Space Agency has its Exploration and Aurora
Programme whose goal is to put a Human on Mars by 2030 (the UK
only subscribes to the robotic component of this). China has stated
its intention of a permanent Manned Space station and also a human
outpost on the Moon and India with its independent launch capability
is also on the cusp of joining the human spaceflight club, specifically
for exploration of the Moon and Mars.
20. The existing International Space Station
programme consists of The United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan
and ESA member states excluding the UK.
21. We currently are heavily dependent on
our space based assets and as the colonisation of orbital space
increases and outposts are established on the moon and mars we
will be incapable of maintaining or developing or assets. In the
newly published document on US Space Policy is quite aggressive
in stating that Control of Space is essential to maintaining its
security and it reserves the right to disable any space based
assets of countries perceived to be against US interests.
22. The UK is the only developed country
in the world that does not currently engage in the endeavour of
human spaceflight and this is a field that is currently experiencing
a boom in terms of funding and awareness. As the years progress
and if the UK is not a member of this club we will lack the expertise
and the power to influence decisions that are made regarding space
based assets and opportunities and this will put us at a disadvantage
to all other spacefaring nations, diminishing our influence in
world politics.
Brain Drain
23. The UK consists of individuals who through
no funding have developed a space medicine network that is recognised
internationally, myself being the President of AMSRO, Alyson Calder
being International Liaison of ASMA and Space Medicine Branch
Member at Large along with a multitude of others who are spearheading
research into fields of space medicine that even the rest of Europe
with its support for Human spaceflight cannot match up to. We
have congregated and organised ourselves under the banner of the
UK Space Biomedicine Group (UKSBG), our activities include hosting
the only Dedicated Space Medicine Conference in the World. However
we all hold down full-time jobs and do this in our spare time
and every year for every member that joins the group and stays
the course there are at least three times as many students who
fall by the wayside and return to their normal jobs despite having
the potential to excel in this field as we cannot provide any
monetary support or even direct them to grant making bodies that
they can use as means to progress their development and aid their
contribution to the field. I personally know of existing and upcoming
researchers who are already planning the move to the US as there
is no support for their activities here in the UK. I myself am
considering this move due to the frustration of on one hand being
told that my research is world class and has significant benefits
and on the other that it does not fit with the current funding
guidelines. Colleagues of mine have already made the move and
as the path of transferring to another country becomes more well
trodden there will be no base within the UK to redevelop this
speciality and the expertise will be lost to the US and other
countries forever, damaging the Government's goal of making the
UK a knowledge-based economy.
THE WAY
FORWARD
24. The current structure of funding space
related projects is broken and haphazard. Every time I attend
a meeting with BNSC, PPARC representatives it seems like every
scientist and organisation is fighting to maintain its bit of
the funding pie and there is absolutely no concern for development
of space capability. No organisation wishes to support a new field
of discovery such as space medicine or human spaceflight, not
because they do not accept the merits of the field but because
they are short sighted and guarding their own interests assuming
that any funding for a new field will result in a reduction of
the funds available to them. This goes against knowledge generation
and the present infrastructure of research councils should not
be allowed to mismanage the resources of the British exchequer
this way.
25. The US recognised that research for
research's sake leads to nowhere therefore after years of no firm
goal, The Vision for Space Exploration was announced whereby the
resources of NASA and the country are focused towards achieving
the Human return to the Moon and the onward journey to Mars.
26. If there is to be a shift in supporting
Human Spaceflight and Space Medicine in the UK it should be a
goal directed approach under the auspices of a new and independent
agency that administers and manages the programme and the funds
available. A decision to join forces with either ESA or NASA or
go semi independently should be carried out by an independent
body of experts so as to obtain maximum value for British investment.
October 2006
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