The Roskamp Institute recently announced that it has become an Animal Care Facility for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

While aboard the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts experience a number of physical changes, such as being in microgravity, that could affect their health. Understanding the effects of being in space—and how to counteract them—is vital to a successful future for humans in space. Working with model organisms, like rodents, can help scientists gain insight into the likely effects of microgravity on the human body. For several decades now, NASA has been conducting rodent research in space, and The Roskamp Institute is now providing support for such projects being carried out on the ISS.

The first mission with which the Roskamp Institute was involved launched rodents to the space station on December 6, 2020; the mission was successfully completed with the rodents’ return in January. Roskamp Institute to support several missions per year over the next four years.