Artificial gravity AG has been proposed as a countermeasure CM for astronaut deconditioning. Performing translational research using animal models will allow preliminary definition of the AG…

This federal contract award, valued at $450,000.00, was granted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) to conduct research on the adaptation of rats to a small diameter centrifuge. The purpose is to assess the suitability of using rats as a translational model for studying artificial gravity as a countermeasure for astronaut deconditioning in spaceflight. The research will examine the physiological and behavioral responses of rats to chronic centrifugation at 2G on a 34-inch diameter centrifuge, and confirm their ability to thrive under the housing requirements. This one-year study aims to provide evidence that rats are an appropriate model for further development of artificial gravity countermeasures. The contract does not have a set-aside designation.

Artificial gravity AG has been proposed as a countermeasure CM for astronaut deconditioning. Performing translational research using animal models will allow preliminary definition of the AG parameters that are important components of such a CM. However, the selection of an appropriate model for such studies is critical. While mice provide a useful model for many areas of research, their small size makes them less useful as a translational model for humans in the study and development of an AG CM. The RAT, with its ten fold larger body mass, provides a more appropriate model for such studies. The response to gravity depends on scale the larger the animal, the greater the effect. The current centrifuge being planned for ISS that could accommodate rats has a proposed diameter of 34 inches. These proposed smdies will examine the ability of the RAT to physiologically and behaviorally adapt to chronic centrifugation at this diameter at a rotation rate that would produce 2G in spaceflight 65 RPM. The outcome measures will provide evidence that the RAT is an appropriate translational model that can be used to further the AG CM development program. Additionally, we will confirm that rats can thrive in the housing requirements dictated by the small diameter of the centrifuge. Measurements will include sleep wake, body temperature and activity recorded via telemetry, daily video recordings to allow behavioral analyses, monthly DXA body composition and skeletal integrity, biweekly determination of body mass and food and water consumption, and terminal measurements of organ weights and proteomics. These proposed studies will take one year to execute.