Ethical Guidelines for Next Generation of NASA Missions

MEDIA ADVISORY: For Health Standards on Next Generation of NASA Missions, Institute of Medicine Committee to Report on Ethical Guidelines: Long Duration and Exploration Spaceflights WHEN: Embargoed until Wednesday April 2, 2014 11:00 AM EDT

WHAT: Spaceflights beyond low earth orbit or lasting longer than 30 days, including extended stays on the International Space Station and missions to Mars, will likely expose astronauts to increased and even unknown levels of risk, and therefore would not meet NASA's current health standards. The space agency commissioned a report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, that provides ethics principles and responsibilities, policy proposals, and a decision-making framework to help guide NASA with implementing health standards for such spaceflights.

WHO: Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH, Levi Professor of Bioethics and Public Policy at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, is chair of the IOM committee and available for comment Tuesday, April 1 (under embargo) and Wednesday, April 2, 2014.

Source-Eurekalert