A PI’s Guide to Analog Research

Congratulation on being awarded a grant to conduct research in a spaceflight analog! NASA funded research in a Human Research Program (HRP) managed analog environment is very different from research in a traditional laboratory. This presentation will provide a guide to help investigators successfully plan studies for integration and implementation in an HRP analog platform.

There are many things to consider when planning a study for implementation in an analog facility and campaign or mission. How do you get from grant approval to data analysis? This is where HRP’s Research Operations and Integration (ROI) team comes in. The ROI team works with sponsoring HRP elements and PI teams to capture requirements and help the PI teams through the phases of research complement development, integration and implementation. A complement is comprised of a group of studies requiring a common platform and/or scenario that are able to be integrated on a noninterference basis for implementation. Properly defining and documenting requirements and study needs is crucial in successful integration and implementation.

This presentation will outline and provide the information needed for PI teams to understand the integration process and the role of the ROI team in the successful integration and implementation of their study. Topics to be discussed will include but not be limited to science requirement definition and documentation, NASA IRB submissions, subject recruitment, screening and selection, study integration process, efficiency in data collection and data sharing, daily crew schedules, hardware and software shipping, receipt and checkout, biological sample collection, mission support, data management and receipt of data.