Opportunity for Biomedical Experiments at the Concordia Antarctic Station

Sponsor

European Space Agency (ESA)

For More Information

The Canadian Space (CSA) has provided this notification and the notification is subject to change. These changes will be published on the CSA website. It is recommended checking the site regularly. No question will be answered. Any question related to the ESA Opportunity should be addressed directly to ESA. Please consult their page for instructions on this announcement.

Description

The European Space Agency (ESA) has released an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) soliciting human research proposals for biomedical experiments to be implemented on the Concordia Antarctic station, that address human research questions that are relevant to ESA's overarching goal to enable a human mission to the Moon, Mars or beyond.

The Concordia AO is soliciting proposals for biomedical experiment addressing one or several of the following topics:

• Research on physical countermeasure protocols (exercise, nutrition, etc.);
• Research on the psychological and physiological adaptation processes to isolation, confinement and high altitude;
• Research on remote or on-site medical assistance and psychological support (incl. MD training);
• Biomedical research in the area of life support;
• Biomedical research in the area of habitability of stations;
• Research on the survivability in hostile environments (e.g. microbiology and human health);
• Biomedical research on radiation.

​Microbiology experiments will only be considered within the scope of this AO if they address microbiology in relation to human health.

ESA will conduct the technical peer review and make the final selection of the applications. For this Announcement of Opportunity (Concordia) the deadline to submit a full proposal is May 3rd, 2021. The preliminary steps of letter of intent, as well as attendance to the Information Workshop are not mandatory for submission of an application.

While this ESA AO is not a funding opportunity, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) encourages Canadian researchers from universities and post-secondary institutions to submit proposals, either as Principal Investigator or as co-applicant to a European Investigator. Though no commitment can be made, the CSA is exploring the possibility of funding Canadian researchers whose proposals would be selected from this specific ESA AO and would meet the CSA objectives to advance knowledge on space health risks mitigation strategies and countermeasures, while contributing to improve remote medicine and health benefits here on Earth. Precursor investigations for the International Space Station (ISS) or other space research platforms are encouraged.

Eligibility

The scientific institution for which the coordinator of a proposal is working must be located in one of the ESA member or associated member states that contribute to the SciSpacE programme: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom. Scientists from other ESA Member States that do not contribute to the SciSpacE Programme and scientists from other European countries having a cooperation agreement with ESA are encouraged to enquire with their national space organisation about the conditions for their participation in proposals to ESA.

Funding Availability

No funding is available to Canadian researchers from ESA.