NASA says 2013 will be a year of science on the space station

WASHINGTON Right before Christmas, a Russian rocket carrying three astronauts one American, one Russian and one Canadian launched from a chilly spaceport in Kazakhstan to begin a five-month mission to the International Space Station.

Unlike many of its predecessors, this crew's job is straightforward: Do science from studying solar rays to investigating how microgravity affects fish and their bones, which could provide insight on why astronauts lose bone density while in space.

"Twenty-thirteen really promises to be a productive one," said Chris Hadfield, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, after arriving at the outpost.

If that's true, NASA will get one step closer toward finally fulfilling the promise of the $100 billion space station that was intended to be a groundbreaking laboratory circling about 220 miles above Earth.

Though critics have questioned why it has taken so long work began on the station in 1998 NASA said the new emphasis on science and the arrival of new equipment mean the future looks bright.

"As the coming year unfolds, NASA will continue to conduct important research on the International Space Station, which continues to yield scientific benefits and provide key information about how humans may live and thrive in the harsh environment of space," NASA leaders wrote in a year-end status report.

Key is the addition of new equipment.

By next fall, NASA plans to send to the station an "Animal Enclosure Module" that will allow scientists to study the effects of weightlessness on rodents which could help doctors develop better medicines for bone and muscle ailments. The 60-pound module had flown 23 times aboard the space shuttle.

Marybeth Edeen, NASA manager of the station's national laboratory, said the rodents could be used to test drugs intended to treat osteoporosis or illnesses that degrade the muscles, such as Lou Gehrig's disease.

"A 30-day-old mouse on the station has the bone and muscle structure of a 60-to-70-year-old woman," said Edeen, adding that rapid changes brought on by weightlessness enable drug companies to quickly assess the results of experimental medicines.

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NASA says 2013 will be a year of science on the space station