ASEN 5016 Homework 3 Guidelines
Space Life Science Research Proposal
Using the same general formatting
specified for HW1, again 5 page maximum not counting bibliography (or
title page in this case), prepare a research proposal in response to an RFP
soliciting space life sciences experiments for flight (ISS or shuttle)
opportunities. This should ideally be a
follow on to your review paper topic. If you want to switch to a different area
than what you did in homework 1, check with me for approval first.
Submit electronic file (MS Word,
PC compatible) via email and 1 hardcopy. (Note: CAETE students can submit electronic
version only.)
Please title the electronic
submittal with your name_HW3, and embed the budget and CV into one file with
the proposal text, do not submit as 3 separate files!
The following outline is intended
to help you organize your proposal.
There are certain circumstances that will not fit cleanly within each of
the categories outlined above, so use as applicable with items added/deleted
where needed, and check with me if you have questions.
- State
the title of your proposed research project, your name, affiliation (CU),
submittal date, etc. on a cover page – this is not included in 5 page
limit
- Briefly
summarize the literature (from your HW1 review article) that leads up to
and logically supports the need for continued experimentation on your
selected topic. This should present
the basic underlying premises/arguments/need/speculation for additional
research that you are proposing.
Note: You should explicitly cite NASA programmatic rationale in this
section from the Bioastronautics Roadmap http://bioastroroadmap.nasa.gov/index.jsp
- State
your specific hypothesis, including sub-hypotheses if needed. (Ideally, in
the form of true/false or yes/no oriented statement.)
- What
is/are the primary Dependent Variable(s) associated with your experiment?
- What
is the primary (ideally only one) Independent Variable?
- What
are the relevant Constant parameters that must be monitored and/or
controlled?
- Are
there any other potentially confounding variables not described above?
- Describe
the general protocol and supporting hardware for the tests that you will
need to conduct in your lab (on Earth) to give evidence that reproducible
results can be expected.
- Discuss
why/how you would expect space flight to affect these ground-based
results. Be as specific as
possible. Include duration required: shuttle (~10-16 days) or ISS (~2
weeks or longer).
- Describe
the functional requirements and/or any unique capabilities of hardware
that you will need to conduct this experiment in space.
- Define
the general flow of pre-flight events that must take place in the
days/hours prior to launch such as final sample preparation, subject
baseline data collection, hardware loading, etc.
- Describe
the general in-flight operations needed to carry out your experimental
objectives and whether they involve crew time or can be automated. If crew time is needed, give estimated
event durations and periodicity.
- Describe
your plan for post-flight sample processing or data collection that
requires immediate attention after the shuttle lands.
- What
analyses will need to be done to either prove or disprove your above
stated hypothesis?
- Describe
in general how you will present the results for publication. Label x-y axes for plots, bar charts,
etc.
- Describe
the conclusion(s) that you will be able to firmly draw from these results
and any further speculation/suggestions you care to offer.
- Bibliography
– not included in 5 page limit
- Provide
a detailed budget breakdown needed to support this project from CU. Include relevant salaries, equipment
and/or travel costs with overhead and benefits – not included in 5 page
limit (we will discuss this in class at a later date)
- Provide
a 1-2 page CV – not included in 5 page limit
The following link may be of use in writing your
proposal. Use this info as an additional
resource for ideas. If you have any questions regarding how your ideas for a
proposal might differ from the list suggested above, let me know before you go
too far along.
Current
Space Research: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/Summary.html