The presentation will discuss the progress of space life sciences research focusing on the common challenges faced by biological organisms during deep space explorations. With the renewed goal of crewed Mars exploration, humans with microbes and crop plants will be exposed to and need to adapt to the unique multi-stressor environment. To enable such interplanetary missions, continuous efforts to expand our knowledge base with ground-based and spaceflight research to fill the identified knowledge gaps is critical. The presentation will also include several major findings on common molecular mechanisms across different species.

Dr. Ye Zhang is a senior scientist in the Utilization and Life Sciences Office at NASA Kennedy Space Center. She established and leads the KSC’s Microgravity Simulation Support Facility. Dr. Zhang has supported many research projects utilizing different platforms from ground-based, parabolic flight, suborbital /sounding rocket flight, ISS and other LEO opportunities, and Artemis I. Her research interests focus on the responses of various biological organisms, including human, animal models, mammalian cells, plants, and microbes, to the space environment. She has led studies targeting multiple space stressors, e.g. space radiation, altered gravity, lunar dust, spaceflight, and combined effects using different species. She has 50+ peer-reviewed publications, 2 patents, and a few technical publications.