Because the space environment (microgravity, increased radiation, closed environments) is unique for living systems it can provide special insights into gene regulation, macromolecule, cell and organism functions as well as evolutionary processes. Generations will study the effects of the space environment on survival, replication and repair, variation, and natural selection and evolution of living systems.

Generations will implement a central recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences Space Studies Board to use an "integrated, multidisciplinary approach that encompasses all levels of biological organization -- the molecule, the cell, the organ system, and the whole organism -- and employs the full range of modern experimental approaches from molecular and cellular biology to organismic physiology."

This research will provide unique insights in the following areas:

• How living systems evolve in the unique environment of space
• Fundamental information about evolutionary processes
• Universal principles governing the nature of life in the universe
• The flow of information from cellular receptors through genomic responses to physiological adaptation
• The whole genome and proteome response of a variety of cells and tissues to the space environment
• Fundamental processes underlying space medicine problems
• Life in extreme environments
• Knowledge and technologies necessary for new processes and products