NOV 9 1969
UNIVERSITY of PENNSYLVANIA

PHILADELPHIA 4

Schools of Medicine November 2, 1962

Undergraduate and Graduate Divisions

DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACOLOGY

Dr. Joshua Lederberg
Department of Genetics
School of Medicine
Stanford University
Palo Alto, California

Dear Josh:

I have learned from Dr. Harry Hess, the new Chairman of
the Space Science Board, that he is anxious to bring to a close
the activities of the Man in Space Committee and its Study Groups.
It is my understanding that each Committee member, Study Group
member and liaison member is being directly informed of this action.

I have several important purposes in writing to you now.
One of these purposes is to extend my sincere personal thanks
for your prompt and willing response to the request of the
Academy's Man in Space Committee for your time and your judgment.
While few of us were satisfied with the rate of our progress,
the activities of the MIS Committee were born and developed apace
with the evolution of attention to life sciences within NASA.
During these important months the Committee and its Study Groups
served as excellent vehicles for scientific communication among
NASA, DOD and extragovernmental scientists.

Another purpose in writing is to ask each Study Group to
give full attention to the request of Dr. Seitz, President of the
National Academy of Sciences, and Dr. Hess for delivery of
recommendations which were part of the basis for formation of
the Study Group. Most of you know that we were hoping to pull
all of these efforts together next spring and summer. While it
may not now be possible to give this task the time originally
planned for it, it will be unfortunate if any Group is not able to
express its scientific views in a quantitatively acceptable manner.
I do hope that when a report is delivered you will send a copy to
me in order that these, suitably accredited, may be brought to
bear upon the national need whenever occasion for this arises.
Finally, I am anxious to acquaint you with my strong
conviction that the space programs of this country have had
and will continue to have a great need for such biomedical
studies of man as those in which you have been involved. I
have accordingly expressed this attitude vigorously and in
detail both to Dr. Hess and to Dr. Seitz. My efforts were in
an attempt to avoid the losses of continuity, effectiveness
and interest which result from fluctuation between urgent
request for the aid of citizen scientists and the indication
that such aid is not in fact required. I believe it has been
possible to express to the Academy both the great need for
evolution of a sound system of advisory functions concerned
with biomedical aspects of the space programs and the national
loss resulting from discontinuity of long-term biomedical
studies.

With best personal regards,

Sincerely yours,” .

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C.J. Lambertsen, M.D.
Professor of Pharmacology and
Experimental Therapeutics

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