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NASA Ball NASA
Policy
Directive
NPD 8910.1D
Effective Date: January 20, 2022
Expiration Date: January 20, 2027
COMPLIANCE IS MANDATORY FOR NASA EMPLOYEES
Printable Format (PDF)

Subject: Care and Use of Animals

Responsible Office: Office of the Chief Health & Medical Officer



Change Log

Chg#

Approver

Date Approved

Description/Comments

1

Office of the Chief Human Medical Officer

01/21/2022

Administrative edit made to clarify the applicability statement in section 2a.

1. POLICY

a. This directive establishes policy for the care and use of vertebrate animals and higher order cephalopods (hereinafter, animals), recognizing NASA's responsibility for the stewardship of the animals and to the scientific community and society, in adherence with the ethical principles of respect for life, societal benefit, and nonmaleficence.

b. It is NASA's policy to:

(1) Comply with all applicable Federal laws, regulations, policies, and guidelines regarding the care and use of vertebrate animals and cephalopods, including Animal Welfare, 9 CFR ch. 1 subch. A pts. 1-3, the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (PHS Policy), the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (The Guide), and the Policy and Guidelines for the Use and Care of Animals in Space-borne Research.

(2) Adhere to the NASA Principles for Ethical Care and Use of Animals (Appendix B).

2. APPLICABILITY

a. This NPD is applicable to NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including Component Facilities and Technical and Service Support Centers. This language applies to contractors, recipients of grants, cooperative agreements, or other agreements only to the extent specified or referenced in the applicable contracts, grants, or agreements.

Note: The applicability of this NPD to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a Federally Funded Research and Development Center, is being assessed by NASA. This applicability statement will be updated as necessary when that assessment is completed.

b. This NPD applies to Principal Investigators (PI) who are contractors, recipients of grants, cooperative agreements, or other agreements as specified or referenced in the applicable contract, grant, or agreement.

c. This NPD applies to Payload Developers who are contractors as specified or referenced in the applicable contract.

d. This NPD applies to NASA supported Animal Care Facilities who are contractors as specified or referenced in the applicable contract.

e. This NPD is applicable to all activities involving animals that are funded or sponsored by NASA, use NASA resources, or are conducted in NASA facilities, aircraft, or spacecraft.

f. This NPD is applicable to all activities involving animals conducted by public institutions or in commercial facilities, aircraft, and spacecraft that are funded or sponsored by NASA or use NASA resources. Activities involving animals by public institutions or in commercial facilities, aircraft, and spacecraft that are not directly or indirectly funded by NASA or do not use NASA resources are out of scope.

Note: NASA resources related to operation of the commercial facility, aircraft, or spacecraft having nothing to do with the animal activity does not constitute "use of NASA resources" for the actual animal activity. For example, if the institution or commercial provider only uses KSC services to load animals or launch the vehicle, this NPR would not apply.

g. In this directive, all mandatory actions (i.e., requirements) are denoted by statements containing the term "shall." The terms "may" or "can" denote discretionary privilege or permission, "should" denotes a good practice and is recommended but not required, "will" denotes expected outcome, and "are/is" denotes descriptive material.

Note: Care should be taken when reading NASA policy versus policy and guidance from external organizations as terminology is used differently. The above definitions are relevant to NASA policy. The Department of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services use different terminology in their policies and guidance. Refer to their documents for specific terminology usage.

h. In this directive, all document citations are assumed to be the latest version unless otherwise noted.


3. AUTHORITY

a. The Animal Welfare Act of 1966, 7 U.S.C. § 2131 et seq.

b. The National Aeronautics and Space Act, 51 U.S.C. § 20113 (a).

c. Health Research Extension Act of 1985, Pub. L. 99-158, 99 Stat. 820 (1985).


4. Applicable Documents and Forms

a. Animal Welfare, 9 CFR ch. 1 subch. A pts. 1-3.

b. NPR 8910.1, Animal Care and Use.

c. Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (PHS Policy), US Department of Health and Human Services, revised 2015.
https://olaw.nih.gov/sites/default/files/PHSPolicyLabAnimals.pdf

d. Policy and Guidelines for the Use and Care of Animals in Space-borne Research, Committee on Space Research Information Bulletin: Space Research Today, Number 169, August 2007.

e. Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (The Guide), Eighth Edition, 2011, National Academy Press, Washington D.C.
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/Guide-for-the-Care-and-use-of-laboratory-animals.pdf.

f. NASA Principles for the Ethical Care and Use of Animals, Sundowner Report 1996.
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/the_sundowner_report_0.pdf.

5. RESPONSIBILITY

a. The Chief Health and Medical Officer CHMO and the Office of Research Assurance ensure all Agency programs and activities involving animals comply fully with applicable Federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines, as well as NASA policy, including NPR 8910.1, Animal Care and Use.

b. The Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) coordinates the Agency's veterinary and animal care activities.

c. Attending Veterinarians (AVs) direct the animal care and use program to ensure the health and wellbeing of all vertebrates and cephalopods used in ground and inflight research.

d. The Institutional Officials (IO) ensure all Agency programs, procedures, and activities involving animals comply fully with applicable Federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines, follow best practices, and are appropriately harmonized across NASA.

e. The NASA Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Chairs oversee the development, coordination, and implementation of protocol reviews, program reviews, and facility inspections for the IACUC in compliance with Federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines, as well as NASA policy.

f. Center Directors ensure all Center programs and activities involving animals comply with Federal, state and local laws, regulations, and guidelines, as well as, NASA policy.

g. Program Managers ensure all animal research within by their program is compliant with Federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines, as well as, NASA policy.

h. PIs, including civil service and non-civil service (i.e., contractors, grantees, etc.), conduct animal research in full compliance with NASA and Center/Institution policy and procedures.

6. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

None.


7. MEASUREMENT/VERIFICATION

None.


8. CANCELLATION

NPD 8910.1C, Care and Use of Animals, dated January 30, 2019.



/s/ Bill Nelson
Administrator




ATTACHMENT A: (TEXT)

ATTACHMENT A: DEFINITIONS

Institutional Official - An individual who has administrative and operational authority to commit institutional resources to ensure compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidelines, as well as, NASA policy.

Office of Research Assurance - Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer office that ensures all Agency programs and activities involving the care and use of animals comply fully with applicable Federal laws, regulations and guidelines, as well as, NASA policy.

Principal Investigator - A civil servant or non-civil servant (e.g., grantees, contractors and parties to agreements) researcher who has overall responsibility for all aspects of the funded and/or sponsored research project. Responsibilities for non-civil servant researchers are implemented through grants, contracts, agreement etc.

Program Manager - The person designated by NASA to manage each program in which NASA has a research or payload interest. Programs may consist of several projects.

ATTACHMENT B: ACRONYMS

AV - Attending Veterinarian

CVO - Chief Veterinary Officer

IACUC - Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

IO - Institutional Officer

OCHMO - Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer

PHS - Public Health Service

PI - Principal Investigator


ATTACHMENT C: NASA Principles for the Ethical Care and Use of Animals

C.1 "Introduction - A strong allegiance to the principles of bioethics is vital to any discussion of responsible research practices. As reflected in the considerations of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects, "scientific research has produced substantial social benefits ...[and] some troubling ethical questions" (The Belmont Report, 1979). The Belmont Report identified the key fundamental principles underlying the ethical evaluation of research involving human subjects. Similarly, the principles governing the ethical evaluation of the use of animals in research must be made equally explicit. It is generally agreed that vertebrate animals warrant moral concern. The following principles are offered to guide careful and considered discussion of the ethical challenges that arise in the course of animal research, a process that must balance risks, burdens, and benefits. NASA will abide by these principles, as well as all applicable laws and policies that govern the ethical use of animals. It is recognized that awareness of these principles will not prevent conflicts. Rather, these principles are meant to provide a framework within which challenges can be rationally addressed."

C.2 "Basic Principles - The use of animals in research involves responsibility, not only for the stewardship of the animals, but to the scientific community and society as well. Stewardship is a universal responsibility that goes beyond the immediate research needs to include acquisition, care and disposition of the animals, while responsibility to the scientific community and society requires an appropriate understanding of and sensitivity to scientific needs and community attitudes toward the use of animals. Among the basic principles generally accepted in our culture, three are particularly relevant to the ethics of research using animals: respect for life, societal benefit, and nonmaleficence."

C.3 "Respect for Life - Living creatures deserve respect. This principle requires that animals used in research should be of an appropriate species and health status, and the research should involve the minimum number of animals required to obtain valid scientific results. It also recognizes that the use of different species may raise different ethical concerns. Selection of appropriate species should consider cognitive capacity and other morally relevant factors. Additionally, methods such as mathematical models, computer simulation, and in vitro systems should be considered and used whenever possible."

C.4 "Societal Benefit - The advancement of biological knowledge and the improvements in the protection of the health and well-being of both humans and other animals provide strong justification for biomedical and behavioral research. This principle entails that, in cases where animals are used, the assessment of the overall ethical value of such use should include consideration of the full range of potential societal goods, the populations affected, and the burdens that are expected to be borne by the subjects of the research."

C.5 "Nonmaleficence - Vertebrate animals are sentient. This principle entails that the minimization of distress, pain, and suffering is a moral imperative. Unless the contrary is established, investigators should consider that procedures that cause pain or distress in humans may cause pain or distress in other sentient animals."

(URL for Graphic)

None.



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