By By Stephanie Dearing Sep 18, 2010 in Science NASA stopped using monkeys in experiments 30 years ago, but last year the agency agreed to fund an experiment looking into irradiation using monkeys. The proposed experiment has prompted people around the world to ask NASA to drop the project. "After much deliberation, I resigned from NASA because I could not support the scientific justification for this monkey radiobiology experiment. ... the planned monkey experiment focuses on predicting how the human brain may function after space radiation exposure. This isn’t solving the problem of space radiation; it’s merely further refining our measurements of the consequences.” The news of the testing was released by NASA in late 2009 when the organization announced it was proceeding with a planned $1.75 million experiment it was funding reported the The experiment would see monkeys irradiated with one large dose of radiation, thought to be the equivalent of what a person would receive as an astronaut travelling to Mars on a three year mission. The A North American movement to try to protect the squirrel monkeys has been underway since at least early this year, largely led by PETA has held demonstrations to protest the experiment, and it was one of those protests that caught the attention of former NASA engineer, April Evans. Evans told the Galveston Daily News she attempted to have NASA change its policy on using animals, but was not successful. Since Evans resigned, PETA has been using her stance to fuel its campaign, leading some to believe Evans was working for PETA. Evans, however, said she is not affiliated with PETA. To demonstrate the wide gulf between her and the radical group, Evans told the Galveston Daily News she not only eats meat, she has hunted animals in the past. Evans has been unemployed since she resigned from NASA, but she hopes to be working by December. She told ADI that NASA had the wrong focus, saying the agency should be working on protecting astronauts and equipment from radiation, instead of trying to learn what harmful effects radiation might have on the astronauts. " Both astronauts and hardware are at risk from the space radiation environment. This is a problem that all space agencies will have to solve for interplanetary space travel. Space vehicle radiation shielding is necessary technology for a sustainable long-term human space exploration program." Evans went on to say "These tests were proposed to support a schedule for space exploration that no longer exists. Experiments on primates only take focus away from the critical need for shielding technology.” NASA's Administrator, Charles F. Bolden, responding to the growing protests against the experiment, told the Opposition to the experiment has come from famous While announcements about the experiment say up to 18 monkeys will be used in the experiment, the Those who would like to add their voice to the protest against the experiment are encouraged to sign a petition organized by Earlier this year a NASA engineer, April Evans, quit her dream job at NASA, where she had worked for eight years after she could not convince her higher-ups at the space agency to reconsider the experiment. Evans' resignation was publicly announced by Animal Defenders International (ADI) in late June. Prompting Evans' resignation are plans to irradiate a number of squirrel monkeys in an experiment. NASA had not irradiated monkeys for 30 years, said ADI, but NASA had agreed to fund an experiment which is supposed to get started this year. In her letter of resignation Evans saidThe news of the testing was released by NASA in late 2009 when the organization announced it was proceeding with a planned $1.75 million experiment it was funding reported the New Scientist . To be conducted by Harvard researchers, the proposed experiment would use up to 18 squirrel monkeys and expose them to radiation.The experiment would see monkeys irradiated with one large dose of radiation, thought to be the equivalent of what a person would receive as an astronaut travelling to Mars on a three year mission.The Galveston Daily News spoke with a NASA representative last week. Michael Braukus told the Daily that NASA was revisiting its approval, and there is a chance the agency might pull the plug on the experiment.A North American movement to try to protect the squirrel monkeys has been underway since at least early this year, largely led by PETA , which claims the monkeys will be caged for life-long observation following their irradiation.PETA has held demonstrations to protest the experiment, and it was one of those protests that caught the attention of former NASA engineer, April Evans. Evans told the Galveston Daily News she attempted to have NASA change its policy on using animals, but was not successful. Since Evans resigned, PETA has been using her stance to fuel its campaign, leading some to believe Evans was working for PETA.Evans, however, said she is not affiliated with PETA. To demonstrate the wide gulf between her and the radical group, Evans told the Galveston Daily News she not only eats meat, she has hunted animals in the past.Evans has been unemployed since she resigned from NASA, but she hopes to be working by December. She told ADI that NASA had the wrong focus, saying the agency should be working on protecting astronauts and equipment from radiation, instead of trying to learn what harmful effects radiation might have on the astronauts. "Evans went on to sayNASA's Administrator, Charles F. Bolden, responding to the growing protests against the experiment, told the Pasadena Weekly in early June the experiment was very important for the future of manned space flights. Bolden also said the experiments would be humane, and would be subject to strict peer review.Opposition to the experiment has come from famous actors and actresses , such as Alicia Silverstone, James Cromwell, Zachary Quinto, Allison Janney, Woody Harrelson, Kristen Bell, Emily Deschanel, and Elizabeth Perkins. Sir Paul McCartney, the former Beatle, added his voice to the protests by writing a letter of opposition to Bolden this summer reported The Mirror . ADI said that the European Space Agency (ESA) also deplores the proposed experiment. Valentin Lebedev, a Russian cosmonaut also opposes the planned experiment reported ADI While announcements about the experiment say up to 18 monkeys will be used in the experiment, the budget documents posted by NASA for the project show that 30 monkeys will be purchased for the experiment.Those who would like to add their voice to the protest against the experiment are encouraged to sign a petition organized by the Animal Rescue Site More about NASA, Animal testing, April evans, Irradiation testing, Animal rights More news from nasa animal testing april evans irradiation testing animal rights valentin lebedev animal defenders int...