According to media reports, a Japanese Astronaut will not lose his mission to the space station because of his involvement in a scandal.
The Japan Aeronautical Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in an English-language report that Furukawa and his team will be punished for faking and altering research study data.
Furukawa, who was trained as a medical doctor and surgeon, was not directly involved in the work.
There is a photo tour of the space station.
"Sloppy management of the experiment has damaged the credibility of our research data and the scientific value of research as a whole," said Hiroshi Sasaki, JAXA vice president.
The situation made it impossible to get reliable data worthy of publication and the study methodology was a betrayal of the good intentions of the research subjects. The space agency made an apology. The translation was provided by the internet search engine.
Furukawa flew to the space station for three months in 2011 after the devastating Tohoku disaster, but he's going to do it again in less than two years.
At a time when JAXA is increasing its collaboration with NASA in human spaceflight, the research scandal comes at a good time. The Kibo laboratory is the major space station contribution from Japan.
Japanese astronauts have been promised seats on Artemis missions to the moon and possibly a coveted landing mission spot, as part of a larger U.S. international trade agreement announced in May.
Furukawa's study was supposed to examine 42 people working in a closed environment for two weeks in a facility northeast of Tokyo to assess their stress levels and mental well-being. Analog studies are normal in space research and allow for a wider range of participants than the 500 or so professional astronauts who have been to space.
No scientific journal results were produced after the study was stopped in 2019.
An independent evaluator couldn't confirm a selection of the purported interviews had existed or had been recorded, which led to the creation of non-existent data in at least five interviews associated with the study. Reverso providedTranslation
"The creation of non-existent data undermines the credibility of the research content, and it was judged that it was an act that could be considered as fabrication from the perspective of researchers in general and society," officials wrote.
There were issues of scientific validity, data collection and data management that were found by investigators.
The report states that the study managers failed to get the informed consent of at least some participants.
It is important for subjects to know why they are participating in a study, how their data will be used, how their privacy will be protected, and what precautions are in place in case of mental or physical issues associated with participation.
The agency will report the results to the two government department heads responsible for health and education, as they are looking at what caused the issues.
The co-author of Why Am I Taller is Elizabeth Howell. A book about space medicine is in the works. Follow us on social media, like us on Facebook (opens in new tab)
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