Extending the spatial and temporal boundaries of human space flight are important goals for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), yet human space flight remains an endeavor with substantial risks. NASA's Bioastronautics Critical Path Roadmap (BCPR) defines risk as "the conditional probability of an adverse event occurring, or a system performance-related inefficiency."

This is the interim report of the IOM committee's review of NASA's BCPR. The purpose of this report is to provide NASA with preliminary conclusions regarding the strengths and weakness of the BCPR. Over the next several months, the committee will continue to gather data and information and meet with NASA personnel, including senior leadership, other NASA decision makers, and those in operational areas related to the human space flight program.

The committee's final report elaborates on the preliminary conclusions found in this interim report and provides NASA with recommendations about how to address the issues that are identified by the committee.