microgravity Archives

September 25, 2024September 25, 2024 by Matt Williams

Space Travel Weakens the Heart, New Study Finds

The International Space Station (ISS) in orbit. Credit: NASA

It’s no secret that spending extended periods in space takes a toll on the human body. For years, NASA and other space agencies have been researching the effects of microgravity on humans, animals, and plants aboard the International Space Station (ISS). So far, the research has shown that being in space for long periods leads to muscle atrophy, bone density loss, changes in vision, gene expression, and psychological issues. Knowing these effects and how to mitigate them is essential given our future space exploration goals, which include long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

However, according to a recent experiment led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and supported by NASA’s Johnson Space Center, it appears that heart tissues “really don’t fare well in space” either. The experiment consisted of 48 samples of human bioengineered heart tissue being sent to the ISS for 30 days. As they indicate in their paper, the experiment demonstrates that exposure to microgravity weakens heart tissue and weakens its ability to maintain rhythmic beats. These results indicate that additional measures must be taken to ensure humans can maintain their cardiovascular health in space.

September 5, 2024September 5, 2024 by Evan Gough

Archaeological Methods Reveal How Astronauts Work on the International Space Station

Archaeology is the study of human prehistory, so it seems incongruous to use its methods to study how humans behave in space. But that’s what astronauts aboard the International Space Station are doing.

August 27, 2024August 27, 2024 by Evan Gough

How Can Astronauts Avoid Vision Loss from Spaceflight?

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson floats through the Unity module aboard the International Space Station. The microgravity on the ISS can cause vision damage and even loss in astronauts. Credit: NASA

Human bodies are sacks of fluids supported by skeletons. The entire human organism has evolved over billions of years on Earth in harmony with the planet’s specific gravity. But when astronauts spend too much time on the ISS in a microgravity environment, the organism responds, the fluids shift, and problems can occur.

One of those problems is with vision, and scientists are working to understand how it happens and what they can do about it.

July 29, 2024July 30, 2024 by Evan Gough

Astronauts’ Muscle Loss Mimics Age-Related Muscle Loss

Researchers grew muscle cells on tiny chips then sent them to the ISS to study them. Researchers hope to develop drugs to help astronauts combat muscle atrophy during space flight. Image Credit: NASA. CC BY-SA

One of the hazards astronauts must contend with is muscle loss. The more time they spend in a microgravity environment, the more muscle loss they suffer. Astronauts use exercise to counter the effects of muscle atrophy, but it’s not a perfect solution. Researchers want to develop drugs to help, and understanding the muscle-loss process in space is a critical first step.

July 16, 2024July 16, 2024 by Evan Gough

Astronauts Struggle To Eat Their Space Food and Scientists Want to Know Why

Researchers in Australia used Virtual Reality to understand why food tastes bland to astronauts. Image Credit: Seamus Daniel, RMIT University. CC BY-SA

Astronauts sometimes struggle to consume enough nutritious food on the ISS because it tastes bland. But astronaut food is of high quality and designed to be palatable and to meet nutrition needs. What’s the problem?

June 25, 2024June 25, 2024 by Andy Tomaswick

A Combination Drill and Gas Conveyor Could Simplify Asteroid Extraction

Collecting material from an asteroid seems like a simple task. In reality, it isn’t. Low gravity, high rotational speeds, lack of air, and other constraints make collecting material from any asteroid difficult. But that won’t stop engineers from trying. A team from Beijing Spacecrafts and the Guangdong University of Technology recently published a paper that described a novel system for doing so – using an ultrasonic drill and gas “conveyor belt.”

February 13, 2024February 13, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Next Generation Spacesuit Gets Tested in Weightlessness

Spacesuit tested in simulated gravity. Credit: Collins Aerospace

Considerable effort goes into the design of space suits and space agencies across the world are always working on improvements to enhance safety and mobility of the designs. NASA is now working with Collins Aerospace to develop their next generation spacesuit for the International Space Station. The new designs are tested extensively and recently, the new design was subjected to a ZeroG flight on board a diving aircraft.

January 25, 2024January 25, 2024 by Matt Williams

NASA 2024 NIAC Program Selects Deep-Space Hibernation Technology for Development

Graphic depiction of A revolutionary approach to interplanetary space travel: Studying Torpor in Animals for Space-health in Humans (STASH). Color images (top) and thermal images (bottom) show a model hibernation organism requiring low environmental temperatures for torpor study. Credit: Ryan Sprenger

In the next fifteen years, NASA, China, and SpaceX will make the next great leap in space exploration by sending the first crewed missions to Mars. This presents many challenges, not the least of which is distance. Even when they are closest to each other in their orbits (aka. when Mars is in Opposition), Mars can still be up to 55 million km (34 million mi) from Earth. Using conventional propulsion (chemical rockets), a one-way transit can last six to nine months, which works out to a total mission time (including surface operations) of about three years.

That’s a very long time for people to be in microgravity, not to mention exposed to solar and cosmic radiation. To address this, NASA is investigating advanced propulsion methods that will reduce transit times and hibernation technologies that will allow crews to sleep through most of their voyage. This year, the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program selected the Studying Torpor in Animals for Space-health in Humans (STASH) experiment, a new method for inducing torpor developed by Ryan Sprenger and colleagues at the California-based biotechnology firm Fauna Bio Inc.

December 4, 2023December 4, 2023 by Matt Williams

How Can Astronauts Maintain Their Bodies With Minimal Equipment?

NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Kjell Lindgren work out on the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED). Credits: NASA

Decades of research aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and other spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) have shown that long-duration stays in microgravity will take a toll on human physiology. Among the most notable effects are muscle atrophy and bone density loss and effects on eyesight, blood flow, and cardiovascular health. However, as research like NASA’s Twin Study showed, the effects extend to organ function, psychological effects, and gene expression. Mitigating these effects is vital for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and other deep-space destinations.

To reduce the impact of microgravity, astronauts aboard the ISS rely on a strict regiment of resistance training, proper diet, and cardiovascular exercise to engage their muscles, bones, and other connective tissues that comprise their musculoskeletal systems. Unfortunately, the machines aboard the ISS are too large and heavy to bring aboard spacecraft for long-duration spaceflights, where space and mass requirements are limited. To address this, NASA is investigating whether exercise regimens that rely on minimal or no equipment could provide adequate physical activity.

October 10, 2023October 10, 2023 by Scott Alan Johnston

Earth's Smallest Flowering Plant Can Handle 20X Earth's Gravity

Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope image of approximately 1mm-diameter watermeal plants after hypergravity exposure. ESA.

Astronauts need to eat, and they need to breathe. That means, for long-duration missions, they are going to need to bring plants with them. But not all plants are created equal, and not all can survive the harsh conditions of space. One that might thrive on long spacefaring voyages also happens to be the smallest flowering plant on Earth.