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By NASA
NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Nick Hague pedals on the Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization (CEVIS), an exercise cycle located aboard the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module. CEVIS provides aerobic and cardiovascular conditioning through recumbent (leaning back position) or upright cycling activities.NASA Lee esta historia en español aquí.
The International Space Station is humanity’s home in space and a research station orbiting about 250 miles above the Earth. NASA and its international partners have maintained a continuous human presence aboard the space station for more than 24 years, conducting research that is not possible on Earth.
The people living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory also are part of the research being conducted, helping to address complex human health issues on Earth and prepare humanity for travel farther than ever before, including the Moon and Mars.
Here are a few frequently asked questions about how NASA and its team of medical physicians, psychologists, nutritionists, exercise scientists, and other specialized caretakers ensure astronauts’ health and fitness aboard the orbiting laboratory.
How long is a typical stay aboard the International Space Station?
A typical mission to the International Space Station lasts about six months, but can vary based on visiting spacecraft schedules, mission priorities, and other factors. NASA astronauts also have remained aboard the space station for longer periods of time. These are known as long-duration missions, and previous missions have given NASA volumes of data about long-term spaceflight and its effects on the human body, which the agency applies to any crewed mission.
During long-duration missions, NASA’s team of medical professionals focus on optimizing astronauts’ physical and behavioral health and their performance to help ensure mission success. These efforts also are helping NASA prepare for future human missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
How does NASA keep astronauts healthy while in space?
NASA has a team of medical doctors, psychologists, and others on the ground dedicated to supporting the health and well-being of astronauts before, during, and after each space mission. NASA assigns physicians with specialized training in space medicine, called flight surgeons, to each crew once named to a mission. Flight surgeons oversee the health care and medical training as crew members prepare for their mission, and they monitor the crew’s health before, during, and after their mission to the space station.
How does NASA support its astronauts’ mental and emotional well-being while in space?
The NASA behavioral health team provides individually determined psychological support services for crew members and their families during each mission. Ensuring astronauts can thrive in extreme environments starts as early as the astronaut selection process, in which applicants are evaluated on competencies such as adaptability and resilience. Astronauts receive extensive training to help them use self-assessment tools and treatments to manage their behavioral health. NASA also provides training in expeditionary skills to prepare every astronaut for missions on important competencies, such as self-care and team care, communication, and leadership and followership skills.
To help maintain motivation and morale aboard the space station, astronauts can email, call, and video conference with their family and friends, receive crew care packages aboard NASA’s cargo resupply missions, and teleconference with a psychologist, if needed.
How does microgravity affect astronaut physical health?
In microgravity, without the continuous load of Earth’s gravity, there are many changes to the human body. NASA understands many of the human system responses to the space environment, including adaptations to bone density, muscle, sensory-motor, and cardiovascular health, but there is still much to learn. These spaceflight effects vary from astronaut to astronaut, so NASA flight surgeons regularly monitor each crew member’s health during a mission and individualize diet and fitness routines to prioritize health and fitness while in space.
Why do astronauts exercise in space?
Each astronaut aboard the orbiting laboratory engages in specifically designed, Earth-like exercise plans. To maintain their strength and endurance, crew members are scheduled for two and a half hours of daily exercise to support muscle, bone, aerobic, and sensorimotor health. Current equipment onboard the space station includes the ARED (Advanced Resistive Exercise Device), which mimics weightlifting; a treadmill, called T2; and the CEVIS (Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System) for cardiovascular exercise.
What roles do food and nutrition play in supporting astronaut health?
Nutrition plays a critical role in maintaining an astronaut’s health and optimal performance before, during, and after their mission. Food also plays a psychosocial role during an astronaut’s long-duration stay aboard the space station. Experts working in NASA’s Space Food Systems Laboratory at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston develop foods that are nutritious and appetizing. Crew members also have the opportunity to supplement the menu with personal favorites and off-the-shelf items, which can provide a taste of home.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson is pictured in the galley aboard the International Space Station’s Unity module showing off food packets from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).NASA How does NASA know whether astronauts are getting the proper nutrients?
NASA’s nutritional biochemistry dietitians and scientists determine the nutrients (vitamins, minerals, calories) the astronauts require while in space. This team tracks what each crew member eats through a tablet-based tracking program, which each astronaut completes daily. The data from the app is sent to the dietitians weekly to monitor dietary intake. Analyzing astronaut blood and urine samples taken before, during, and after space missions is a crucial part of studying how their bodies respond to the unique conditions of spaceflight. These samples provide valuable insight into how each astronaut adapts to microgravity, radiation, and other factors that affect human physiology in space.
How do astronauts train to work together while in space?
In addition to technical training, astronauts participate in team skills training. They learn effective group living skills and how to look out for and support one another. Due to its remote and isolated nature, long-duration spaceflight can make teamwork difficult. Astronauts must maintain situational awareness and implement the flight program in an ever-changing environment. Therefore, effective communication is critical when working as a team aboard station and with multiple support teams on the ground. Astronauts also need to be able to communicate complex information to people with different professional backgrounds. Ultimately, astronauts are people living and working together aboard the station and must be able to do a highly technical job and resolve any interpersonal issues that might arise.
What happens if there is a medical emergency on the space station?
All astronauts undergo medical training and have regular contact with a team of doctors closely monitoring their health on the ground. NASA also maintains a robust pharmacy and a suite of medical equipment onboard the space station to treat various conditions and injuries. If a medical emergency requires a return to Earth, the crew will return in the spacecraft they launched aboard to receive urgent medical care on the ground.
Expedition 69 NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is seen resting and talking with NASA ISS Program Manager Joel Montalbano, kneeling left, NASA Flight Surgeon Josef Schmid, red hat, and NASA Chief of the Astronaut Office Joe Acaba, outside the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft after he landed with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023.NASA/Bill Ingalls Learn more about NASA’s Human Health and Performance Directorate at:
www.nasa.gov/hhp
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By NASA
Technicians carefully install a piece of equipment to house Gateway’s xenon fuel tanks, part of its advanced electric propulsion system. Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, which will make the lunar space station the most powerful solar electric spacecraft ever flown, recently received the xenon and liquid fuel tanks for its journey to and around the Moon.
Technicians in Palo Alto, California carefully install a piece of equipment that will house the tanks. Once fully assembled and launched to lunar orbit, the Power and Propulsion Element’s roll-out solar arrays – together about the size of an American football field endzone – will harness the Sun’s energy to energize xenon gas and produce the thrust to get Gateway to the Moon’s orbit where it will await the arrival of its first crew on the Artemis IV mission.
The Power and Propulsion Element will also carry the European Radiation Sensors Array science experiment provided by ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), one of three Gateway science experiments that will study solar and cosmic radiation. The little understood phenomenon is a chief concern for humans and hardware journeying to deep-space destinations like Mars and beyond.
The Power and Propulsion Element is managed out of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio and built by Maxar Space Systems of Palo Alto, California.
Hardware for the Gateway space station’s Power and Propulsion element, including its primary structure and fuel tanks ready for assembly, are shown at Maxar Space Systems in Palo Alto, California.Maxar Space Systems An artist’s rendering of the Gateway space station’s Power and Propulsion Element.NASA/Alberto Bertolin A type of advanced electric propulsion system thruster that will be used on Gateway glows blue as it emits ionized xenon gas during testing at NASA’s Glenn Research Center.NASA An artist’s rendering of European Radiation Sensor Array science experiment that will study both radiation and lunar dust. NASA Learn More About Gateway Share
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Last Updated Nov 20, 2024 ContactDylan Connelldylan.b.connell@nasa.govLocationJohnson Space Center Related Terms
Gateway Space Station Artemis Earth's Moon Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Gateway Program Glenn Research Center Johnson Space Center Explore More
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By USH
Over the years, numerous mysterious events have been witnessed in the sky, defying explanation. Recently, yet another unusual sky phenomenon was observed over Southern Australia capturing attention and sparking curiosity.
Video footage reveals what appears to be a dome-shaped structure, with an even stranger detail: lightning seems to bounce off or perhaps even originate from within the dome.
The mysterious formation has led to numerous theories. Some viewers suggest it could be a unique (red) rainbow or a rare weather event like a haboob (sandstorm). Others speculate it might be the result of weather manipulation or even an energy field projected over the region.
Opinions also vary on the lightning, some say it’s bouncing off the dome, while others believe it could be emanating from within. Although it may just be an unusual natural phenomenon, the seemly strange interaction with the lightning remains unexplained.
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By European Space Agency
Image: ESA Astronaut Reserve training kicks off at EAC View the full article
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By NASA
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 members, from left to right, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin and NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps, are seen inside the Dragon spacecraft shortly after having landed off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, on Oct. 25, 2024. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission successfully splashed down at 3:29 a.m. EDT Friday, off Pensacola, Florida, concluding a nearly eight-month science mission and the agency’s eighth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station.
After launching March 3 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, spent 232 days aboard the space station.
Recovery teams from NASA and SpaceX quickly secured the spacecraft and assisted the astronauts during exit. The crew now will head to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, while the Dragon spacecraft will return to SpaceX facilities at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for inspection and refurbishment for future missions.
During their mission, crew members traveled nearly 100 million miles and completed 3,760 orbits around Earth. They conducted new scientific research to advance human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit human life on Earth. Research and technology demonstrations included conducting stem cell research to develop organoid models for studying degenerative diseases, exploring how fuel temperature affects material flammability, and studying how spaceflight affects immune function in astronauts. Their work aims to improve astronaut health during long-duration spaceflights, contributing to critical advancements in space medicine and benefitting humanity.
Crew-8’s return follows the arrival of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 to the orbiting laboratory Sept. 29. These missions are part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which provides reliable access to space, maximizing the use of the station for research and development and supporting future missions beyond low Earth orbit by partnering with private companies to transport astronauts to and from the space station.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew program at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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Josh Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov
Leah Cheshier / Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov / sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
Steve Siceloff / Stephanie Plucinsky
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 25, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Commercial Crew Humans in Space International Space Station (ISS) ISS Research View the full article
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