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Innovative Instrument Reveals Hidden Features Deep Inside the Van Allen Radiation Belts
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By NASA
Pictured from left: Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut mission specialist Takuya Onishi train at SpaceX facilities in Hawthorne, California (Credit: SpaceX). During NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station, which is scheduled to launch in March, select members of the four-person crew will participate in exercise and medical research aimed at keeping astronauts fit on future long-duration missions.
Crew members living and working aboard the space station have access to a designated training area outfitted with a weight-lifting system, a stationary bike, and a specialized treadmill called T2. The space station is expansive enough for bulky exercise equipment that helps preserve the health and performance of astronauts in space and when they return to Earth.
However, as NASA looks to explore beyond low Earth orbit, the agency anticipates future spacecraft will not have room for large exercise equipment, like treadmills. Since walking and running are essential parts of workouts aboard the space station, NASA does not fully understand how long-duration spaceflights without a treadmill will impact crews’ health and motor functions. Consequently, NASA researchers are adjusting astronauts’ training regimens, including eliminating the use of the treadmill in some cases, to study ways that maintain crews’ strength, fitness, bone health, and balance.
In an ongoing study called Zero T2, expedition crews are divided into three groups with different workout regimens. One group continues exercising normally, using all the available equipment aboard the orbiting complex. A second group forgoes using the treadmill, relying solely on the other available equipment. While a third group will only exercise using a new, experimental, less bulky workout machine. NASA compares the groups’ health data collected before, during, and after flight to determine if the lack of treadmill use negatively impacts the crews’ fitness, muscle performance, and recovery after return to Earth.
“A treadmill takes up a lot of mass, space, and energy. This is not great for missions to Mars where every kilogram counts,” explained NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, who participated in the same study while serving as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission in 2024. “The Zero T2 experiment is helping us figure out if we can go without a treadmill and still be healthy.”
Results of the Zero T2 study will help researchers determine how treadmill-free workouts may affect crew health, which will, in turn, help NASA build realistic exercise protocols for future deep space missions. Additionally, this investigation could support design improvements for exercise devices used to prevent or treat bone, muscle, and cardiovascular health on Earth.
Beyond the Zero T2 study, select NASA crew members will perform additional studies supported by the agency’s Human Research Program during their mission. Participating crew will conduct medical exams, provide biological samples, and document spaceflight-related injuries, among other tasks.
“Astronauts choose which studies to participate in based on their interests,” explained Cherie Oubre, a NASA scientist at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, who helps oversee human research studies carried out aboard the space station. “The experiments address important risks and gaps associated with human spaceflight.”
One set of experiments, called CIPHER (Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research), will help researchers understand how multiple systems within the human body adjust to varying mission durations. CIPHER study members will complete vision assessments, cognitive tests, and MRI scans to help provide a clearer picture of how the entire body is affected by space.
“The CIPHER experiment tracks changes in the eyes, bones, heart, muscles, immune system, and more,” Oubre said. “The investigation provides the most comprehensive overview of how long-duration spaceflight affects the entire human body ever conducted, helping us advance human expeditions to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.”
Some crew members also will contribute to a core set of measurements called Spaceflight Standard Measures. The measurements represent how the human body and mind adapt to space travel over time and serve as a basis for other spaceflight studies like CIPHER. Additionally, crew members may provide biological samples for Omics Archive, a separate study analyzing how the body reacts to long-duration spaceflight at the molecular level.
In another study, select crew members will test a potential treatment for spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome, a condition associated with brain changes and swelling of the back of the eye. Researchers are unsure what causes the syndrome or why only certain astronauts develop it, but the shift of bodily fluids toward the head in weightlessness may play a role. Some scientists believe genetics related to how the body processes B vitamins may affect how astronauts respond to those fluid shifts. Participating crew will test whether a daily B vitamin supplement can ease or prevent the development of symptoms. They also will investigate if cuffs worn on astronauts’ thighs to keep fluids in the legs could be an effective intervention.
Upon return, the select crew members will complete surveys that record any discomfort or injuries associated with landing, such as scrapes and bruises. Results of the surveys ̶ when combined with data retrieved by sensors in the vehicle ̶ will help researchers catalog these injuries and improve the design of spacecraft.
Crew members began participating in the studies about a year before their mission, learning about the work and offering baseline health data. They will continue to provide data for the experiments for up to two years after returning home.
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NASA’s Human Research Program pursues the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. Through science conducted in laboratories, ground-based analogs, commercial missions, and the International Space Station, the program scrutinizes how spaceflight affects human bodies and behaviors. Such research drives NASA’s quest to innovate ways that keep astronauts healthy and mission-ready as human space exploration expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Learn More About Exercising in Space
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station typically exercise for two hours each day. From running to cycling to weightlifting, learn how crew members complete fitness regimens in space and commit to staying healthy – even in microgravity (Credit: NASA). Explore More
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By NASA
Jorge Chong is helping shape the future of human spaceflight, one calculation at a time. As a project manager for TRON (Tracking and Ranging via Optical Navigation) and a guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) test engineer in the Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division, he is leading efforts to ensure the Orion spacecraft can navigate deep space autonomously.
Jorge Chong in front of the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston when he helped with optical navigation operations during Artemis I.Image courtesy of Jorge Chong “GNC is like the brain of a spacecraft. It involves a suite of sensors that keep track of where the vehicle is in orbit so it can return home safely,” he said. “Getting to test the components of a GNC system makes you very familiar with how it all works together, and then to see it fly and help it operate successfully is immensely rewarding.”
His work is critical to the Artemis campaign, which aims to return humans to the Moon and pave the way for Mars. From developing optical navigation technology that allows Orion to determine its position using images of Earth and the Moon to testing docking cameras and Light Detection and Ranging systems that enable autonomous spacecraft rendezvous, Chong is pushing the limits of exploration. He also runs high-fidelity flight simulations at Lockheed Martin’s Orion Test Hardware facility in Houston, ensuring Orion’s software is ready for the demands of spaceflight.
Chong’s NASA career spans seven years as a full-time engineer, plus three years as a co-op student at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. In 2024, he began leading Project TRON, an optical navigation initiative funded by a $2 million Early Career Initiative award. The project aims to advance autonomous space navigation—an essential capability for missions beyond Earth’s orbit.
Jorge Chong and his colleagues with the Artemis II docking camera in the Electro-Optics Lab at Johnson. From left to right: Paul McKee, Jorge Chong, and Kevin Kobylka. Bottom right: Steve Lockhart and Ronney Lovelace. Thanks to Chong’s work, the Artemis Generation is one step closer to exploring the Moon, Mars, and beyond. He supported optical navigation operations during Artemis I, is writing software that will fly on Artemis II, and leads optical testing for Orion’s docking cameras. But his path to NASA wasn’t always written in the stars.
“I found math difficult as a kid,” Chong admits. “I didn’t enjoy it at first, but my parents encouraged me patiently, and eventually it started to click and then became a strength and something I enjoyed. Now, it’s a core part of my career.” He emphasizes that perseverance is key, especially for students who may feel discouraged by challenging subjects.
Most of what Chong has learned, he says, came from working collaboratively on the job. “No matter how difficult something may seem, anything can be learned,” he said. “I could not have envisioned being involved in projects like these or working alongside such great teams before coming to Johnson.”
Jorge Chong (left) and his siblings Ashley and Bronsen at a Texas A&M University game. Image courtesy of Jorge Chong His career has also reinforced the importance of teamwork, especially when working with contractors, vendors, universities, and other NASA centers. “Coordinating across these dynamic teams and keeping the deliverables on track can be challenging, but it has helped to be able to lean on teammates for assistance and keep communication flowing,” said Chong.
And soon, those systems will help Artemis astronauts explore places no human has gone before. Whether guiding Orion to the Moon or beyond, Chong’s work is helping NASA write the next chapter of space exploration.
“I thank God for the doors He has opened for me and the incredible mentors and coworkers who have helped me along the way,” he said.
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By NASA
5 min read
NASA CubeSat Finds New Radiation Belts After May 2024 Solar Storm
Key Points
The May 2024 solar storm created two new temporary belts of high-energy particles surrounding Earth. Such belts have been seen before, but the new ones were particularly long lasting, especially the new proton belt. The findings are particularly important for spacecraft launching into geostationary orbits, which can be damaged as they traverse the dangerous belts. The largest solar storm in two decades hit Earth in May 2024. For several days, wave after wave of high-energy charged particles from the Sun rocked the planet. Brilliant auroras engulfed the skies, and some GPS communications were temporarily disrupted.
With the help of a serendipitously resurrected small NASA satellite, scientists have discovered that this storm also created two new temporary belts of energetic particles encircling Earth. The findings are important to understanding how future solar storms could impact our technology.
The new belts formed between two others that permanently surround Earth called the Van Allen Belts. Shaped like concentric rings high above Earth’s equator, these permanent belts are composed of a mix of high-energy electrons and protons that are trapped in place by Earth’s magnetic field. The energetic particles in these belts can damage spacecraft and imperil astronauts who pass through them, so understanding their dynamics is key to safe spaceflight.
The May 2024 solar storm created two extra radiation belts, sandwiched between the two permanent Van Allen Belts. One of the new belts, shown in purple, included a population of protons, giving it a unique composition that hadn’t been seen before. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Kristen Perrin The discovery of the new belts, made possible by NASA’s Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Experiment (CIRBE) satellite and published Feb. 6, 2025, in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, is particularly important for protecting spacecraft launching into geostationary orbits, since they travel through the Van Allen Belts several times before reaching their final orbit.
New Belts Amaze Scientists
Temporary belts have been detected in the aftermath of large solar storms before. But while previous belts have been composed mostly of electrons, the innermost of the two new belts also included energetic protons. This unique composition is likely due to the strength and composition of the solar storm.
“When we compared the data from before and after the storm, I said, ‘Wow, this is something really new,’” said the paper’s lead author Xinlin Li, a professor at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) and Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. “This is really stunning.”
The new belts also seem to have lasted much longer than previous belts. Whereas previous temporary belts lasted around four weeks, the new belt composed primary of electrons lasted more than three months. The other belt, that also includes protons, has lasted much longer than the electron belt because it is in a more stable region and is less prone to the physical processes that can knock the particles out of orbit. It is likely still there today.
“These are really high-energy electrons and protons that have found their way into Earth’s inner magnetic environment,” said David Sibeck, former mission scientist for NASA’s Van Allen Probes and research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who was not involved with the new study. “Some might stay in this place for a very long time.”
How long such belts stick around depends on passing solar storms. Large storms can provide the energy to knock particles in these belts out of their orbits and send them spiraling off into space or down to Earth. One such storm at the end of June significantly decreased the size of the new electron belt and another in August nearly erased the remainder of that electron belt, though a small population of high-energy electrons endured.
CubeSat Fortuitously Comes Back to Life to Make the Discovery
The new discovery was made by NASA’s CIRBE satellite, a CubeSat about the size of a shoebox that circled the planet’s magnetic poles in a low Earth orbit from April 2023 to October 2024. CIRBE housed an instrument called the Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope integrated little experiment-2 (REPTile-2) — a miniaturized and upgraded version of an instrument that flew aboard NASA’s Van Allen Probes, which made the first discovery of a temporary electron belt in 2013.
The CIRBE CubeSat in the laboratory before launch. CIRBE was designed and built by LASP at the University of Colorado Boulder. Xinlin Li/LASP/CU Boulder After a year in space, the CubeSat experienced an anomaly and unexpectedly went quiet on April 15, 2024. The scientists were disappointed to miss the solar storm in May but were able to rely on other spacecraft to provide some preliminary data on the electron belt. Luckily, on June 15, the spacecraft sprang back to life and resumed taking measurements. The data provided high-resolution information that couldn’t be gleaned by any other instrument and allowed the scientists to understand the magnitude of the new belts.
“Once we resumed measurements, we were able to see the new electron belt, which wasn’t visible in the data from other spacecraft,” Li said.
Having the CubeSat in orbit to measure the effect of the solar storm has been bittersweet, Li said. While it provided the opportunity to measure the effects of such a large event, the storm also increased atmospheric drag on the CubeSat, which caused its orbit to decrease prematurely. As a result, the CubeSat deorbited in October 2024. However, the spacecraft’s data makes it all worth it.
“We are very proud that our very small CubeSat made such a discovery,” Li said.
CIRBE was designed and built by LASP at the University of Colorado Boulder and was launched through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI). The mission is sponsored by NASA’s Heliophysics Flight Opportunities for Research & Technology (H-FORT) program.
By Mara Johnson-Groh
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Last Updated Feb 06, 2025 Related Terms
Heliophysics CubeSats Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Division Ionosphere Space Weather The Sun Van Allen Probes Explore More
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