NASA supports research to enhance astronaut health on extended space missions

NASA supports research to enhance astronaut health on extended space missions
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 27, 2024

NASA has committed funding to 11 new research projects aimed at improving the health and performance of astronauts during long-duration space missions. These studies will be conducted on Earth and do not require direct data or samples from astronauts in space.

The research will explore various physiological and psychological responses to the unique challenges of space travel, including team performance, communication, living environments, decision-making, blood flow, and brain health. The findings are expected to help NASA reduce risks and safeguard astronaut well-being during future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Selected from 123 proposals in response to the 2024 Human Exploration Research Opportunities, the 11 studies represent 10 different institutions and have a combined award value of approximately $14.6 million. The duration of these projects ranges from one to five years.

The following researchers and their teams have been selected for these studies:

- Katya Arquilla, University Of Colorado, Boulder, "Investigating Countermeasures for Communication Delays through the Laboratory-based Exploration Mission Analog"

- Tripp Driskell, Florida Maxima Corporation, "CADMUS (Crew Adaptive Decision Making Under Stress) and Crew Decision Support System: Development, Validation, and Proof-of-Concept"

- Christopher Jones, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, "Predicting Operationally Meaningful Performance with Multivariate Biomarkers Using Advanced Algorithms"

- Jessica Marquez, NASA Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, California, "Enhancing Performance and Communication for Distributed Teams During Lunar Spacewalks"

- Shu-Chieh Wu, San Jose State University Research Foundation, California, "Lessening the Impact of Interface Inconsistency Through Goal-Directed Crew Operations"

- Erika Rashka, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, "Local Psychiatric Digital Phenotyping for Isolated, Constrained, and Extreme (ICE) Environments via Multimodal Sensing"

- Ana Diaz Artiles, Texas A and M Engineering Experiment Station, College Station, "Dose-response Curves of Cardiovascular and Ocular Variables During Graded Lower Body Negative Pressure in Microgravity Conditions Using Parabolic Flight"

- Theodora Chaspari, University Of Colorado, Boulder, "A Speech-Based Artificial Intelligence System for Predicting Team Functioning Degradation in HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) Missions"

- Ute Fischer, Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta, "Supporting Collaboration and Connectedness between Space and Ground at Lunar Latencies"

- Xiaohong Lu, Louisiana State University, Shreveport, "Space Exposome Converges on Genotoxic Stress to Accelerate Brain Aging and Countermeasures to Mitigate Acute and Late Central Nervous System Risks"

- Catherine Davis, Henry M. Jackson Foundation For The Advancement of Military Medicine, North Bethesda, Maryland, "NeuroSTAR (Neurobehavioral Changes Following Stressors and Radiation): Predicting Mission Impacts from Analogous Human and Rodent Endpoints"

The proposals underwent an independent peer-review process, conducted by experts from academia, industry, and government, to evaluate their scientific merit. The top proposals were then assessed by NASA for their relevance to the agency's human research goals before the final selections were made.

NASA's Human Research Program is dedicated to finding the most effective methods and technologies to ensure safe and productive human space travel. Through extensive research in laboratories, ground-based analogs, and aboard the International Space Station, the program studies the impacts of space travel on human health. This ongoing research is vital as NASA continues to develop strategies to maintain astronaut health on missions to distant destinations like the Moon and Mars.