Search results for "spaceflight"
showing 7 items of 27 documents
Space medicine: use of ex vivo human respiratory mucosa in the survey of the effects of microgravity on the respiratory system
2019
In the near future, the length and scope of space travel is set to increase significantly. The number of individuals who will have access to extra-terrestrial travels is also increasing. In view of the growing international interest towards manned long-term space exploration, possible effects of exposure to microgravity conditions affecting the respiratory system are subject of interest by major space agencies (NASA and ESA primarily). Our team has developed an advanced 3d tissue model of the human bronchial mucosa within a wide research project involving several universities and space agencies at international level. The model will be used to study the structural/functional alterations of …
Tracing the ICME plasma with a MHD simulation
2021
The determination of the chemical composition of interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) plasma is an open issue. More specifically, it is not yet fully understood how remote sensing observations of the solar corona plasma during solar disturbances evolve into plasma properties measured in situ away from the Sun. The ambient conditions of the background interplanetary plasma are important for space weather because they influence the evolutions, arrival times, and geo-effectiveness of the disturbances. The Reverse In situ and MHD APproach (RIMAP) is a technique to reconstruct the heliosphere on the ecliptic plane (including the magnetic Parker spiral) directly from in situ measurements a…
Motor imagery
2015
International audience; Before participating in a space mission, astronauts undergo parabolic-flight and underwater training to facilitate their subsequent adaptation to weightlessness. Unfortunately, similar training methods can't be used to prepare re adaptation to planetary gravity. Here, we propose a quick, simple and inexpensive approach that could be used to prepare astronauts both for the absence and for the renewed presence of gravity. This approach is based on motor imagery (MI), a process in which actions are produced in working memory without any overt output. Training protocols based on MI have repeatedly been shown to modify brain circuitry and to improve motor performance in h…
Towards human exploration of space: the THESEUS review series on cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal research priorities
2016
International audience; The THESEUS project (Towards Human Exploration of Space: aEUropean Strategy) was initiated within the seventh FrameworkProgramme by the European Commission. This project aimed toprovide a cross-cutting, life science-based roadmap for Europe’sstrategy towards human exploration of space, especially for deepspace missions and its relevance to applications on Earth. Toaddress these challenges, relevance of space research on thecardiovascular system, the lungs and kidneys, was discussed in anexpert group and its principal conclusions will be presented in thisarticle.
European vestibular experiments on the Spacelab-1 mission: 7. Ocular counterrolling measurements pre- and post-flight.
1986
The static ocular counterrolling (OCR) of the four scientific crew members in the first Spacelab mission was measured during baseline-data-collection before and after the flight of SL-1. It was presumed that the modification of otolithic responses during spaceflight will be reflected in specific changes of the OCR-gain on the first days after recovery. The magnitude of OCR was determined analysing colour-transparencies of subjects right eyes that were produced in different positions of lateral body tilt. In general, one subject did not show any changes at all; three subjects exhibited a significant decrease of OCR-gain after exposure to weightlessness, whereby differences could be found bet…
Analysis of the traditional approaches for astronauts’ personal hygiene in outer space
2016
Various approaches adopted in the years for astronauts' personal hygiene in microgravity conditions are revisited and analysed in this paper. For each approach, benefits, critical aspects of sanitation and comfort, along with the possibility of recycling the amount of used water, are discussed and evaluated.
Biological and Mechanical Characterization of the Random Positioning Machine (RPM) for Microgravity Simulations
2021
The rapid improvement of space technologies is leading to the continuous increase of space missions that will soon bring humans back to the Moon and, in the coming future, toward longer interplanetary missions such as the one to Mars. The idea of living in space is charming and fascinating; however, the space environment is a harsh place to host human life and exposes the crew to many physical challenges. The absence of gravity experienced in space affects many aspects of human biology and can be reproduced in vitro with the help of microgravity simulators. Simulated microgravity (s-μg) is applied in many fields of research, ranging from cell biology to physics, including cancer biology. In…