Dr. Gabriela S. PiloOceanographer, Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies (University of Tasmania, Australia)  Oceanographer, Dr. Gabriela S. Pilo It is quite easy to draw a parallel between ocean and space exploration. Both require a ship, a large sense of adventure, and a love of discovery. But there are more similarities between the ocean and space than simply their ability to feed the imagination of writers, musicians, and curious minds. The ocean, like space, is still unknown. Similarly to space research, ocean researchers are still trying to fill several knowledge gaps. We’ve advanced a lot since the beginning of modern Oceanography, attributed to the Challenger Expedition in 1872. We have now charted the main ocean currents, from the surface down to the bottom of the ocean, at 6000 m depths. We understand how and where surface waters become dense and sink, creating a conveyor belt that connects the whole planet, travelling for 1000 years before re-surfacing. We also understand that ocean currents interact with the wind, the ocean floor, and with each other, and break into several rotating bodies of water, known as ocean eddies. These eddies spin away, carrying their parent current’s water to distant parts of the ocean. However, as in space, there is still a lot we don’t know. Gaps in ocean research relate to balances of energy and of biogeochemical compounds, and to the response of the ocean to a changing climate.  Preparing a CTD instrument - measures conductivity, temperature, and depth of seawater Considering that there still so much to learn, we often find ourselves in the middle of the ocean looking for answers! This brings up the second similarity between ocean and space research: when you are out there, conditions can get harsh! Open-ocean Oceanographic cruises can last for up to 3 months, having only a few shore stops during this time. Therefore, like in space, an oceanographic vessel must be autonomous for a long period of time. During research cruises, scientists and crew members are putting all their efforts into sampling the water and measuring physical properties of the ocean. Sampling happens under all circumstances, in the middle of the night, in rain, snow, and under very high wave conditions! In addition, icebreaker vessels can go deep into an ice field, and reach the most remote parts of the world. Ocean-sickness, just like space-sickness, often kicks in, as your body gets used to the constant movement. You are also living in a confined space with like-minded people that have one goal: to do science! But the ocean is not just a large body of water, flowing and crashing against the shore. The bathymetry of the ocean, the chemical elements dissolved in the water, and the animals, microbes, and algae that live in it, are equally important and fascinating! Oceanography is a highly multidisciplinary research field. Therefore, to fully understand the ocean, we need to collaborate. It takes a team of physical oceanographers, marine biologists, geologists, meteorologists, glaciologists, and several other scientists to put the pieces of the puzzle together. This team work builds up our knowledge of the ocean. Just like in the space sciences, collaboration is key! For example, the InnovaSpace Team is composed of experts in life science, telehealth, and engineering.  Releasing the CTD back into the ocean Finally, the ocean, like space, is vast. We cannot be everywhere, at all times to study it. To obtain global, constant measurements of the ocean we rely on state-of-the-art sensors, similarly to space research. The sensors to measure the ocean are either aboard a series of artificial satellites orbiting the Earth, or in instruments placed in the water. Sensors onboard satellites can measure the sea surface temperature, salinity, and sea surface height. In the water, sensors are aboard floats, mooring arrays, automated underwater vehicles, remotely operated vehicles, gliders, and seals (!). Operational oceanography is a fascinating field of research, and at its heart sits the Argo array, composed of 4000 Argo floats measuring temperature and salinity of the top 2000 m of the ocean since 2005. This array has helped oceanographers to answer important questions on ocean circulation and climate change.
Ultimately, the ocean - just like the space - brings fascination. The excitement of discovery is present both when exploring a deep canyon or a distant quasar. In the end, the ocean is also a final frontier. A frontier, however, closer to home!
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Adriana Bos-MikichDepartment of Morphological Sciences, ICBS, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil  Human sperm and oocyte Image: Nilo Frantz Human Reproduction Centre, Porto Alegre Amazing as it may seem, as the number of spaceflights has increased and life aboard space stations has become a reality, the effects of high levels of space radiation and microgravity (micro-G) on mammalian reproduction are still largely unknown. Therefore, the study of reproduction in space is a very important subject for the future of space missions. Research conducted with experimental non-mammal animals, such as sea urchins, fish, amphibians, and birds has concluded that micro-G does not prevent animal reproduction. However, mammalian reproduction presents specific features, such as ovulation, sperm and oocyte (egg) transit in the reproductive tract, embryo attachment, implantation and placentation, which are specific to mammalian reproduction and cannot be studied in non-mammal species. Surprisingly, little information is available today on how these processes occur in conditions of microgravity.  KSC Researchers preparing Micro-11 experiment sperm samples for launch to the ISS. Credits: NASA A first problem requiring investigation is the supposed difficulty that sperm and egg cells may have to travel along the female reproductive tract to accomplish natural fertilization under micro-G conditions. A project with 100% relevance is NASA’s Micro-11 research, which aims to examine putative motility alterations in human and bull sperm during spaceflight. “Micro-11 provides fundamental data indicating whether successful human reproduction beyond Earth is possible, and whether countermeasures are needed to protect sperm function in space” (NASA). Rapid directional sperm motility is a key factor for successful fertilisation under natural circumstances. Sperm cells need to swim up the uterine cervix, travel through the uterine cavity and fallopian tubes to meet and fertilise the oocyte. To accomplish all these tasks, human sperm respond to chemoattractant signals, to temperature gradient, and to fluid flow. These guidance mechanisms occur naturally along the female reproductive tract and are important for the sperm-egg encounter and for natural fertilisation to occur in the fallopian tubes, but will these mechanisms be sufficient in micro-G? Experimental studies with mice have revealed impaired male germ cell generation under microgravity conditions. Of concern are alterations seen in the physiology of testicular cells observed under conditions of simulated microgravity, which may obscure the starting point of mechanisms that lead to long-lasting tumorigenic processes. However, a recent research has shown that the deleterious effects of microgravity on germ cell proliferation, oxidative metabolism and autophagy may be, at least partially, prevented by the presence of antioxidants in the germ cell culture medium. This finding represents an important contribution to the current knowledge of microgravity effects on germ cell tumour metabolism and development. According to estimates, nearly one in six couples worldwide seek out assisted reproduction technologies for having a child. Thus, it is expected that fertility assistance may also be necessary in space due to naturally occurring fertility problems or due to micro-G induced infertility conditions. A report from the 35th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology recently revealed that frozen human sperm retain their viability and fertilising capacity in outer space, similar to sperm samples stored in liquid nitrogen under Earth’s gravity conditions. This represents a reassuring finding, particularly when considering the importance of sperm cryostorage for fertility preservation, such as in the case of cancer patients who may lose their reproductive potential due to oncological treatments. It also allows us to hypothesise that donor intra-uterine insemination may represent a viable option for having a child under the micro-G conditions found in space stations. The more complex assisted reproduction technology (ART), “in vitro fertilisation” (IVF), developed by Sir Robert Edwards and Dr. Patrick Steptoe, allows fertilisation to occur outside of the body, i.e., outside its natural tubal environment, in a plastic petri dish, giving rise to the term “test-tube” baby. Its main purpose is to promote fertilisation when the natural encounter of sperm and oocyte is not possible, as is the case of women presenting blocked uterine horns. In summary, oocytes are first collected from the ovaries, (performed by transvaginal ovarian puncture and aspiration) and placed in a petri “IVF” dish containing a culture medium that mimics the tubal micro-environment. The male partner produces a sperm sample, which is prepared for mixing with the oocytes, after which the IVF dish is maintained in a warm incubator (37oC) in a laboratory for fertilisation to take place. The sperm must be able to swim and penetrate the oocyte membrane for fertilisation to be accomplished, and to assist this they are placed close together to facilitate their interaction and fusion. The resulting embryos remain in the incubator for up to six or seven days, before being transferred to the womb. However, fertilisation will not occur under natural or even IVF conditions when the ejaculated sperm do not present rapid directional motility in a condition called asthenospermia, a common cause of unsuccessful reproduction among infertile couples. To help these individuals generate their own descendants, the ART “intracytoplasmic sperm injection” (ICSI) technique was developed by Dr. Gianpietro Palermo. ICSI allows fertilisation to occur even when the sperm sample is poor in terms of number and/or motility.  The technique uses a micromanipulation station fitted to an inverted microscope equipped with contrast optics that enable three-dimensional visualisation of living cells. The ICSI micromanipulation equipment consists of two glass pipettes; a holding pipette to fix the oocyte and an injection pipette to introduce the sperm into the oocyte cytoplasm (see below video). The ICSI insemination strategy allows fertilisation to occur even under unfavourable conditions, and it can perhaps be hypothesised that this technology may be of assistance in the case of sperm motility deficiencies in outer space, where micro-G conditions may prevent natural, unassisted sperm-egg fusion. Undoubtedly, much more research needs to be performed before we can erase the large question marks that remain as to the likelihood of natural fertilisation taking place in mammals under micro-G conditions, and if required, how effective current assisted reproduction technology would be when using the ART setup and equipment developed on Earth. With talk of future Moon and Mars colonisation and space hotels in the coming decades, there will come a time when human reproduction under microgravity conditions will need to be better addressed if life is to be sustained in off-Earth environments.
 Life in research and academia is often busy, with commitments to attend conferences to disseminate your work, learn of what other research is being conducted in your field of interest, and to build a network of like-minded people linked by common themes. InnovaSpace’s Scientific and Strategic Consultant Roberto Fanganiello is no exception to this way of life and travels frequently around the globe, with last week seeing him in Canada attending the 7th International Symposium on Surfaces and Interfaces for Biomaterials (ISSIB, 22-25 July 2019), held at the Quebec City Convention Centre, in Quebec. His time was well filled with activities over three of the conference days; giving a talk at a tutorial session on the innovative strategies used to design surfaces and interfaces for biosensors, as well as on surface modifications of biomaterials to make them optimal for association with different types of cells; giving a keynote talk at the main conference, on surface modifications of titanium implants to improve bone tissue formation and regeneration; and chairing a session on Future Trends in material and biomaterial sciences.  Surfaces and interfaces in biomaterials are topics of key significance in the fields of biomaterials and tissue engineering, and form a strong scientific platform for technological innovation and economic growth worldwide. Many novel ideas and concepts were shared at this year’s ISSIB Symposium, together with an exchange of information regarding the use of emerging technologies and fundamental advances in biomaterial surfaces and interfaces.
Plans are already afoot for the next edition of the ISSIB Symposium, scheduled to take place in Australia in 2021, and Roberto, among others, is eager to see just how much these technologies will have progressed by then!  The First Lego League (FLL) is an annual international tournament involving teams of young people aged 9-16 years. It introduces a scientific and real-world challenge for teams to focus on, research, and create solutions to identified problems, and includes a robotics challenge to perform a set task with a programmable robot constructed from LEGO electronic and mechanical components. This year, over 40,400 teams competed in regional, national and international tournaments with their ideas, including team AC/DC/EG from Brazil, who had a very successful competition and were kind enough to give us an insight into their FLL Into Orbit experience in this year's competition, in their words below:  "The AC/DC/EG team was created on 07/12/2007 to represent the Eduardo Gomes College in São Caetano do Sul, Brazil in the FIRST LEGO League tournament. The team name is formed from the name of the rock band AC/DC together with EG for Eduardo Gomes, and so far, we have participated in competitions at 11 State, 11 National and 7 International stages. The 2018/2019 FLL - INTO ORBIT tournament has been sensational for us. Our team began taking shape in May 2018, and underwent some changes, beginning with 8 team members and finishing up with 5 members - Eduardo, Felipe and Sophia (from the beginning), and later joined by Gabriella and Fernanda. And it was with this team of 5 that our coach Reginaldo and mentors Giovanni and Giovanna reached the end of the competition. The official launch of the FLL tournament took place on August 1st 2018, so we used the time from May to August to research several problems related to this year's theme by visiting universities, watching films and videos, reading books, magazines and theses, and talking to experts in the field. At the beginning of September, we talked with Aerospace Medicine specialist Dr Thais Russomano, presenting to her everything we had studied so far, and it was during one of our initial conversations that we realised there was a problem faced by astronauts, which is: WASHING IN SPACE We already had the FLL competition documentation in this initial period of our discussions so we began to compare the problems raised to make sure they fitted in with the competition guidelines. In all, we analysed 14 problems:  A phrase we heard that marked our work was by NASA space scientist Robert Frost, who said: "When several people are trapped in an enclosed space, HYGIENE IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE." So, having done our analysis, we chose the subject of how to wash the body in space and defined our problem: THE INEFFICIENCY OF WASHING IN MICROGRAVITY And we asked: HOW CAN WASHING BE MADE MORE EFFICIENT IN MICROGRAVITY? We continued studying, raising new points and discussing them with Dr Russomano. We looked at the ways of washing that have previously been used and the current method of washing in space. ⇨ A sponge with soap and water, used during the Gemini and Apollo missions. ⇨ A shower on the MIR Space Station that wasted a lot of time, water and energy. ⇨ The Russian kit, which consists of a pre-moistened wipe and can be used for up to 3 days, using less water. ⇨ The NASA Kit, which is a cloth moistened with soap and water. We noted that, to be ideal, washing should be able to deal with dead skin cells, sweat, oiliness, odour, and bacteria and fungi!  DryBath by Ludwick Marishane We had a lot of ideas, including a kind of human jet wash that used little water – but this and other ideas were discarded as our objective was for something low-cost, water-free and lightweight, that would occupy very little space on a spacecraft. It was in thinking about this goal that we discovered a gel called DryBath, created by Ludwick Marishane, mostly for use on the African continent and in places with a scarcity/lack of water. Ludwick’s idea is that water should only be used for drinking and cooking, and for washing it can be replaced by the gel. With just 15ml of the gel, it is possible for an adult to wash without using water, and without the need to remove the gel from skin, as it is moisturising. All of our team tried using the gel, including our coach. The benefits of the gel in comparison with the existing solutions are enormous, as besides dispensing with the need for water for washing, there is a gain in transport weight and the gel occupies a minimum of space on a spacecraft. However, we needed to know its viability for use in space, so we talked to Chemical Engineer Matheus Messias, who confirmed the gel is non-flammable, and with Dermatologist Oswaldo Cipullo, who said the gel fulfils all the requirements for body washing and can be used daily. Nonetheless, the current gel packaging makes it unfeasible for use in space, as it generates a lot of waste. Therefore, after some brainstorming and tests, we developed a new storage and application system utilising a 2-litre urine collection bag filled with gel, calculating that each explorer would need 3 such bags to cover a 1-year period. Each bag is fitted with a valve connector to guarantee the pressure required to transport the gel into a syringe-type applicator, which allows its controlled delivery to the body. This system for gel storage and use saves important resources, enables fast application, requires no cleaning of the equipment, has no loss, and needs no repairs. Currently, 4 litres of water is used in space per wash, whereas, with this quantity of gel it would be possible to have 266 washes, meaning water will no longer be needed for washing the body and can be used for something else within the spacecraft. The cost of the gel and the system is 1610 Brazilian real (approx. £310) per person for a year. Therefore, it is possible to take something that was designed for use on Earth and adapt it to make its use possible in space, rather like the tortillas of astronaut Rodolfo Vela, as quoted in the FLL Into Orbit competition guidelines." The InnovaSpace team would like to congratulate the AC/DC/EG team and everyone who supported them for their success and the enthusiasm and joy they brought to the tournament stages! Congratulations also go to the thousands of teams from around the world for their hard work, curiosity, research and enthusiasm - YOU ARE ALL STARS!
The InnovaSpace team in the last years have been involved on a couple of occasions with the innovative activities of Guerilla Science, as they seek to connect the general public with science in new and interesting ways. The benefits of yoga on Earth are well known, and it is certainly an activity that would improve the health of anyone practicing it regularly. The Guerilla crew have come up with a series of great videos linking dynamic yoga stretches with the effects of microgravity on the human body and mind, assisted by five expert space scientists, one of which is InnovaSpace's very own Space Life Sciences Expert Dr. Lucas Rehnberg, who explains about Space Walks and the problems astronauts face when conducting maintenance tasks on the outside of the International Space Station. Get out your yoga mats, exercise your body, and stretch your mind learning fascinating facts about the human body in space! Dr. Lucas RehnbergInnovaSpace Space Life Sciences Expert. Recently I had the pleasure to attend the world’s largest aerospace medicine conference in Las Vegas, the 90th Annual Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) Conference. This was my second AsMA (@Aero_Med) meeting and it didn’t disappoint.
As a doctor training in the UK with an interest in space medicine, the AsMA conference is a great opportunity to present work, meet other space medicine enthusiasts as well as individuals from different disciplines – but all with a shared passion for space and aerospace. The thought behind this blog was to serve as a taster of what AsMA has to offer to those thinking about pursuing a career in this field or who want to gain an idea of how to become involved. So, this was my experience of the conference: Day 1 - Monday Started with an incredible opening session commemorating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the moon landing. The panel was moderated by Dr Mike Barratt, astronaut and flight surgeon, and consisted of some giants from the Apollo missions: - Dr Charles Berry & Dr Bill Carpentier, Apollo flight surgeons. - Gerry Griffin, Apollo flight director. The session opened with a specially commissioned video dedicated to the Apollo 11 landing in 1969 and the lead-up time. It was an excellent reminder of what was achieved when a nation came together and set the tone for the discussion, reflecting on their experience of Apollo 11 and the Apollo missions. Some of my favourite moments of this session include when Dr Berry told a great story of stopping President Nixon from having a meal with the Apollo 11 crew the night before their launch, including a letter he wrote to President Nixon apologising for this. Then flight surgeon Dr Carpentier told us what flight surgeons learnt from the Mercury and Gemini missions, before starting on the Apollo missions. Dr Carpentier also spoke about some of his training, including practicing jumping from a moving helicopter in order that he could give medical assistance to the landing Apollo crews. Gerry Griffin spoke of the pressure of the Apollo missions and the relief mixed with excitement when the Apollo 11 crew set foot on the aircraft carrier after their landing. He also spoke about the Apollo 1 tragedy, what we learnt from all the Apollo missions, and how this will help human spaceflight now that we are focusing on going back to the Moon. Closing comments from each of the panel followed a similar theme, summed up best by Gerry Griffin, "We’ve gotta get back to the Moon. It’s been 50 years since we’ve done it...we need to get our mojo back."  opening session commemorating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and Moon landing In the afternoon, I attended 2 panels; behavioural health in human spaceflight and advancing future space exploration with medical system design. The former panel emphasised the importance of human factors and behaviours for the success of exploration missions. It highlighted the lack of data and long-term follow-up of many of the astronauts, suggesting a need to ensure this occurs with current crew members, and also to better assess and monitor psychological performance. The latter panel was very interesting, attempting to do predict the impossible; what can go wrong with crewmembers and how do we plan/prepare for it? The list of medical conditions that could occur during a human mission to Mars is extensive, and plans for dealing with such events are still in development. The panel members described risk analysis with all the available current data, also emphasising the importance of an interface between medics and engineers to help design systems to overcome these problems (the old mass, power, volume issue). DAY 2 This began with the ESAM (European Society of Areospace Medicine) panel. There were talks on the difficult topic of airway management and intubation in microgravity, with some interesting results suggesting that modern video laryngoscopy could be a useful tool in novice healthcare providers in order to increase their success rate. There followed a review of the latest microgravity CPR data in order to develop an evidence-based CPR guideline, and finally Dr Christina Mackaill (@cosmic_scot - one to follow!) talked about some of the terrestrial benefits of hypogravity CPR research. The afternoon saw an EXCELLENT panel on analog missions, discussing the medical considerations for each one. Speakers included:
 Analog Missions Panel AsMA 2019 DAY 3 I also had the pleasure of presenting some work conducted with the Austrian Space Forum on the AMADEE18 Mars analog mission, looking at fatigue in analog astronauts. The rest of the panel included excellent speakers on current developments for IVA (intra vehicular activity) suits and a portable lower body negative pressure device.  A great experience and honour to present to my peers! The afternoon session was then dedicated to the medical lessons learnt from the Apollo missions - a great historical look at what they did, what was learnt from it, and how it will shape what we do when going back to the Moon. The session included a review of the main biomedical results and how medical operations were conducted during the Apollo missions, an interesting insight into the food and nutrition of the Apollo crews, and the recovery and quarantine programme of the Apollo Moon landing missions. Truly some giants in the field of space life science, and what they learnt 50 years ago will shape how we return humans to the Moon in the next 10 years! DAY 4 This day had a good mix of space medicine topics:
 Post-session relaxation with Bonnie Posselt, Rochelle Velho, Peter Ward and me! I should point out that what I have written here is just my experience of the AsMA meeting this year in Las Vegas; there were so many other great panels that I couldn’t attend, even a course on desert medicine hosted by AsMA (alas, I had to fly home).
For students or young professionals looking to enter this exciting field, I would highly recommend the AsMA conference (next year in Atlanta, Georgia, USA). There are a range of scholarships to help fund attending the conference, check out the AsMA website for details: https://www.asma.org/home The conference will give you the opportunity to hear from experts, past and present, from NASA, ESA, all branches of the military, flight surgeons, astronauts, engineers and so many more. In addition, there are breakout sessions ranging from luncheons with guest speakers to ‘Speed Mentoring’ to help students and young professionals to network, build relationships and guide them in their next steps for a career in space. Again, if this is your dream, AsMA is a great place to start. For more information, check out their website, or get in touch for more information. If your a fan of social media, I would also recommend following InnovaSpace on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter, and also some of the mentioned individuals in this article - they are just a few of the many space medics out there doing interesting work - and apologies to anyone I missed!  The negative effects on the human musculoskeletal system of spending prolonged periods of time in a reduced gravity environment are well known and documented. Astronauts in space suffer a loss of bone and muscle mass, especially in the lower extremities, which they try to counteract by exercising for at least 2 hours a day while in space. The Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) is a complex piece of equipment on the International Space Station that is especially designed to provide a resistive type of exercise that helps astronauts maintain muscle mass. You can imagine that this equipment would have taken a lot of time and money to develop and validate, requiring the skills of a team of biomedical engineers and physiologists. However, you don't have to be a NASA engineer or have a PhD to come up with a good idea, as borne out by the creative mind of Frank Calvin, former US marine and law-enforcement officer, who recently sent us a video of his patented exercise harness. We liked the simplicity and effectiveness of his idea, so we thought we would throw open today's blog to Frank from Warren, Ohio!
"IF IT WORKS IN WATER IT WILL WORK IN SPACE" - says Frank Calvin Imagine wearing a 30lb backpack and jumping into the deep end a swimming pool - you will sink like a rock! But wear the harness and jump into the deep end of the pool. and you will stay afloat as normal, but when treading water or doggy paddling, the quads and lower back are immediately being worked and the 25-30lb of pressure remains on the core system. All movements mentioned can be made in a weightless environment. In conclusion, I submit that muscle mass can be GAINED, along with prevention of bone density loss in microgravity with the aid of this harness, which is low-cost, light and easy to use! From an InnovaSpace point of view, it certainly does seem to be a very simple and low-cost idea, and it would probably be interesting if the harness could form part of a research project conducted inside and outside of water in order to validate the system and define its effectiveness. We congratulate Frank on his idea and wish him well for the future of his device!
Authors: Kids from the STEP Computer AcademyAnd InnovaSpace Admin Director - Mary Upritchard  Over the last few months, InnovaSpace's very own space doctor, Thais Russomano, has been listening to some of the First Lego League tournament teams talking about the projects they have developed for this year’s Into Orbit mission, answering their questions and giving some tips as to areas they might also consider. The annual competition has teams taking part from all over the world (92 different countries this year), adopting a different theme each time linked to robotics and the STEM areas, and aimed at encouraging young students to improve critical thinking and team-building skills, stimulating their creativity and giving the opportunity to present their projects in public in front of judges. As part of this year’s competition, students have been thinking about ways to improve the life, health and wellbeing of astronauts in space, with some really constructive and original ideas being contemplated by these bright young minds. We were approached by teams from the STEP Computer Academy in Seattle USA a little while back, with great questions they had about their projects. With Thais having given them some feedback, we were delighted to hear recently that 3 of the 5 Into Orbit teams from the academy had made it through to the semi-finals of their national competition, and we are even more delighted now to be able to present three short texts from those teams:  Hello! We are the Galaxy Rulers – a fun and hardworking FIRST LEGO league team from Bellevue, Washington, USA. Our team consists of 8 teammates: Adam, Felix, Owen, Princeton, Urvi, Vanesha, Varshini, and Vedika. We are working on a project to reduce health problems like homesickness in long-term space missions like the Mars 100 mission—Mars colonization project. After getting assistance and opinions from experts and doing research, we came to a solution. Astronauts can benefit from reminders of home to fight homesickness, so we decided to use plants. Plants can remind astronauts of Earth and beautiful nature. Our solution is totally innovative, as we are using customized plants that the astronauts are familiar with or it is their state flower or plant. We hope that our solution will solve real-world problems in the future. WE ARE THE GALAXY RULERS WE MEASURE THE GALAXY!  Hello everyone! We are The Titans! We are a First LEGO League team from Bellevue, WA, USA! We have 8 teammates: Nikita, Irina, Ayush, Amish, Neev, Amish, Henry, and Liam. We are working on a project that helps astronauts cope with stress in space. We did research and talked to experts, and found out that astronauts experience a lot of stress on the ISS. A solution to that is to create a relaxation method that will help astronauts reduce stress while working in space. We are working on a relaxation booth that will address various astronauts’ senses. We propose a relaxation booth that will have real plants inside, relaxation music and a variety of calming scents.  Hi there! We are a First LEGO League team called Space Pirate Pickles! We are from Bellevue, Washington, United States and we have six members on our team: Liam, Tony, Koden, Hanming, Michael and Vishnu. Our project is to find new ways to protect astronauts from the space radiation when on long-term space missions. According to our research, such non-technical and easily accessible things like vitamins (D, E, C etc.), iodine-based foods, plants (aloe vera, cactuses), placebos and acupuncture can add to the protection from space radiation. So to solve this problem, we suggest combining non-technical and technical solutions (e.g. thermos-nuclear rockets). We believe the problem of space radiation will be solved and we will be able to safely (health-wise) travel to far away planets. We also want to add that First LEGO League has been a great learning experience. FLL journey is all about discovery, learning something new every day, cooperating sharing what we learned with others. Many InnovaSpace congratulations to the teams from the STEP computer academy, and to all the teams who have taken part in this prestigious tournament - you are all stars!
Wishing the very best of luck to the Galaxy Rulers, The Titans, and the Space Pirate Pickles for their semi-final presentations, and to the many other teams in their national competitions all around the world - ad astra! Dr. Kushal MadanCardiac Rehabilitation Consultant, Dept. of Cardiology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital New Delhi India  Here on Earth our arterial blood pressure values are set by the pumping action of our heart and by the resistance of our arteries to blood flow, known as peripheral resistance. Haemodynamics, or the flow of blood in our circulatory system can be summarised as:
The question is though, what happens to blood pressure in Space? How does the microgravity environment that the human body experiences in the ‘weightlessness’ of space affect it? Weightlessness during spaceflight immediately leads to a shift of blood and body fluids from the lower to the upper part of the body. As the central blood volume increases, there is an increase in cardiac output. But the head-to-foot blood pressure gradient that exists on Earth is removed, thereby dilating the arterial resistance vessels and reducing systemic vascular resistance. In the space environment, simultaneous to the increased cardiac output, arterial blood pressure either remains the same or is slightly decreased. So, what is the reason for the systemic vasodilatation leading to a reduction in blood pressure in space? Are these changes short-term or do they persist throughout the spaceflight? In 1996 Fritsch-Yelle et al. concluded that there was a decrease of 5 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure and no change in systolic blood pressure, as measured by ambulatory brachial blood pressure monitoring using a portable equipment over the 2 weeks of a spaceflight.  Expedition 35 Commander Chris Hadfield taking part in blood pressure regulation experiment (2013). Image courtesy of NASA Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is a continuous blood pressure recording over a 24-hr period to assess the pattern of variability in arterial blood pressure during rest and exercise. ABPM can detect circadian changes, such as nocturnal dipping and morning surge. According to the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association 2017 guidelines, a normotensive patient should have a daytime ABPM <120/80 mm Hg, and a night time ABPM < 100/65 mm Hg. This technique can also pick up on the variations in arterial blood pressure due to different environmental and emotional changes, and it can overcome the disadvantages of manual arterial blood pressure recording, such as white coat hypertension.
The use of this technique in aerospace applications has provided valuable information regarding the mechanisms of blood pressure regulation. Another important use of this method of arterial blood pressure monitoring is in assessing the effectiveness of countermeasures applied to reduce the adverse effect of weightlessness on the cardiovascular system. Initial studies conducted on astronauts have shown that ambulatory blood pressure equipment can detect the increase and decrease of blood pressure before, during and after spaceflight. Therefore, it would seem that these ABPM devices have a very useful role to play in detecting the blood pressure changes that occur during the stressful and hostile situations found during space missions. Roberto FanganielloInnovaSpace Scientific & Strategic Consultant.  Medical University of Graz On November 21st and 22nd, 2018 I had the pleasure of visiting the laboratory of Prof. Nandu Goswami, at the Medical University of Graz, in Austria. Nandu is an Associate Professor at the university, interim head of the Division of Physiology and Head of the Gravitational Physiology and Medicine research unit. The main areas of study of his research group are cardiovascular physiology, cerebral auto-regulation and space/gravitational physiology, especially using Earth-based models of space flight.  Thank you Nandu - I really enjoyed the visit! Cardiovascular alterations encountered during space missions, such as a reduction in central venous pressure, cardiac atrophy and decreased vascular responsiveness to standing are major concerns for astronauts during and after spaceflight. On Earth, the ageing process is also linked to physiological deconditioning of the cardiovascular system, which creates a parallel with the changes in human physiology secondary to weightlessness exposure. At the Gravitational Physiology and Medicine research unit, bed rest studies are used as a ground-based simulation of microgravity to further understand the effects of deconditioning, both for the elderly on Earth and astronauts in space. This is also an area of special interest for InnovaSpace Advisor Joan Vernikos, who conducted similar research at NASA for many years and has published scientific articles and books on the topic.
InnovaSpace congratulates Nandu for his work, which is a very interesting area of research and can be seen as a good example of technological and knowledge transfer from space to Earth. Together with the InnovaSpace team, I hope we can one day collaborate with Prof. Goswami and his group in Graz. |
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