Author: Tomas DucaiBiology (microbiology/genetics) graduate, University of Vienna - Space (medicine) enthusiast  "For most people, this is as close to being an astronaut, as you’ll ever get. It’s leaving planet Earth behind and entering an alien world.“ - Mary Frances Emmons - Editor-in-chief Scuba Diving, Sport Diver & The Undersea Journal magazines Mary Frances Emmons puts into words the indescribable atmosphere of scuba diving in which the boundaries become blurred between Earth and the sky above, or at least, to be more precise, the depths of space. It is this mixture of feelings that I want to experience – diving into the element of water, which is essential for life and where physical disabilities may not matter. I have been active in the world of space exploration for over a year now and am truly interested in promoting inclusion in the space sciences and analog space missions. I have been lucky enough to meet a lot of respected people and professionals doing amazing work with great passion in their respective fields, and they have also been keen to help and support me to realize my dreams A particular person who has shaped my dreams in concrete terms is Slovakia’s one and only aquanaut (underwater analog astronaut) and Chief Scientific Officer of the Hydronaut Project (unique underwater lab serving as a research facility for survival training in limited/extreme environments) - Miroslav Rozložník. Miro is an experienced scuba-dive instructor, who I met in Prague at an international analog astronaut community event. He offered to help me experience the unique underwater atmosphere through introducing me to the world of scuba-diving, a truly cherished offer that I gratefully accepted! At the same time, I knew that having a basic introduction to scuba diving may also enhance my chances of being selected as one of the three analog parastronauts for upcoming analog missions at the LunAres analog research station in Poland, especially if underwater mission experiments are being considered.
 Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a well-established part of basic life support (BLS), having saved countless lives since its first development in the 1960s. External chest compressions (ECCs), which form the main part of BLS, must be carried out until Advanced Life Support can begin. It is essential that ECCs are performed to the correct depth and frequency to guarantee effectiveness. The absence of gravity during spaceflight means that performing ECCs is more challenging. The likelihood of a dangerous cardiac event occurring during a space mission is remote, however, the possibility does exist. Nowadays, the selection process for space missions considers individuals at ages and with health standards that would have prohibited their selection in the past. With increased age, less stringent health requirements, longer duration missions and increased physical labour, due to a rise in orbital extravehicular activity, the risk of an acute life-threatening condition occurring in space has become of greater concern. The advent of space tourism may even enhance this possibility, with its popularity set to rise over the coming years as private companies test their new technology. Therefore, space scientists and physicians will have a greater responsibility to ensure space travellers, whether professional astronauts or space tourists, are adequately trained and familiarised with extraterrestrial BLS and CPR methods. Recently, work has been undertaken to develop methods of basic and advanced life support in microgravity and hypogravity, and several CPR techniques have been developed and tested. This blog presents one of these, the Evetts-Russomano MicroG CPR Method. Evetts-Russomano MicroG CPR Method In the Evetts-Russomano (ER) method, the rescuer can respond immediately, as it requires no additional CPR equipment/medication or the use of a restraint system. To assume the position, the rescuer places their left leg over the right shoulder of the patient and their right leg around the patient’s torso, allowing their ankles to be crossed approximately in the centre of the patient’s back; this is to provide stability and a solid platform against which to deliver force, without the patient being pushed away. From this position, chest compressions can be performed while still retaining easy access to perform ventilation. When adopting the ER CPR method, the rescuer must be situated in a manner that also allows sufficient space on the patient’s chest for the correct positioning of their hands to deliver the chest compressions. Extraterrestrial CPR simulation The main difference between extraterrestrial and terrestrial CPR is the strength of the gravitational field. In microgravity, patient and rescuer are both essentially weightless. When thinking about the technique of terrestrial CPR, with the rescuer accelerating their chest and upper body to generate a force to compress the patient’s chest, it is obvious that this cannot work in microgravity without significant aids. To this end, the ER CPR method has been developed using a ground-based microG simulation, during parabolic flights, and subsequently tested under-water! Video credits: Ground-based MicroG Simulation (land) = Space Researcher Lucas Rehnberg, MD (MicroG Center PUCRS, Brazil) Parabolic Flight MicroG Simulation (air)= Researchers = Thais Russomano, Simon Evetts, Lisa Evetts & João Castro (ESA 29th Parabolic Flight Campaign, Bordeaux, France) Underwater MicroG Simulation (water) = Sea King Dive Center, Chengdu, China - Instructor Gang Wei; Chinese Space First Responder & Space Researcher/Instructor Chris Yuan A project of InnovaSpace, PECA and Guangxi Diving Paradise Club, China Free Resource: Extraterrestrial CPR and Its Applications in Terrestrial Medicine
Authors: Thais Russomano, Lucas Rehnberg In book: Resuscitation Aspects, Ed: Theodoros Aslanidis Publisher: IntechOpen 2017 See Download Link at https://www.innovaspace.org/chapters.html Tiyoko HashimotoInstrutora de mergulho livre, mergulho autônomo e mergulhadora em formação no mergulho profissional raso LinkedIn Profile O mergulho faz parte de uma série de habilidades para quem busca a carreira astronáutica. Por quê? A água é cerca de 800 vezes mais densa que o ar, o que dificulta a movimentação subaquática, exigindo além de mais esforço, uma movimentação mais lenta para evitar fadiga que pode levar mergulhadores inexperientes a até abortar o mergulho. Além disso, a flutuabilidade neutra, ou seja, a capacidade de "boiar" na água permite que o praticante tenha a sensação semelhante à da microgravidade. Para fazer uso da flutuabilidade neutra como treinamento, as agências espaciais têm usado, ao longo dos anos, laboratórios subaquáticos como o NBL (Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory), localizado em Houston, no Texas, Estados Unidos e que faz parte do complexo da NASA. Segundo a NASA, possui 61,21 metros de comprimento, 30,90 de largura e 12,12 metros de profundidade e permite treinamentos como caminhadas espaciais, comunicação e segurança, além de permitir testes com equipamentos de vídeo e trajes espaciais.
Na ESA (Agência Espacial Europeia), em Colônia, Alemanha, os astronautas são certificados no nível de mergulhadores de resgate. Esse conhecimento, segundo a ESA, permite melhor desempenho dos astronautas nas caminhadas espaciais e permite que previnam problemas e saibam lidar com emergências de modo adequado.
De acordo com a NASA, os astronautas utilizam nitrox (mistura de nitrogênio com uma porcentagem maior de oxigênio, também conhecido como ar enriquecido no mergulho) durante as sessões de treinamento no NBL. No mergulho dependente saturado não há perda de ar, nem se solta bolhas, como ocorre no mergulho recreativo. Todo o material exalado durante um mergulho saturado, que pode ir até 320 metros de profundidade, é recaptado, reciclado, para depois ser usado novamente na respiração. Isso ocorre porque o gás em questão, além do oxigênio, é o hélio, que tem um custo bastante elevado. Author: Chris YuanMember of the InnovaSpace Board of Advisors; CoFounder Planet Expedition Commander Academy (PECA), Explorers Club member, Space Dreamer... "Bang bang bang, bang bang," there was a knocking sound from the water. This is an 18-foot-deep pool in the diving hall of Nanning City Gymnasium in Guangxi. Two PECA (Planet Expedition Command Academy) trainees: Hannah and Selina, wearing scuba diving gear, are stitching together a satellite model underwater, which is designed with PVC pipes of different colours that are removable and can be spliced together. This training involves scuba divers simulating the role of space station EVA astronauts, capturing and repairing damaged satellites. The person under training must maintain neutral buoyancy during the whole process and retain sober analytical and hands-on ability under the conditions of maintaining air consumption, completing the assembly of the satellite model and bringing it out of the water.  Hannah & Selina working together to construct a model underwater Hannah and Selina are mother and daughter, and Selina had just graduated from college and planned to have a gap year. The pair chose to participate in the 3-month PECA general training course. The scene just described was their training subject for PECA's second physical space, Ocean Planet: astronauts completing space missions in a simulated weightless state. They started from scratch and had already successfully completed the first physical space: Earth-Mountain Exploration, in which they completed a 10-day cross-country horseback trek on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and finally entered Tibet on horseback, after completing 235 kilometres of horseback riding.  Finally they arrived in Guangxi, China and experienced a lot of confined water training, cave diving, to adapt to the exploration of the underwater world, and simulate future space travel. Selina had no previous experience with such a wide range of different exploration types, and when asked if she worried about whether she would be up to the challenges of the training, she said: "I chose to take this step, that is, I chose to face the unknown changes." The PECA curriculum has been seeking a path that connects the ordinary person at one end, with at the other end the coming age of great sailing for civilian space exploration (see also previous blog). Space exploration in the minds of most people is a national strategy, a game for a few people financially supported by the government, and super-rich people. Several of my friends have asked me a similar question, a pointed question:
"How do you think that space travel can become a majority movement in the future? How is their training program different from official astronauts?" Allow me to start with a story. Fifteen years ago, I rode a mountain bike alone from the Ger-mud area of Qinghai to Lhasa, Tibet, and then continued on until I reached the base camp of Mount Everest. This is the highest road in the world. My journey lasted 40 days, was 2200km and ended at the highest altitude of the Everest Base Camp. I later wrote a book "Through Your Eyes, See My Soul - 40 Days of Everest Ride". Some readers asked me the same question: "What is the most important prerequisite for a beginner who will ride the Qinghai-Tibet line? Sufficient money or physical reserves?" After thinking carefully, I replied: Neither of the two you mentioned are the most important, the most important thing is the ambition you have to go, it's the determination, it's the emotion. With that first push, money and other things follow." Think about it, it took only 66 years from the Wright brothers first successful test flight of their plane to the landing of a man on the Moon! Virtualmente em Marte - Minha Experiência como Astronauta Análogo na Estação Habitat Marte24/2/2022
Author: Maurício PontesOperational Safety & Crisis Manager, Pilot, Air Accident Investigator Encerramos após 11 dias (ou 11 sois, como denominamos o dia em Marte) a missão análoga (virtual) #96, celebrando quatro anos do estabelecimento da Estação Habitat Marte. Tive o privilégio de representar a InnovaSpace nessa experiência, que se revelou produtiva e instigante. As missões virtuais foram criadas em função da pandemia de COVID-19, como forma de manter a estação operando e fomentando o intercambio de experiências e informações sobre Marte e os desafios de se chegar ao planeta vermelho. A pioneira estrutura análoga, entretanto, é muito mais que isso. Localizado no agreste do Rio Grande do Norte, na cidade de Caiçara do Rio do Vento, o Habitat Marte é uma base física onde as condições inóspitas do terreno e algumas características relacionadas ao solo local propiciam um sítio ideal ao estabelecimento de missões com variados focos de pesquisa. Uma palavra que está sempre presente é sustentabilidade.  Numa missão virtual, um clima de imersão e interação entre os cinco tripulantes é estimulado pela rotina de atividades como coleta de dados, apresentação de relatórios sobre o estado físico e mental e, ao longo dessa jornada, vai se criando uma atmosfera de imaginação coletiva acerca da presença no planeta vermelho, com o benefício da dinâmica das relações por interações remotas. Cada tripulante recebeu a incumbência de ser responsável por uma das estruturas críticas da estação (Estação Central e Centros de Engenharia, Saneamento, Saúde e Lançamento). Ao final, cada membro da missão fez uma apresentação sobre sua área de responsabilidade, encerrando a missão. Minha experiência pessoal na missão virtual foi ser o responsável pelo Centro de Lançamento (e retorno). Além de estar comprometido com a operacionalidade dessa área, incluí na rotina de relatórios o status “go & no go”, em função das condições técnicas ou meteorológicas, de modo a manter a estação ciente da viabilidade de um lançamento emergencial. A rotina de envio de relatórios é o grande gerador de valor para a simulação e vai ao encontro dos aspectos humanos: discutíamos situações que não decorreram de inputs do simulacro. Trocávamos informações e fotos, fomos inspirados a viver uma realidade paralela e a explorar nossa criatividade.
Conversas sobre a missão e até pessoais foram constantes através de plataforma de mensagens e me mantiveram em constante “presença” naquela estação. Os dois relatórios de rotina diários (meteorologia e condições pessoais, como saúde, motivação, estado mental e satisfação com a missão e suas especificidades) eram enviados por um aplicativo e nos lembravam da nossa responsabilidade na jornada. Há potencial para ainda mais integração, pois nenhuma missão é igual à outra. Quem sabe, no futuro, um ambiente visual via aplicativo que possa até ser compartilhado com óculos de realidade virtual e celular não elevem ainda mais esses efeitos?  Minha conclusão foi a de que estímulo ao pensamento, diversidade e o fator lúdico já são uma ferramenta de integração e compromisso com a missão de grande valor.
Parabéns aos tripulantes da Missão 96 e em especial ao Prof. Julio Rezende, pelo pioneirismo, determinação e criatividade. Próximo passo: a missão presencial! Author: Chris YuanCoFounder Planet Expedition Commander Academy, Explorers Club member, and Space Dreamer... 
 Author: Karin Brünnemann, PMP®Karin Brünnemann is PMI Slovakia’s first interplanetary project manager. Karin has more than 25 years of experience managing global strategic projects. She helps companies during phases of cultural change and digital transformation. Apart from being a PMP®, Karin is also a certified trainer for intercultural management. She is currently using her project management expertise in her work as a Flight Planner for the Austrian Space Forum’s AMADEE-20 analog Mars mission.  The Hydronaut project is an underwater habitat that started operations in 2020 and is currently the scene for analog space research. Dr. Miroslav Rozloznik, a Flight Planner for the Austrian Space Forum, conducted an underwater analog space mission in 2021 that was fully dedicated to science. The week-long mission, in which three analog astronauts participated, included a two-day underwater stay, and featured an EVA. Scientist-on-Board, Dr. Miroslav Rozloznik from Slovakia, conducted numerous experiments in the areas of physiology, microbiology, medicine, and space psychology. Dr. Rozloznik explained “Conducting underwater analog missions complements Moon or Mars simulations in land-based habitats. While we might not be able to test rovers, drones, or rock sampling procedures, the feeling in the underwater habitat is much more space-like. I felt very detached from Earth, even the support diver appeared like an alien, when he was looking into our porthole, dressed in his diving suit. The underwater habitat also offers the possibility to simulate more complex conditions like long periods of darkness, or variation in temperature and humidity. Furthermore, the ‘psychological safety net’ of being able to open the door and get help in case something happens, is not there. We can leave the habitat but will face several hours of decompression in cold water before we are back in a safe environment.”  A diver during EVA. Image credit: @Hydronautproject Part of the underwater experiments focused on the internal environment of the habitat, gathering data relating to air quality, temperature, humidity, and the microbiology of the habitat. Another area of research was dedicated to the medical and physiological well-being of the divers. Dr. Rozloznik tested novel diagnostic instruments, for example, a remote stethoscope that transmitted real-time heartbeat and breathing rates to a doctor located in the mission control center. Such equipment will be very useful for future space exploration and also has many applications for telemedicine on Earth. The crew also tested various biosensors, allowing for comparison and cross-link between physiological, neurophysiological, and psychological measurements.
Author: Karin Brünnemann, PMP®Karin Brünnemann is PMI Slovakia’s first interplanetary project manager. Karin has more than 25 years of experience managing global strategic projects. She helps companies during phases of cultural change and digital transformation. Apart from being a PMP®, Karin is also a certified trainer for intercultural management. She is currently using her project management expertise in her work as a Flight Planner for the Austrian Space Forum’s AMADEE-20 analog Mars mission.
The AMADEE-20 analog Mars mission took place in Israel’s Negev desert during October 2021. Over the course of four weeks, an international crew of six analog astronauts conducted a number of experiments to study human behaviour and well-being; tested technical equipment, vehicles, and space suits; and deployed platforms and procedures in the areas of geoscience and life detection. A further aim of this Mars simulation was the development of a state-of-the-art Mission Support structure. I joined the AMADEE-20 team as a Flight Planner two years ago. In this role, I have been using my project management skills to help prepare and conduct scientific experiments as a member of the Mission Support team. Each experiment can be viewed as a subproject in itself and needs to be managed meticulously.  Sarah Feilmayr/OeWF (Austrian Space Forum)© There are many similarities between my work as a Project Manager on Earth and my assignment as a Flight Planner for the analog Mars mission. To begin with, a Mars mission, whether simulated or real, is of course, a project. It is humanity’s most challenging, complex, risky, and expensive project. Like any other project, it can be divided into process groups. I started work on the AMADEE-20 Mars simulation during the planning process. One of my main tasks as a Flight Planner at this stage was to obtain a full and very detailed description of the experiments (subprojects) I had been assigned to. The output of these descriptions are documents comparable to a project charter. Since time “on Mars” is very limited during the mission, resources have to be assigned very carefully to the different experiments (subprojects) in order not to run into any resource conflicts. Furthermore, just like international projects on Earth, (analog) astronauts and Mission Support team members will experience cross-cultural differences and will be trained to handle them. One major difference between the projects I am normally working on, and this Mars simulation is the detail to which experiments (subprojects) have to be managed. Usually, I plan tasks for my project teams on a daily basis. For analog Mars projects, we have to plan tasks in time slots of 15 minutes. During a simulated and later real Mars mission, astronauts must wear space suits to protect themselves from the hostile environment on our neighbouring planet. As it takes a long time to put on a space suit and as they are very heavy and not comfortable to wear and work in, the time the astronauts can spend outside their habitat is very limited and therefore, very valuable and must be scheduled in great detail. Another difference is the high risk to human life and well-being, as well as to the safety of the usually very expensive equipment. Communication also poses a big challenge. The entire team has to almost learn a new language, consisting of many acronyms specific to space exploration. Simple Earth-words like “yes” and “no” are not used, since they can easily be misunderstood; we use “affirmative” and “negative” instead to express approval or disagreement. Despite these differences, as a certified PMP® and trained analog Mars Mission Support team member, I am well prepared to take on this challenge. And as a Project Manager, I am of course, very much enjoying to expand my skills beyond Earth and to be part of creating the future of space travel and project management. If you want to learn more about this analog Mars mission, please visit https://oewf.org/en/portfolio/amadee-20/. If you want to learn more about project management for analog Mars missions, please contact me at karin@4CEE.eu or https://www.linkedin.com/in/karinbrunnemann/.  Mars panorama taken by Exploration Rover Spirit (2005). Image source: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory As ESA-sponsored Dr Stijn Thoolen comes closer to the end of his year at the Concordia research station in Antarctica, he begins to reflect on his experiences of the last year and the journey homewards. Enjoy the rest of his fascinating blog series by following the links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10 Dr Stijn ThoolenMedical Research Doctor, Concordia Research Station, Antarctica  Concordia, October 4, 2020 Sunlight: about 14 hours per day Windchill temperature: -85 °C Mood: excited, but there is a pinch of nostalgia. Already… It’s 1:00 AM. I am lying outside on the roof, together with Ines (glaciologist), Elisa (cook) and Andrea (vehicle mechanic). There is a full moon shining on us, and Mars is right next to it. I am not much of an astronomer, but its bright color stands out so clearly from all the other celestial objects that even I can recognize it instantly as the Red Planet. Looking to the southwest I see Jupiter and Saturn. Also pretty hard to miss. Usually that is where I find the Milky Way, but there is too much light now, even at this hour. An amber color brightens the horizon, beyond which I now realize again there are just so many miles of ice (something easily taken for granted here, but thinking back to that inbound flight to Concordia last year does the trick) separating us from the rest of the world. In front of it all, I look at the frosty metal bars, which always looked so surrealistic to me when I saw pictures of them back home. They have gone through winter as well…
The return of the sun was cool. ‘Here comes the sun’ (you know, that one from the Beatles) was heard all over the station while we impatiently and excitedly tried to catch a first glimpse of it mid-August. Since that moment the skies have become more and more blue, and the snow more and more bright. I have experienced the gradual return of daylight over the past weeks with a positive and fresh feeling, and a sense of anticipation has started to take hold of the station. Who are the people who will replace us? What are our plans after Concordia? I remember myself some weeks ago, lying in exactly the same position as I am right now, outside against a snow dune, sheltered from the wind and with a pleasant -50 degrees Celsius (I realize this perception must be taken relatively…), alone, and just letting the sunshine touch my face again. A special moment, that reminded me of how pleasant summer conditions are going to be.
ESA-sponsored Dr Stijn Thoolen delivers the last part of his 'Let's Talk Science' blogs, written during his year at the Concordia research station in Antarctica. Catch-up with his previous blogs at Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9 Dr Stijn ThoolenMedical Research Doctor, Concordia Research Station, Antarctica But there is more to the ESA lab, and I have saved the best for last. So, now that you are probably overloaded with theories and facts, let’s talk about something very different. Let’s talk about sex! And before we continue, you have to promise me to turn on another song, to end this blog with some appropriate groove.
But maybe there is more to it than it seems, and what Cherry-Garrard says is not necessarily easy to do. We are human, after all. Sexuality is one of our core features, vital for our existence, and for many it is a fundamental source of pleasure, intimacy, bonding, and social relations. Researchers have shown how sexual deprivation can lead to frustration, anger and even depression, and also seen from a group perspective anecdotal accounts have shown that sexual desire and related feelings of jealousy and competition can lead to adaptation problems in extreme environments. Including Concordia! But the problem with sex it that we don’t easily talk about it. Perhaps it is so close to our core that opening up about it can make us feel vulnerable. A sensitive topic, and while researchers are currently busy figuring out how to compose future space crews in terms of culture, personality and gender, data about sexual behaviour and its effects on team dynamics in extreme environments is basically non-existent! How do we cope? How, why, and when do we suffer? Recent political debates and scandals of sexual harassment have already highlighted the importance of having a work environment free of sexual hostility, and if you ask me, it would be irresponsible to send humans on a multi-billion dollar long-duration mission to Mars without being able to answer these questions! As such, the project SWICE (‘sexual well-being and sexual security in isolated, confined and extreme environments’), for the first time in spaceflight research history, is breaking the taboo. As the first study of its kind, it aims to gather basic information about human sexuality while living in isolation and confinement, and it does so by making us in Concordia talk:
‘How often does another Concordia inhabitant asks me for sexual favours?’ (we better forget the jokes at the dinner table…), ‘How often does another Concordia inhabitant produces sexually explicit graffiti for display at Concordia?’ (we better forget the sexually explicit Play-Doh creations we made with the whole crew last month…), ‘How enjoyable is your sexual life right now?’, ‘How often do you masturbate?’, ‘How often do you experience an orgasm?’ (Damn, you want to know everything!). |
Welcometo the InnovaSpace Knowledge Station Categories
All
|
RSS Feed