Phil Carvil, PhDMedTech Cluster Development Manager at STFC, and all-round fitness and Space fanatic!  Wearing a version of the ESA SkinSuit Image:King's College London
As mentioned in my previous blog, my major area of interest is human physiology and how the human body responds to exercise stimulus, especially in extreme environments, such as in Space.
On Earth, right now as you sit, stand or walk around, you are being ‘loaded’ by gravity. Your body is designed and has developed to enable you to function on Earth. Your muscles and their deployment (larger muscles in the legs) are designed to let your resist the force of gravity. Your heart and its systems are designed to pump blood in response to signals of how your body is oriented, i.e. when you are laying down as opposed to standing up. The spine is curved in response to gravity. It’s amazing when you think about how much your body works just to maintain itself in gravity – now think about what happens in space when you have microgravity, which means very little gravity.
It is documented that when you are in low Earth orbit (microgravity) for extended periods of time your body adapts. Part of this response is to diminish some of the muscle and its functionality, especially in the lower limbs. When you think about it, this makes complete sense. You work your legs just getting out of bed in the morning – imagine if you didn’t even need to do that? When you undertake physical training, particularly resistance training you build those muscles, they get bigger, stronger in response to the change in demand placed upon them. These muscles need a reason to adapt and change - in microgravity without that demand or need, they atrophy, as they require a lot of energy to maintain. Without that need, the body in its own very efficient way changes. That is why exercise forms such a key component of astronaut training pre-, during and post-flight.
Adriana Bos-MikichDepartment of Morphological Sciences, ICBS, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil The growing global interest in space programs, including space colonization strategies, will necessarily have to consider the reproductive process in outer space. Humans procreate through sexual reproduction, a near ubiquitous feature of living organisms on Earth. Furthermore, sexual reproduction is the fundamental strategy through which living organisms colonize new environments, as proven by Darwin´s theory of evolution. Successful colonization in a new niche represents the selection of adaptation-advantageous traits in well-adapted individuals and the elimination of those that do not express these advantageous characteristics. The individual advantageous/non-advantageous variability is achieved by new genetic combinations that occur during the formation of sex cells, a process called meiosis, which is unique and essential to sexual reproduction. In addition, the interaction between male and female gametes, leading to fertilisation and the creation of a new human being, is a critical feature of human reproduction. Male and female sex cells must join together to form a new individual, the zygote, however, living circumstances in outer space may not provide favourable conditions for male and female gametes to join together naturally. In addition, the highly developed physiological mechanisms involved in human sexual reproduction may not be as effective when subject to a new environment, such as would be experienced if humans colonised another planet. Moreover, the effects of the high levels of radiation observed in space and microgravity on mammalian reproduction are largely unknown. In view of these difficulties and uncertainties, it is quite likely the use of assisted reproduction technologies, known as fertility treatment, will need to be considered for this fundamental issue of future lives spent in space stations or other planetary habitats.
#HumanFertility #FertilityInMicorgravity #AssistedConception Gabriela Albandes de SouzaCulture & Education Project Manager, InnovaSpace At first sight, anthropology and space exploration may seem to be two completely different fields with nothing or very little in common. When one thinks about space exploration, the most common associations are with disciplines such as engineering, physics, medicine, robotics, IT, and others related to the technology required for the endeavour and for keeping humans alive. On the other hand, anthropology is immediately associated with the study of non-Western, non-white and non-industrialised societies. Indeed, at its beginning as an independent academic discipline in the second half of the 19th century, it was very much about this, and only this. Nevertheless, as anthropology is ultimately interested in finding out what it means to be human and how people make sense of the world in the most diverse contexts, its research spectrum has gradually broadened. Nowadays, it embraces the study of any social group and its cultural idiosyncrasies, including scientists and astronauts.  Every single society has questioned what there is beyond Earth, the origins of the universe and all that it encompasses, including humankind, and each has found explanations to the unknown phenomena through specific modes of expertise. For some, the Cosmos was created by gods and is the home of powerful deities. Others, in a very specific context – Europe, 17th century – started to systematically study outer space using the emergent scientific methods and technological devices that augmented our senses, turned the invisible visible and went where humans could not. This very specific way of making sense of the world has profoundly changed the imaginary about the Cosmos in some societies and changed the way many people perceive and relate to the universe, to Earth and to all the species that live on our planet. Nowadays, in Western scientific cosmologies, the universe is thought to have been created by the Big Bang and to be ruled by natural laws, which can be translated in mathematical equations. Such a worldview is culturally embedded, therefore space exploration and scientists working on this project are subjects that concern anthropology.
Blog written by Dr. Joan Vernikos, InnovaSpace Advisory Board Member, former Director of Life Sciences NASA, Founder of Thirdage llc, Culpeper VA, USA The influence of gravity in human health on Earth has been grossly underestimated. Only through the experience of human spaceflight some 60 years ago did it become apparent that changes induced by living in the microgravity of space were not simply due to inactivity, as was originally thought. Unlike other variables like heat, cold or altitude, there is no evidence that the human body adapts to living with less or no gravity.  Image: NASA In fact, the longer humans are in space the faster the degenerative changes seem to occur, despite significant exercise and attempts at other countermeasures. With durations lasting six or more months and better diagnostic techniques, it can be seen that living in space accelerates tenfold the rate of decrease in bone density, when measured over the same time in the average population on Earth. Gravity DeprivationOn Earth the effect of gravity is fairly straightforward. It pulls in one direction only, downward, towards the center of the Earth. Unlike plants, humans have the choice of orienting themselves relative to the force of gravity in every conceivable way and mostly in intermittent patterns. They also reduce gravity’s effects on the body during sleep at night or in continuous bed-rest when they are lying in bed. They can also enhance its force with various activities such as walking, running, jumping, bouncing on a trampoline or riding on a centrifuge. How we sense and use gravity determines our health and fitness. The most evident is that of loading, which imparts weight to the body when gravity is pulling in the head to foot direction (+Gz). We are aware of exertion against the force of gravity during normal activity of moving and walking. Gravity is obviously involved in postural and other changes in movement and direction, such as giving cues about our spatial orientation relative to gravity’s vertical pull. Without regular exposure to these +Gz forces, as occurs during spaceflight and prolonged bed-rest, significant cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, metabolic, neural and primarily neuro-vestibular mediated functions are compromised.  Image: Canadian Space Agency Blog written by Joaquim Ignácio S da Mota Neto, MD, MSc - Psychiatrist, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil  Apparently, those weird green creatures who live on distant planets and who whizz across outer space, as seen in even weirder old sci-fi movies, are getting ready to be replaced by the very well known shape of human travellers! Among the many issues concerning human beings becoming extraterrestrials, either permanently or for short periods of time, are those concerning mental health. What happens to our minds in a situation like that? Is the human brain mouldable or adaptable enough to avoid an emotional crisis during such a challenging experience? Emotions and reactions to the environment are an inexorable part of human life - anxiety, fear, sadness, aggression, a wish to die, and so on. Most of these are quite usually seen as psychological or psychiatric features related to the common diagnosis of mental illnesses, such as panic disorder, major depression, psychosis or phobias. More than just feelings emerging from the latent, smouldering traits of someone's personality, they represent the way many portions of the cerebral cells and their connections are behaving in a particular period of time.  Depression is a disease that affects about 120 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of disability, according to World Health Organization. If we take this disorder as an example of a possible disruptive situation to be coped with during a space mission, we can understand the reasons why neuroscience is a very important medical field to be explored and to be put into perspective if trips like those to Mars are on the menu in the near future. Depression used to be described as the loss of the main appetites, i.e., a loss of appetite for work, food, sex, and for life itself. Perhaps more so than the feelings of sadness and hopelessness, the main real problems for depressed people are the lack of energy and decreased sense of interest or pleasure. There is also a huge impact on cognitive aspects, such as attention and memory, which reduces the ability of a person to accomplish minimal daily tasks, when mixed with insomnia, fatigue and psychomotor retardation. An affective disorder has biological and psychological triggers and it is obvious that while traveling or even living in space, the human body and all its organs, including the brain, must face troublesome phenomena, such as microgravity and cosmic radiation, not to mention the isolation and implicit fearful idea of a possible off-Earth death. Separately or together, and alongside genetic predisposition, these facts can represent the causes of mild or severe depression among crew members or civilians engaged in a space mission, besides eventually interfering in responses to treatment. "It is a little bit surreal to know that you are in your own little spaceship, and a few inches from you is instant death." NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, 2016 Hundreds of experts and researchers have been trying to delineate all the important medical knowledge required in order to guarantee the success of space projects. It is also crucial to take into account that mental illnesses are able to jeopardise human lives and societies on any planet, regardless of whether that planet is blue or red.
Well done to Elon Musk & the SpaceX team for the successful launch of the Falcon heavy rocket and safe recovery of 2 out of the 3 boosters - IMPRESSIVE!
Blog written by Tanja Lehmann, Electrical Test Engineer The end of last year (5th Dec 2017) was very special as it saw the successful testing on a parabolic flight of the MIRIAM-2 (Main Inflated Reentry Into the Atmosphere Mission) technology, part of the ARCHIMEDES (Aerial Robot Carrying High resolution Imaging, Magnetometer Experiment and Direct Environmental Sensors) project of the Mars Society Deutschland e.V.  © Mars Society Germany, 4 m diameter MIRIAM balloon inflated MIRIAM-2 is due to be launched into space on a sounding rocket in the autumn of 2019 from Kiruna/Sweden to test the equipment and observe its re-entry behaviour through measurement instruments in the balloon instrument pod. The long term goal is to one day send the probe with its folded balloon (also known as a ballute) to Mars, where the balloon should deploy and inflate, creating drag and slowing the probe as it descends, giving time for measurements to be taken during atmospheric entry. Like any new technology, rigorous testing is essential to ensure it is capable of the task for which it was designed – so how can you test whether a balloon will deploy in the microgravity of space when you are on planet Earth?  Source: ESA The answer is to simulate, as near as possible, the weightless environment that will be encountered in space, and on this occasion the solution lies in the use of a parabolic flight. Each parabola undertaken by the pilots of the specially adapted aircraft gives a zero gravity period of around 22 seconds, a period in which experiments can be conducted, and each flight carries out around 31 parabolas.
Blog written by Mary Upritchard, InnovaSpace Admin Director It really is just a matter of time before a manned space mission is launched into deep space, whether once more to the Moon or more likely to Mars. Of course, the time scale is still being measured in years, but interest in such a venture is growing fast and there are already leading players with plans to reach the Red Planet in the next decade.
Elon Musk of SpaceX has an ambitious plan to send a crewed rocket to Mars by 2024 using an under-development reusable rocket that will ultimately replace his Falcon rockets; the Mars One group are aiming to land a Mars crew by 2031 using technology bought from other aerospace companies; and NASA is currently testing its Orion spacecraft for use with the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS), a rocket that will be capable of propelling humans and cargo out of Earth orbit. The NASA journey to Mars will include a series of stages, an ambitious step-by-step plan to put humans into low-Mars orbit by the 2030's. The Earth Reliant phase will continue to build on research already being conducted on the International Space Station; the Proving Ground phase will see a series of missions near the Moon – called “cislunar space” – assessing the capabilities needed to live and work on Mars; and finally, the Earth Independent phase will test the entry, descent and landing techniques needed to alight safely on the Martian surface, and study how the natural planet resources can be used to sustain a human presence.
Blog written by Dr. Lucas Rehnberg, InnovaSpace SGen Hub Coordinator  In the build up to the AMADEE-18 mission in Oman in February 2018, the Austrian Space Forum is in the thick of preparation with the leadership team and the analogue astronauts (AA) undergoing intensive training. But not only this, the Austrian Space Forum, with all the excitement surrounding AMADEE-18, organised an additional weekend of training for the volunteers that are so eager to take part; this came in the form of Analog Mission Basic Training (AMBT) for AMADEE-18. I myself got caught up in this and am honoured to have taken part in this training to join fellow Mars pioneers and space enthusiasts on this endeavour to help pave the way for a future mission to Mars.  Innsbruck surrounded by the Alps The training weekend recently took place in the beautiful city of Innsbruck, Austria, just before the opening of the Christmas markets. In this quiet city surrounded by the Alps, an international group of young scientists with a shared passion for space gathered for training. What struck me immediately was the range of nations and backgrounds of all the volunteers that were involved. There were undergraduate science students, psychologists, IT experts, doctors and space engineers, to name a few. And these individuals came from across Europe and even as far as Oman to be a part of this mission. True to its mission goals, the Austrian Space Forum, with projects like AMADEE-18, is providing outreach and opportunities for young professionals and students to engage in space life sciences by providing hands on experience. The gathering of this group of volunteers shows how space has this universal appeal, able to be cross-generations and truly be multi-disciplinary.
Lead by its President, Dr. Gernot Grömer, and the leadership team, we began our training in earnest. This training had been a fairly new innovation of the Austrian Space Forum, born from years of experience of conducting these analogue missions. With technology and software evolving so rapidly, it is easy to see how between missions individuals would need to re-validate or completely learn new skills and familiarise themselves with the latest changes in order to run a safe and efficient analogue mission. To this end, this training was developed in order to set a new standard of training for the volunteers and participants in these analogue missions. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Outer Space Treaty, and considering the InnovaSpace overarching principle that advocates for a Space Without Borders, Vice-President of the Brazilian Association of Aeronautical and Space Law, José Monserrat Filho,* was invited to write a commentary on this topic.  Sputnik 1 launched 4th Oct 1957 Space Law was born out of the Cold War and lucky that it was! Were this not the case, its beginnings would have been much more complicated. What was discussed before was the warlike power of space. When Space Law was born, with the launch of Sputnik I by the former USSR, on October 4, 1957, the United States had already been developing since 1956 the Corona, the first spy satellite. Just imagine if the Corona had been the first satellite in history.  The Cold War Era The Space Age would have begun under the direct impact of the Cold War - ready to boil over. Still, it was the Soviets who launched the first satellite, and the United States had to lower the ball and think of peace, to face the red danger coming from Moscow, who were now owners of the first intercontinental ballistic missile that had launched Sputnik into orbit, and could reach far enough for the USA to feel threatened. However, the USSR had been devastated by the battles throughout Europe from World War II and could not contemplate another major conflict so soon, and the United States, great winners of that War, had to overcome the pioneering space advances of the Soviets, advances that put the American population in fear. All in all, it was a big dogfight.
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