Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.007
Lin Cheng , Yitong Li , Jing Yan
Space life science has been a frontier discipline in the life sciences, aiming to study the life phenomena of earth organisms and their activity patterns under the special environment of space. This review summarizes studies in various key topics in space life science, namely, how microbiome changes in humans and plants, the development of space agriculture and the use of animal, plant and cell models to study the effect of space environments on physiology. We highlight the new possibilities of using high-quality protein crystals uniquely available when grown under space conditions to aid drug development on earth, and the state-of-the-art Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) to achieve long term human survival in space.
{"title":"Space biological and human survival: Investigations into plants, animals, microorganisms and their components and bioregenerative life support systems","authors":"Lin Cheng , Yitong Li , Jing Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Space life science has been a frontier discipline in the life sciences, aiming to study the life phenomena of earth organisms and their activity patterns under the special environment of space. This review summarizes studies in various key topics in space life science, namely, how microbiome changes in humans and plants, the development of space agriculture and the use of animal, plant and cell models to study the effect of space environments on physiology. We highlight the new possibilities of using high-quality protein crystals uniquely available when grown under space conditions to aid drug development on earth, and the state-of-the-art Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) to achieve long term human survival in space.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"44 ","pages":"Pages 143-153"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143047201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.008
Abdurrahman Engin Demir , Elif Nur Sevinc , Mustafa Ulubay
Space missions have revealed certain disincentive factors of this unique environment, such as microgravity, cosmic radiation, etc., as the aerospace industry has made substantial progress in exploring deep space and its impacts on human body. Galactic cosmic radiation (GCR), a form of ionizing radiation, is one of those environmental factors that has potential health implications and, as a result, may limit the duration – and possibly the occurrence – of deep-space missions. High doses of cosmic radiation exposure during spaceflight, particularly during exploration class missions, may have teratogenic effects on a developing fetus, if an unintended pregnancy occurs shortly before or during the flight. This study aimed to discuss whether the cumulative dosage for a pregnant woman during a probable manned mission to Mars may exceed the terrestrial teratogenic radiation limit. A variety of studies, technical documents, and publications that provided flight duration data and the absorbed cosmic radiation dosage equivalents between Earth and Mars were analyzed. A literature-based hypothetical model of a pregnancy simulation over a 6-month spaceflight was also designed to estimate the cumulative absorbed GCR dose. The estimated dose rates ranged from 90 to 324 mSv. Assuming that a pregnant crew member is exposed to this dosage range, the total teratogenic dose equivalent to the embryo/fetus appear to be significantly higher than that of the National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP)’s and United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC)’s recommendations, which state a maximum radiation dose of 5 mSv for the duration of the pregnancy, and thus such an exceeded dose may likely result in teratogenesis. Current protective strategies may not be sufficient to protect the human genome from the detrimental effects of cosmic radiation, and they need be improved for long-term interplanetary travels during human colonization of Mars.
{"title":"The Effects of Cosmic Radiation Exposure on Pregnancy During a Probable Manned Mission to Mars","authors":"Abdurrahman Engin Demir , Elif Nur Sevinc , Mustafa Ulubay","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Space missions have revealed certain disincentive factors of this unique environment, such as microgravity, cosmic radiation, etc., as the aerospace industry has made substantial progress in exploring deep space and its impacts on human body. Galactic cosmic radiation (GCR), a form of ionizing radiation, is one of those environmental factors that has potential health implications and, as a result, may limit the duration – and possibly the occurrence – of deep-space missions. High doses of cosmic radiation exposure during spaceflight, particularly during exploration class missions, may have teratogenic effects on a developing fetus, if an unintended pregnancy occurs shortly before or during the flight. This study aimed to discuss whether the cumulative dosage for a pregnant woman during a probable manned mission to Mars may exceed the terrestrial teratogenic radiation limit. A variety of studies, technical documents, and publications that provided flight duration data and the absorbed cosmic radiation dosage equivalents between Earth and Mars were analyzed. A literature-based hypothetical model of a pregnancy simulation over a 6-month spaceflight was also designed to estimate the cumulative absorbed GCR dose. The estimated dose rates ranged from 90 to 324 mSv. Assuming that a pregnant crew member is exposed to this dosage range, the total teratogenic dose equivalent to the embryo/fetus appear to be significantly higher than that of the National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP)’s and United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC)’s recommendations, which state a maximum radiation dose of 5 mSv for the duration of the pregnancy, and thus such an exceeded dose may likely result in teratogenesis. Current protective strategies may not be sufficient to protect the human genome from the detrimental effects of cosmic radiation, and they need be improved for long-term interplanetary travels during human colonization of Mars.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"44 ","pages":"Pages 154-162"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143047223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A purple-pigmented (purple) rice seeds containing an anthocyanin, a major class of flavonoids, and their isogenic non-pigmented (white) seeds were exposed outside of the international space station (ISS) to evaluate the impact of anthocyanin on seed viability in space. The rice seeds were placed in sample plates at the exposed facility of ISS for 440 days, with the bottom layer seeds exposed to space radiation and the top layer seeds exposed to both solar light and space radiation. Though the seed weight of both purple and white seeds decreased after exposure to outer space, growth percentages after germination of purple and white seeds in the top layer were 55 and 15 %, respectively, compared to those in the bottom layer 100 and 70 %, respectively. RNA analysis revealed that 1,590 and 1,546 seed-stored mRNAs (long-lived mRNAs) were degraded in the white seeds of the top and the bottom layers, respectively, whereas those of the purple seeds in the top and bottom layers were 548 and 303, respectively. These results suggest that anthocyanin protected seeds and safeguarded long-lived mRNAs from solar light and space radiation to increase the seed viability.
{"title":"Anthocyanin can improve the survival of rice seeds from solar light outside the international space station","authors":"Manabu Sugimoto , Masahiko Maekawa , Hajime Mita , Shin-ichi Yokobori","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A purple-pigmented (purple) rice seeds containing an anthocyanin, a major class of flavonoids, and their isogenic non-pigmented (white) seeds were exposed outside of the international space station (ISS) to evaluate the impact of anthocyanin on seed viability in space. The rice seeds were placed in sample plates at the exposed facility of ISS for 440 days, with the bottom layer seeds exposed to space radiation and the top layer seeds exposed to both solar light and space radiation. Though the seed weight of both purple and white seeds decreased after exposure to outer space, growth percentages after germination of purple and white seeds in the top layer were 55 and 15 %, respectively, compared to those in the bottom layer 100 and 70 %, respectively. RNA analysis revealed that 1,590 and 1,546 seed-stored mRNAs (long-lived mRNAs) were degraded in the white seeds of the top and the bottom layers, respectively, whereas those of the purple seeds in the top and bottom layers were 548 and 303, respectively. These results suggest that anthocyanin protected seeds and safeguarded long-lived mRNAs from solar light and space radiation to increase the seed viability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"44 ","pages":"Pages 79-85"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143047164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.006
Shirin Rahmanian , Tony C. Slaba , Stuart George , Leslie A. Braby , Sharmila Bhattacharya , Tore Straume , Sergio R. Santa Maria
The BioSentinel CubeSat was deployed on the Artemis-I mission in November 2022 and has been continuously transmitting physical measurements of the space radiation environment since that time. Just before mission launch, we published computational model predictions of the galactic cosmic ray exposure expected inside BioSentinel for multiple locations and configurations. The predictions utilized models for the ambient galactic cosmic ray environment, radiation physics and transport, and BioSentinel geometry. Now that the nominal six-month BioSentinel mission has completed and some additional time has passed, those pre-launch predictions and additional model components can be validated. Dose-rate and linear energy transfer (LET) spectral measurements from the on-board dosimeter are presented along with a summary of the computational models used to calculate exposure quantities of interest. Sensitivity tests are performed to gauge the impact of various model choices on these quantities. Satellite data collected during the BioSentinel mission are used to provide some measure of independent validation for the galactic cosmic ray model used in the present calculations. It is shown that the combined models are in excellent agreement with the measured dose-rate. Model calculations agree well with measurement below ∼10 keV/µm and underpredict at higher LET. It is argued that the underprediction is likely due to detector response or low energy anomalous cosmic ray contributions able to reach the thinly shielded side of the on-board dosimeter.
{"title":"Galactic cosmic ray environment predictions for the NASA BioSentinel Mission, part 2:Post-mission validation","authors":"Shirin Rahmanian , Tony C. Slaba , Stuart George , Leslie A. Braby , Sharmila Bhattacharya , Tore Straume , Sergio R. Santa Maria","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The BioSentinel CubeSat was deployed on the Artemis-I mission in November 2022 and has been continuously transmitting physical measurements of the space radiation environment since that time. Just before mission launch, we published computational model predictions of the galactic cosmic ray exposure expected inside BioSentinel for multiple locations and configurations. The predictions utilized models for the ambient galactic cosmic ray environment, radiation physics and transport, and BioSentinel geometry. Now that the nominal six-month BioSentinel mission has completed and some additional time has passed, those pre-launch predictions and additional model components can be validated. Dose-rate and linear energy transfer (LET) spectral measurements from the on-board dosimeter are presented along with a summary of the computational models used to calculate exposure quantities of interest. Sensitivity tests are performed to gauge the impact of various model choices on these quantities. Satellite data collected during the BioSentinel mission are used to provide some measure of independent validation for the galactic cosmic ray model used in the present calculations. It is shown that the combined models are in excellent agreement with the measured dose-rate. Model calculations agree well with measurement below ∼10 keV/µm and underpredict at higher LET. It is argued that the underprediction is likely due to detector response or low energy anomalous cosmic ray contributions able to reach the thinly shielded side of the on-board dosimeter.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"44 ","pages":"Pages 134-142"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143047169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2024.12.005
Patrik Pinczés , Attila Hirn , István Apáthy , Sándor Deme , Konstantin O. Inozemtsev , Olga A. Ivanova , Vyacheslav A. Shurshakov
One of the most problematic goals for radiation safety during spaceflight is an assessment of additional doses received by astronauts during extravehicular activity (EVA). The Pille-ISS thermoluminescent dosimeter developed by the predecessor of the Hungarian Research Network (HUN-REN) Centre for Energy Research (Budapest, Hungary) is designed for the routine dose measurements not only inside the spacecraft compartments, but also for personal dosimetric control for EVA. During almost two decades of the International Space Station (ISS) operation, the unique set of 131 EVA doses were recorded in different conditions, such as: solar activity, ISS trajectory along the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), and shielding conditions provided by two kinds of spacesuits: the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) and Orlan.
The EVA dose rates during the normal scenario (without SAA crossing during EVA) are: 26 Gy/h on average, with maximum value of 118 Gy/h for the EMU spacesuit; and 103 Gy/h on average, with maximum value of 255 Gy/h for the Orlan spacesuit. However, the corresponding EVA dose can increase by about 33% on average regardless the spacesuit type, depending on time spent in SAA. The worst case mean EVA dose is equivalent to 7 days inside the ISS with 2.423 mGy. In general, the possible additional radiation risk due to the EVA is small in comparison with typical half-year mission onboard the ISS.
The long-term experience of EVA dose assessments with Pille-ISS dosimeter shows that in some cases the skin dose can be underestimated due to the excessive shielding of the standard Pille-ISS dosimeter. To solve this problem, the modified Pille-ISS dosimeters with significantly reduced shielding are developed and involved onboard the ISS for the dose measurements starting from 2023.
{"title":"Dose measurements with the Pille-ISS thermoluminescent dosimeter system during extravehicular activities (2004-2022)","authors":"Patrik Pinczés , Attila Hirn , István Apáthy , Sándor Deme , Konstantin O. Inozemtsev , Olga A. Ivanova , Vyacheslav A. Shurshakov","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.12.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.12.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>One of the most problematic goals for radiation safety during spaceflight is an assessment of additional doses received by astronauts during extravehicular activity (EVA). The Pille-ISS thermoluminescent dosimeter developed by the predecessor of the Hungarian Research Network (HUN-REN) Centre for Energy Research (Budapest, Hungary) is designed for the routine dose measurements not only inside the spacecraft compartments, but also for personal dosimetric control for EVA. During almost two decades of the International Space Station (ISS) operation, the unique set of 131 EVA doses were recorded in different conditions, such as: solar activity, ISS trajectory along the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), and shielding conditions provided by two kinds of spacesuits: the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) and Orlan.</div><div>The EVA dose rates during the normal scenario (without SAA crossing during EVA) are: 26 <span><math><mi>μ</mi></math></span>Gy/h on average, with maximum value of 118 <span><math><mi>μ</mi></math></span>Gy/h for the EMU spacesuit; and 103 <span><math><mi>μ</mi></math></span>Gy/h on average, with maximum value of 255 <span><math><mi>μ</mi></math></span>Gy/h for the Orlan spacesuit. However, the corresponding EVA dose can increase by about 33% on average regardless the spacesuit type, depending on time spent in SAA. The worst case mean EVA dose is equivalent to <span><math><mo>∼</mo></math></span> 7 days inside the ISS with 2.423 mGy. In general, the possible additional radiation risk due to the EVA is small in comparison with typical half-year mission onboard the ISS.</div><div>The long-term experience of EVA dose assessments with Pille-ISS dosimeter shows that in some cases the skin dose can be underestimated due to the excessive shielding of the standard Pille-ISS dosimeter. To solve this problem, the modified Pille-ISS dosimeters with significantly reduced shielding are developed and involved onboard the ISS for the dose measurements starting from 2023.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"44 ","pages":"Pages 58-63"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143047166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2024.09.002
Ritu Sampige , Joshua Ong , Ethan Waisberg , John Berdahl , Andrew G. Lee
With increasing advancements and efforts towards space exploration, there is a pressing need to understand the impacts of spaceflight on astronauts’ health. Astronauts have reported signs and symptoms of dry eye disease upon traveling to the International Space Station (ISS), thus necessitating an evaluation of the factors that contribute to the onset of spaceflight associated dry eye disease. Prior literature describes the hypercapnic environment of the ISS; however, the link between the high CO2 levels and astronauts’ symptoms of dry eye disease remains unexplored. Due to the terrestrial relationship between a hypertonic environment and ocular irritation as well as the terrestrial association between CO2 exposure and subsequent corneal acidosis, there is a strong necessity to investigate the relationship between the elevated CO2 levels in the closed environment of the ISS and astronauts’ risk for dry eye disease development.
{"title":"The hypercapnic environment on the International Space Station (ISS): A potential contributing factor to ocular surface symptoms in astronauts","authors":"Ritu Sampige , Joshua Ong , Ethan Waisberg , John Berdahl , Andrew G. Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.09.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.09.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With increasing advancements and efforts towards space exploration, there is a pressing need to understand the impacts of spaceflight on astronauts’ health. Astronauts have reported signs and symptoms of dry eye disease upon traveling to the International Space Station (ISS), thus necessitating an evaluation of the factors that contribute to the onset of spaceflight associated dry eye disease. Prior literature describes the hypercapnic environment of the ISS; however, the link between the high CO<sub>2</sub> levels and astronauts’ symptoms of dry eye disease remains unexplored. Due to the terrestrial relationship between a hypertonic environment and ocular irritation as well as the terrestrial association between CO<sub>2</sub> exposure and subsequent corneal acidosis, there is a strong necessity to investigate the relationship between the elevated CO<sub>2</sub> levels in the closed environment of the ISS and astronauts’ risk for dry eye disease development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"44 ","pages":"Pages 122-125"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143047224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.009
Chirayu M. Patel , Sabrina Vander Wiele , Leslie Kim , Ethan Payne , Michelle Bruno-Garcia , Anne Devorak , Daniel E. Kaganov , Anthony Lau , Martin Guthold , Michael D. Delp , James Crapo , Xiao W. Mao , Jeffrey S. Willey
Reduced weight-bearing during spaceflight has been associated with musculoskeletal degradation that risks astronaut health and performance in transit and upon reaching deep space destinations. Previous rodent experiments aboard the international space station (ISS) have identified that the spaceflight-induced molecular arthritic phenotype was characterized with an increase in oxidative stress. This study evaluated if treatment with a superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic on orbit could prevent spaceflight-induced damage to the knee and hip articular cartilage, and the menisci in rodents. Cartilage and meniscal degradation in mice were measured via microCT, histology, and transcriptomics after: (1) ∼ 35 days on the ISS, (2) ∼ 35 days on the ISS followed by 120 days weight-bearing readaptation on Earth or (3) ∼ 75 days on the ISS. The study had a limited sample size, so both significant effects and generalized patterns are reported. After 35 days aboard the ISS, cartilage volume at the tibial-femoral cartilage-cartilage contact point decreased, meniscal volume decreased concurrent with an increase in pro-osteoarthritic signaling in the joint soft tissue. Similarly, a decrease in cortical and trabecular bone volume of the tibia was observed. Treatment with the SOD mimetic preserved the trabecular bone, articular cartilage and the menisci after 35 days aboard the ISS, but had limited efficacy retaining that recovery after 120 days of weight bearing, and after 75 days on orbit. Antioxidants including BuOE may serve as a potential countermeasure option to protect musculoskeletal health during spaceflight missions, and continued use may be necessary upon reaching a destination.
{"title":"Treatment with a superoxide dismutase mimetic for joint preservation during 35 and 75 days in orbit aboard the international space station, and after 120 days recovery on Earth","authors":"Chirayu M. Patel , Sabrina Vander Wiele , Leslie Kim , Ethan Payne , Michelle Bruno-Garcia , Anne Devorak , Daniel E. Kaganov , Anthony Lau , Martin Guthold , Michael D. Delp , James Crapo , Xiao W. Mao , Jeffrey S. Willey","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reduced weight-bearing during spaceflight has been associated with musculoskeletal degradation that risks astronaut health and performance in transit and upon reaching deep space destinations. Previous rodent experiments aboard the international space station (ISS) have identified that the spaceflight-induced molecular arthritic phenotype was characterized with an increase in oxidative stress. This study evaluated if treatment with a superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic on orbit could prevent spaceflight-induced damage to the knee and hip articular cartilage, and the menisci in rodents. Cartilage and meniscal degradation in mice were measured via microCT, histology, and transcriptomics after: (1) ∼ 35 days on the ISS, (2) ∼ 35 days on the ISS followed by 120 days weight-bearing readaptation on Earth or (3) ∼ 75 days on the ISS. The study had a limited sample size, so both significant effects and generalized patterns are reported. After 35 days aboard the ISS, cartilage volume at the tibial-femoral cartilage-cartilage contact point decreased, meniscal volume decreased concurrent with an increase in pro-osteoarthritic signaling in the joint soft tissue. Similarly, a decrease in cortical and trabecular bone volume of the tibia was observed. Treatment with the SOD mimetic preserved the trabecular bone, articular cartilage and the menisci after 35 days aboard the ISS, but had limited efficacy retaining that recovery after 120 days of weight bearing, and after 75 days on orbit. Antioxidants including BuOE may serve as a potential countermeasure option to protect musculoskeletal health during spaceflight missions, and continued use may be necessary upon reaching a destination.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"44 ","pages":"Pages 67-78"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143047227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-23DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2025.01.004
Chao Sun , Li Ding , Qing Zhang , Jiachen Nie , Yiyang Zhao , Dong Xu , Zhongqi Liu , Bin Wu
Prolonged exposure to microgravity would cause cardiovascular deconditioning in astronauts, leading to physiological discomfort, decreased cognitive function, and reduced work efficiency. This study aims to explore the hemodynamic effects of short-term -6° head-down tilt bed rest (HDBR) on the human circulatory system and the regulation mechanisms of blood supply to the neck and extremities. An HDBR experiment with a duration of 29 days was conducted. Doppler ultrasound was employed to quantify the blood flow spectra of the left carotid (CA), brachial (BA), radial (RA), and femoral (FA) arteries in 14 volunteers before and after HDBR. Blood flow velocity curves were obtained through edge contour extraction technology, to calculate hemodynamic parameters. After HDBR, the FA diameter significantly decreased by 0.2 mm. The resistance index (RI) of the RA, pulsatility index (PI) of the RA and PI of the FA significantly increased. The minute blood flow volume (MBF) in the CA, BA, RA, and FA significantly decreased. The proportion of total blood flow volume (PTBF) to the CA significantly increased by 4.8 %, while the PTBF to the FA significantly decreased by 4.1 %. After HDBR, the blood flow velocity, MBF, and total blood supply in the CA and extremities arteries decreased. Vasoconstriction and increased resistance in the FA led to a decreased blood supply ratio to the lower extremities and an increased ratio to the neck. This study provides a theoretical basis for the prevention of cardiovascular deconditioning and the establishment of targeted countermeasures, which are significant for enhancing astronauts' physical performance.
{"title":"Research on the effects of 15-day of head-down tilt bed rest on arterial hemodynamics and blood supply using Doppler ultrasound technology","authors":"Chao Sun , Li Ding , Qing Zhang , Jiachen Nie , Yiyang Zhao , Dong Xu , Zhongqi Liu , Bin Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2025.01.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2025.01.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Prolonged exposure to microgravity would cause cardiovascular deconditioning in astronauts, leading to physiological discomfort, decreased cognitive function, and reduced work efficiency. This study aims to explore the hemodynamic effects of short-term -6° head-down tilt bed rest (HDBR) on the human circulatory system and the regulation mechanisms of blood supply to the neck and extremities. An HDBR experiment with a duration of 29 days was conducted. Doppler ultrasound was employed to quantify the blood flow spectra of the left carotid (CA), brachial (BA), radial (RA), and femoral (FA) arteries in 14 volunteers before and after HDBR. Blood flow velocity curves were obtained through edge contour extraction technology, to calculate hemodynamic parameters. After HDBR, the FA diameter significantly decreased by 0.2 mm. The resistance index (RI) of the RA, pulsatility index (PI) of the RA and PI of the FA significantly increased. The minute blood flow volume (MBF) in the CA, BA, RA, and FA significantly decreased. The proportion of total blood flow volume (PTBF) to the CA significantly increased by 4.8 %, while the PTBF to the FA significantly decreased by 4.1 %. After HDBR, the blood flow velocity, MBF, and total blood supply in the CA and extremities arteries decreased. Vasoconstriction and increased resistance in the FA led to a decreased blood supply ratio to the lower extremities and an increased ratio to the neck. This study provides a theoretical basis for the prevention of cardiovascular deconditioning and the establishment of targeted countermeasures, which are significant for enhancing astronauts' physical performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"45 ","pages":"Pages 34-43"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2025.01.005
Bette Siegel , J. Andy Spry , Elaine Seasly , J. Nick Benardini
As we prepare for a future first mission to Mars with a human crew, the United States, under the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, has an obligation to protect against harmful contamination of the red planet and to protect the Earth from the potential harmful effects of material brought from Mars. In previous years NASA has partnered with the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other space exploration organizations to conduct a series of workshops on identifying knowledge gaps for protecting Mars from Earth microorganisms during such a crewed mission, and for protecting Earth from a potential Martian biosphere, should it exist. The current international planetary protection consensus policy (COSPAR, 2024) only has high-level guidance for crewed missions thus continuing conversations are needed to further define specific requirements for implementing a crewed missions to Mars.
In this paper, we are surveying the biological contamination tradespace to capture and understand the scope of terrestrial microbiology present on a crewed Mars mission. This is a first step to ensure we can manage the harmful biological contamination threat to a putative Martian biosphere and that terrestrial biological contamination will be controlled. Additionally, we are working towards developing a common understanding and basis of assessment of the contamination thresholds that can be used to describe “how much is too much” from a policy point of view. Specifically, we are providing estimates of what the biological contamination will be for a 30 sol stay with two crew members on the surface of Mars.
The study is to identify the sources and estimate the scale of biological contamination a human mission might bring to the surface of Mars, and to identify where we can potentially reduce or mitigate that contamination. This work does not consider backward contamination to Earth from a crewed mission to Mars, or orbital contamination in any detail. The architecture that we studied is described in HEOMD 415 (Hoffman 2022) which details a “small footprint” mission that would consist of 4 crew members for the trip to Mars, with 2 crew staying in orbit and 2 going to the surface of Mars in a 3 × 25Ton lander configuration, as well as a variant that used a single, larger lander concept. In these concepts, crew would stay in a pressurized rover and not a fixed habitat. The crew would be on the surface for approximately 30 sols in this minimum mission. It is important to note that there is no designated NASA architecture for a crewed mission to Mars and that the one we used is already in the process of being further updated.
{"title":"Status update of NASAs assessment of the biological contamination threat of crewed mars surface missions","authors":"Bette Siegel , J. Andy Spry , Elaine Seasly , J. Nick Benardini","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2025.01.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2025.01.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As we prepare for a future first mission to Mars with a human crew, the United States, under the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, has an obligation to protect against harmful contamination of the red planet and to protect the Earth from the potential harmful effects of material brought from Mars. In previous years NASA has partnered with the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other space exploration organizations to conduct a series of workshops on identifying knowledge gaps for protecting Mars from Earth microorganisms during such a crewed mission, and for protecting Earth from a potential Martian biosphere, should it exist. The current international planetary protection consensus policy (COSPAR, 2024) only has high-level guidance for crewed missions thus continuing conversations are needed to further define specific requirements for implementing a crewed missions to Mars.</div><div>In this paper, we are surveying the biological contamination tradespace to capture and understand the scope of terrestrial microbiology present on a crewed Mars mission. This is a first step to ensure we can manage the harmful biological contamination threat to a putative Martian biosphere and that terrestrial biological contamination will be controlled. Additionally, we are working towards developing a common understanding and basis of assessment of the contamination thresholds that can be used to describe “how much is too much” from a policy point of view. Specifically, we are providing estimates of what the biological contamination will be for a 30 sol stay with two crew members on the surface of Mars.</div><div>The study is to identify the sources and estimate the scale of biological contamination a human mission might bring to the surface of Mars, and to identify where we can potentially reduce or mitigate that contamination. This work does not consider backward contamination to Earth from a crewed mission to Mars, or orbital contamination in any detail. The architecture that we studied is described in HEOMD 415 (Hoffman 2022) which details a “small footprint” mission that would consist of 4 crew members for the trip to Mars, with 2 crew staying in orbit and 2 going to the surface of Mars in a 3 × 25Ton lander configuration, as well as a variant that used a single, larger lander concept. In these concepts, crew would stay in a pressurized rover and not a fixed habitat. The crew would be on the surface for approximately 30 sols in this minimum mission. It is important to note that there is no designated NASA architecture for a crewed mission to Mars and that the one we used is already in the process of being further updated.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"45 ","pages":"Pages 25-33"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Microgravity exposure can impact various physiological systems, yet its specific effects on liver cells remain inadequately studied. To address this gap, we used a hindlimb unloading (HU) mouse model to simulate microgravity conditions and investigate alterations in iron metabolism within liver and skeletal muscle cells. 16-week-old male C57BL/6j mice were divided into three groups: (i) ground-based control (GC), (ii) hindlimb unloading treated with vehicle (HU-v), and (iii) hindlimb unloading treated with deferoxamine (DFO). After three weeks, mice were euthanized, and samples of gastrocnemius muscle, liver, and serum were collected for analysis. The HU-v group exhibited significant muscle and liver cell atrophy compared to the GC group, along with disrupted iron metabolism, as indicated by altered expression of key iron regulatory proteins, including FTH1, FPN, TFR1, IRP-1, HMOX-1, and Hepcidin. In contrast, the DFO group demonstrated restored iron homeostasis, with protein expression patterns resembling those of the GC group. Serum analysis revealed elevated levels of serum iron, ferritin, and transferrin in the DFO group compared to both HU-v and GC groups, albeit with minimal changes in total iron-binding capacity. These findings suggest that simulated microgravity induces iron overload and cellular atrophy in liver and skeletal muscle cells, highlighting the potential therapeutic benefits of iron chelation in such conditions.
{"title":"Mouse hindlimb unloading, as a model of simulated microgravity, leads to dysregulated iron homeostasis in liver and skeletal muscle cells","authors":"Bilal Rah , Jasmin Shafarin , Rizwan Qaisar , Asima Karim , Mawieh Hamad , Jibran Sualeh Muhammad","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2025.01.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2025.01.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microgravity exposure can impact various physiological systems, yet its specific effects on liver cells remain inadequately studied. To address this gap, we used a hindlimb unloading (HU) mouse model to simulate microgravity conditions and investigate alterations in iron metabolism within liver and skeletal muscle cells. 16-week-old male C57BL/6j mice were divided into three groups: (i) ground-based control (GC), (ii) hindlimb unloading treated with vehicle (HU-v), and (iii) hindlimb unloading treated with deferoxamine (DFO). After three weeks, mice were euthanized, and samples of gastrocnemius muscle, liver, and serum were collected for analysis. The HU-v group exhibited significant muscle and liver cell atrophy compared to the GC group, along with disrupted iron metabolism, as indicated by altered expression of key iron regulatory proteins, including FTH1, FPN, TFR1, IRP-1, HMOX-1, and Hepcidin. In contrast, the DFO group demonstrated restored iron homeostasis, with protein expression patterns resembling those of the GC group. Serum analysis revealed elevated levels of serum iron, ferritin, and transferrin in the DFO group compared to both HU-v and GC groups, albeit with minimal changes in total iron-binding capacity. These findings suggest that simulated microgravity induces iron overload and cellular atrophy in liver and skeletal muscle cells, highlighting the potential therapeutic benefits of iron chelation in such conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"45 ","pages":"Pages 7-15"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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