From Here to Mars: How the Year-Long ISS Mission and the Twins Study Moved Us Closer to the Red Planet

Referent: Prof. John Charles

Veranstaltungsort: Hörsaal 3 der Uniklinik RWTH Aachen

Der Physiologe John Charles war bis Februar dieses Jahres Head Scientist des Human Research Programs der NASA im Johnson Space Center in Houston und befindet sich jetzt im Ruhestand.

Abstract:

John B. Charles, Ph.D., NASA Emeritus and Scientist-in-Residence, Space Center Houston

The year-long mission of American astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko included the most complex biomedical experiments ever conducted on the International Space Station—and arguably in human spaceflight—to establish insight into human health risks of interplanetary exploration. Focusing on risk mitigation, NASA conducted investigations that addressed the five major spaceflight health hazards to varying degrees. This pilot study was initiated to gain further knowledge and monitor the physiological, psychological, and medical effects of long-duration exposure to spaceflight.

NASA’s Human Research Program and the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Biomedical Problems identified more than 20 biomedical risk reduction investigations to be conducted on the two crewmembers before, during, and after their year-long expedition. A database of results, as well as observations on programmatic resources, was collected to understand essential elements for future spaceflight health studies.

By chance, the American astronaut was one of a pair of homozygous twins, and both brothers (one in space for a year and the other remaining on Earth) volunteered for additional genetic measurements to clarify the effects of spaceflight exposure at every level of organization of the human body.

Statistical rigor requires data collection on additional year-long ISS expeditions to demonstrate the presence or absence of unacceptable deleterious effects, and to permit extrapolation to even longer durations in space. Future year-long ISS expeditions are under consideration, and the review of processes and procedures from this mission suggest potential efficiencies for future investigations.

The Kelly-Kornienko one-year mission demonstrated the importance of continuing joint investigations with the adoption of standard measures for rigorous comparisons across disparate populations. It also identified improvements to collaborative processes across national and international scientific research programs. Additional studies will help inform the development of an integrated applied research methodology for the space station and future interplanetary expeditions.