from virtual astronauts to saliva on pieces of paper

Conducting experiments in space is complicated. There are not many resources, much less study subjects. Therefore, sometimes these must be the experimenters themselves. This is precisely what the crew of Artemis II will have to do in the next 10 days. if everything goes well. One of its missions will be to carry out experiments on how the conditions of outer space affect human health. And they will prove it on themselves.

Background. It is well known that stays in space, no matter how short, can affect human health. Just look at the recent example of the astronaut who lost his speech on the International Space Station (ISS). for reasons still unknown. For this reason, a good part of the experiments carried out in these facilities are aimed at exactly that: analyzing how issues such as microgravity, isolation or cosmic radiation affect human health. Interesting discoveries have been made, but the reality is that carrying out experiments in low Earth orbit, where the ISS is located, is not the same as on the Moon.

A mission to protect them all. Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen They will have several missions in their 10 days of travel. To begin with, they will have to test the proper functioning of the ship and its viability for the lunar landing that will take place on Artemis III. They will also take photographs of the far side of the Moon and other measurements of scientific interest. And, finally, they will serve as study subjects in a series of experiments on the effects of space on human health. This time yes: further from low Earth orbit.

space dream. The first study that they will carry out in this sense will be ARCHeRa set of experiments aimed at analyzing how space affects factors such as sleep, stress, cognition and teamwork. To monitor it, they will wear activity bracelets, whose measurements will be added to those taken on Earth both before and after the mission. The combination of all this information will be very useful to understand how the isolation and stress of a mission like this affect the astronauts’ minds.

Immune health. On the International Space Station it has been proven that some viruses, such as varicella zoster, are more likely to come out of latency. These are viruses that the immune system is not able to completely eliminate, but rather remain latent in the body. In the case of varicella zoster, for example, they stay on their nervesimmersed in a kind of lethargy from which they may never emerge. If they do, it is usually due to a lowering of their defenses. Therefore, it is believed that space could affect the immune system. To check this, Artemis II crew members will take samples of wet saliva and blood before and after their trip. They will also take dried saliva samples during the duration of the mission..

Astronaut depositing dry saliva sample

Dry saliva is obtained by depositing the sample on sheets of paper specifically for this purpose. Not just any role is worth it. It is the best way to store saliva samples in space, where they cannot be refrigerated normally. Once all samples are analyzed, the goal will be to study immune biomarker levels for possible declines caused by space.

Virtual astronauts to examine radiation. It is also important to check how radiation affects the health of astronauts. On trips like this, they will not leave the ship, which has adequate shields so that the radiation does not cause them damage. However, in future moon landings, especially if lunar bases are established, that feared exposure to radiation could occur. To study what the effects would be and design effective protection systems, AVATAR has been launchedan experiment that consists of manufacturing a virtual astronaut for each of the crew members.

Artificial bone marrow

All of them have provided samples of cells from their bone marrow that have been grown on a chip the size of a USB memory stick. Thus, a small artificial bone marrow has been obtained with the characteristics of each of them. These will be exposed to radiation while the astronauts remain safe. Because it is a part of the body with many dividing cells, it is especially susceptible to radiation. Therefore, you can see much better what the effects would be. In addition, they can be compared with cell samples taken from the astronauts themselves once they return from the mission.

Measures for the future. All these experiments will serve to better protect astronauts who travel to the Moon in the future. For example, measures could be sought to address sleep problems or suits that better protect against radiation. In addition, thanks to the AVATAR system, the chips could be sent before the astronauts go to space. Thus, the specific effects on their health would be checked and appropriate first aid kits would be designed for each of them. All this will be possible thanks to the fact that Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen will simultaneously act as scientists and study models.

Images | NASA | Emulate | freepik

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