How Conditions of Space Impact Astronauts' Functional Performance

Adapting to the microgravity environment of space changes the way the brain interprets sensory signals, decreases muscle strength, and alters cardiovascular function. Astronauts will need to overcome these changes to perform critical mission tasks on a journey to Mars. Maintaining balance control will be key to a successful mission. NASA's Human Research Program wants to understand how spaceflight affects human physiological systems and functional performance to help identify the best countermeasures for astronauts in support of future deep space missions. Jacob Bloomberg, Ph.D., senior scientist at the Johnson Space Center, is investigating functional performance and physiological systems to determine how these changes can impact astronauts.

Transcript

00:00:00 [Music] during spaceflight astronauts adapt to microgravity these adaptations may impact the ability of astronauts to perform critical mission tasks when they land on mars and also when they return back to earth the goal of our research was to determine how spaceflight alters the ability of astronauts to perform functional tasks

00:00:21 like walking while avoiding obstacles climbing a ladder or opening a hatch similar to what we observed for six-month missions the one-year mission showed us that tasks that required balance control showed the greatest decrease in performance these results point to the importance of developing exercise programs for astronauts in addition to maintaining

00:00:41 muscle and cardiovascular function also keep the brain's balance system tuned for standing and walking improving the ability of astronauts to explore new worlds on future missions [Music] you