HPS - part 1 Flashcards
for the January 2021 exam
Define an analogue environment (generic).
-
Environments allowing replicating on
Earth specific aspects of a mission
and a target - Analogues can be natural or artificial
- Analogues may have relevance for
robotics, for human spaceflight, or
both - Analogues are a tool
- All analogues are an approximation:
no analogue can simulate everything
Describe the Mars500 Analog site.
waiting for the lecturer’s email
Discuss the research characteristics of a Human
Spaceflight Analogue.
- Environmental
- Availability of medical care and medication
- crowdedness/ habitable volume charac.
- Danger
- External & internal light conditions
- Physical isolation
- Mission Characteristics
- Autonomy
- Comms with outside
- Sensory conditions/deprivation
- Workload
- Personal Aspects
- Personal space
- Rest & Recreation options
- Quality of life-support cond.
- Team/Psychosocial aspects
- Team independence
- Team Size
- TeamStructure
Discuss what research characteristics can be
addressed with an Analogue like Mars500.
Provided by analogue
Not provided/provided to small degree with analogue
-
Environmental
- Availability of Medication/Medical Care
- Crowdedness/Habitable Volume Characteristics
- Danger
- External Light Conditions
- Internal Light Conditions
- Physical Isolation
-
Mission Characteristics
- Autonomy
- Comms with outside
- Sensory Conditions
- Sensory deprivation
- Workload
-
Personal Aspects
- Personal Space
- Rest and Recreation Options
- Quality of Life Support Conditions
-
Team/Psychosocial Aspects
- Team Interdependence
- Team Size
- Team Structure
Describe the influence of gravity on life on Earth.
Gravity has shaped life on our planet! It influences for example:
- Skeleton
- Mice
- Blood pressure
- Giraffe
- Wing dimensions & body size
- Birds
- Orientation
- Spiders use gravity when spinning
- Gravitaxis
- = Oriented movement of the organism either towards (= positive gravitaxis) or away (= negative gravitaxis) from the gravity vector.
- Auxin expressions
- Organs
- Vestibular system
Explain how biological cells detect physical forces.
- Movement between the two cells can be translated between the cytoskeleton
- Cilia bend with the force of gravity via the vestibular system
- Decentralized Model:
- Transmission – signals are passed to the remote part of the cell via the cytoskeleton system
- Centralized Model:
- Transduction – converts the mechanical signals into biochemical signals
Provide examples on the cellular response to weightlessness.
Types of cells influenced
- Microgravity induces muscle composition change
- Gravity influences auxin expression in plant roots
- Dancing hair cell
- vestibular system
- Graviperception in ciliates
- Gravity induced outward deformation of Paramecium causes mechanical stimulation of ion channels in the lower region of the membrane.
- Osteogenic cell
Response types according to simulated microgravity experiments
- alters the cytoskeleton
- reduces cell proliferation
- enhances cell differentiation
- modifies the cell cycle
- modifies intracellular Ca2+
Outline alternative methods to conduct experiments on gravitational biology on ground.
- Drop tower
- Magentic leviation
- Random Positioning Machine
Describe the different space food programms and challenges.
Space Programs and Space Food Systems
- 1961-1963: Mercury:
- just tube & cubes
- 1965-1966: Gemini:
- water gun to add cold water to some foods
- 1968-1972: Apollo:
- plus some can foods, they were able to add hot water
- 1973-1974: Skylab:
- Frozen and refrigerated food, higher quality food, 72 food items, negative: it took a long time to heat it up,
- 1981- 2011: Space Shuttle & 2000-present: ISS Program:
- thermostabilized foods items, 130 different food items and drinks, Preference menu, fresh food items, negative: resupply delays for preference menus
- 1995-1998: MIR Program:
- cereal bars, tubes, …
Space Food Challenges
- Safe
- Acceptable
- Nutritious
- Promote Crew Health & Performance
- Low Resource Use
Space Food System Challenges
- Closed system
- Multi-Year shelf stability
- No cold storage (Don´t have)
- No cooking (They can´t cook)
- Limit crumbs and free liquid
- Minimal crew time for preparation
- Resource restricted e.g. 2.5L water per person per day for food & drinking
Explain the importance of adequate energy intake.
Effects of Insufficient Caloric Intake
- Total body mass ↓
- Fat mass ↓
- Lean body mass ↓
- Cardiovascular Weakening
- plasma volume ↓
- Exacerbates bone loss (dependent on the grade of reduction of caloric intake)
Provide broad answers on other nutrients critical for space flight.
- Vitamins
- Vitamin D supplements
- can maintain bone when coupled with resistance exercise and
adequate energy intake
- can maintain bone when coupled with resistance exercise and
- Vitamin D supplements
- Minerals
- NaCl consumption
- might increase total body fluid
- Higher salt intake leads to higher calcium excretion!
- NaCl consumption
Describe structures and functions of joints.
Joints are where
- muscles connect to bone, usually w/ connective tissue in between (muscle - tendon - bone)
- and bone connects to bone (bone-ligament-bone)
Some joints have cushions of articular cartilage and synovial fluid that help reduce wear.
Additional synovial fluid can be in a sac on top of a stress point like a bony protuberance – these are called bursa
Describe how muscle, cartilage and bone each adapt in the spaceflight environment.
Bone, muscle and connective tissues affect each other
- Bone - loss of density
- osteoclasts and osteoblasts don’t function the same in microgravity.
- not weight bearing = break down of calcium released in to blood
- Muscle - volume and weight decrease (atrophy)
- Cartilage - degradation & damage
- Bion Studies show articular cartilage (AC) and sternal cartilage (SC) exposed to microgravity effects.
- AC showed degradation while SC did not.
- May have to do with minimal loading of SC in gravity env.
- Chondrocytes clusters can indicate cartilage damage
- Bion Studies show articular cartilage (AC) and sternal cartilage (SC) exposed to microgravity effects.
Describe the molecular mechanisms of spaceflight-associated adaptations in muscle, bone, and cartilage.
Cytokines & growth factor
- Cartilage:
- chondrokines
- Bone Loss:
- Osteokines
- insulin
- Osteokines
- Muscle:
- Myokines
- protein secretions and regulation pathways to communicate
- Myokines
Apply knowledge regarding individual cells and tissues to the organism as a whole.
Given the musculo-skeletal unit, any cellular changes to one component will affect another.
- Musculo-skeletal unit-
- -secreted molecules from osteoblasts might impact muscle cells
- -chondrocytes secretions potentially modulate bone and muscle metabolism
- -cartilage also part of a control loop
Over longer durations, smaller adaptations could become more problematic.
Describe the structure and function of joints.
Joints are where muscles connect to bone and bone connects to bone. Muscle connects to bones by tendons. Bones connect to bones by ligaments.
Some joints have articular cartilage that cushions the joints, and synovial fluid lubricates them, contained by an articular capsule.
Aslo, a collection of synovial fluid can be contained between a protruding bone and a moving bone in a sac called a bursa.
