imagine flying aboard the space shuttle
the main engines fire then with a
powerful jolt the solid rocket motors
ignite
the acceleration and intense pull of
gravity during ascent is tremendous
but when the main engines cut off and
the shuttle reaches low earth orbit the
crew enters a totally new environment
everything floats there is no up or down
and for 70 percent of first-time space
fares the initial couple of days in
orbit means they will feel ill
microgravity disturbs the workings of
the inner ear much the way car or air
travel can affect people on earth
responding to this need scientists have
been developing a pre-flight adaptation
trainer for astronauts to use before
they fly
the neurosciences laboratory at nasa's
johnson space center is responsible for
studying the human body's condition in
space
understanding gait posture and other
adaptable functions help scientists stay
in touch with human space travel needs
shuttle missions typically last up to 10
days but future space station visits and
long-range lunar or martian outposts
will mean months or maybe years of space
living
neuroscientist dr deborah harm what
we're trying to do here is to develop
equipment and hardware and software that
will allow us to present
potential space travelers with a set of
sensory conditions as similar to what
they will experience in flight as we can
get them
the subject is strapped inside a
spherical trainer
large overhead projectors display a
montage of computer-generated patterns
that fill the person's field of view
it is the movement of these patterns
that eventually fools the subject into
thinking that he is
not the visual
so the scene is not moving at all
two-way communication allows them to
describe their experience and for dr
harm to request different
once exposed to a variety of
pre-programmed visual cues the brain
recalibrates itself to accept what is
similar to a weightless environment
training in the pre-flight adaptation
trainer will reduce the intensity and
the time that it takes them to adapt to
microgravity and then reduce the
intensity and the duration of the
symptoms motion sickness symptoms
the human body is essentially plastic
meaning that it is capable of conforming
to any environment even space
when members of the skylab 4 crew
returned to earth after nearly three
months in orbit their first steps were
tenuous
they did re-adapt but it took time
today many astronauts coming back from
space undergo evaluations so that
researchers can better understand this
process
in the next decade this research will be
critical in better preparing astronauts
for a long-term commitment to space