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Experiment/Payload Overview

Brief Summary

ELaboratore Immagini TElevisive - Space 2 (ELITE-S2) investigates the connection between brain, visualization and motion in the absence of gravity. By recording and analyzing the three-dimensional motion of crewmembers, this study helps engineers apply ergonomics into future spacecraft designs and determines the effects of weightlessness on breathing mechanisms for long-duration missions. This experiment is a cooperative effort with the Italian Space Agency, ASI.

Principal Investigator

Francesco Lacquaniti, M.D., University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, , Italy

Co-Investigator(s)/Collaborator(s)

Fondazione Santa Lucia, , University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, , Italy

Giancarlo Ferrigno, Ph.D., Politecnico di Milano, Milano, , Italy

Myrka Zago, , University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, , Italy

Payload Developer

Kayser Italia Srl., Livorno, , Italy
Italian Space Agency, Rome, , Italy

Sponsoring Space Agency

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Sponsoring Organization:

Italian Space Agency (ASI)

ISS Expedition Duration:

October 2007 - March 2013

Expeditions Assigned

16, 17, 31/32, 33/34

Previous ISS Missions

The predecessor to this investigation, ELITE-S, was flown on EUROMIR in 1995. A similar experiment, KINELITE, flew on STS-90.

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Experiment/Payload Description

Research Summary

• On Earth, the ability to catch a ball depends on a mental model of the physical behavior of that object, a model that includes gravity. In a microgravity environment, crewmembers adjust their motor control strategies to respond to new rules, but still show evidence that the old gravity-based rules are hard-wired into their brains through neural networks.



• This experiment evaluates differences in the way the brain controls conscious and unconscious motions such as breathing, sitting and standing in environments with and without gravity.

Description

Several experiments done in orbit have demonstrated that similar neural and cognitive mechanisms participate during both imagining and executing a movement. A previous Neurolab study showed that crewmembers used an internal model of gravity, even in microgravity, to initiate the movements of catching a dropped ball. This demonstrated that gravity representation is built into the neural networks involved in planning interceptive movements. More recently, it has been uncovered that activity in the vestibular cortex represents the neural substrate of the internal model of Newton's law in the Earth's gravitational field. However, mental imagery of the laws of motion of objects has not been studied in space to date.br />
ELITE-S2 provides a system for observations on body motor control during long term exposure to microgravity and performs quantitative data collection and analysis on board the International Space Station (ISS). The primary goal of ELITE-S2 is to study the strategies for dynamic control of posture and body motion and adaptive mechanisms which allow adjustment of motor control strategies resulting from exposure to microgravity. ELITE-S2 investigates whether gravity representation also affects mental imagery of an interceptive task in microgravity. In addition, it investigates the effects of weightlessness on breathing mechanisms.br />
To better understand the neural mechanism for motor control in microgravity, ELITE-S2 analyzes movement of crewmembers from sitting to standing while monitoring the quantitative postural response to optokinetic stimulation (visual tracking of motion). The role of sensory inputs in the organization of the locomotion patterns and the role of sensorimotor integration mechanisms are evaluated during pointing and reaching tasks. Cardiorespiratory physiology is examined by quantitatively analyzing the chest wall compartment mechanics. To aid in ergonomic design and human factors for future spacecraft design, this investigation also evaluates working posture.

Understanding the ability of the human brain to mentally represent the presence or absence of gravity is key to training crewmembers to complete tasks in a low gravity environment. Ergonomics findings from this study can be used in the design of future spacecraft and space-qualified systems.

Two experiment protocols have been defined for ELITE-S2:

• Imagery of object Motion Affected by Gravity in null gravity Experiments for ELITE-S2 (IMAGINE-2): On Earth our ability to catch a ball depends on a mental model of the physical behavior of that object, a model that includes gravity. In a microgravity environment, crewmembers adjust their motor control strategies to respond to new rules, but still show evidence that the old gravity based rules are hard wired into their brains through neural networks.



• Movement in Orbit Vehicle Experiments (MOVE): This experiment evaluates differences in the way the brain controls conscious and unconcious motions such as bending trunk, pointing and reaching objects in environments with and without gravity.

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Applications

Space Applications

This study allows for the application of ergonomics in the design of future spacecraft and determines the effects of microgravity on breathing mechanisms for long-duration missions.

Earth Applications

This study has important implications not only for understanding basic mechanisms of motor control, but also for rehabilitative training of neurological patients with impaired motor control. New rehabilitation techniques are based on virtual reality and mental rehearsal of motor actions.

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Operations

Operational Requirements

The hardware for the experiment (the Interface Management Unit) is installed in an EXPRESS Rack and the cameras and body restraints must be mounted in specific areas. A total of three sessions of ELITE-S2 with three crewmembers participating in each session are required. The first session is immediately following vehicle docking to ISS, the second session one month after docking and the third session shortly before the crewmembers return to Earth. The data captured by the cameras in each session is downlinked for analysis by ground teams. The ground teams study the mental representations of gravity and microgravity as well as the adaptive mechanisms of motor control to microgravity.

Operational Protocols

For each protocol, a set of body landmarks are identified and reflective markers are applied on the crewmember performing the experiment. The crewmember performs prescheduled movements (for example, the subject has to reach and brush, without exerting forces) with his index finger tips then return to the initial position. Video cameras trace the trajectories of the body parts of the crewmember catching the light reflected by the markers. This allows the cameras to record the kinetic and trajectory data of the movement.

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Results/More Information

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Related Web Sites

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Publications

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Ground Based Results Publications

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ISS Patent Publications

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Related Publications

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Images