Artemis II Standard Measures
The Artemis II mission will include four crew members who will venture around the Moon. As part of that mission, participating astronauts will conduct human research and provide biological samples to help populate a data repository that includes comparable data from more than 30 astronauts who completed missions on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Description
The study is a new branch of the ongoing Spaceflight Standard Measures experiment conducted in a variety of spaceflight mission environments, including the International Space Station. It will similarly collect a standardized set of measurements spanning multiple physiological systems to provide a comprehensive snapshot of how spaceflight affects the human body.
Scientists who tap this dataset will gain insight into how isolation, confinement, weightlessness, and other space hazards affect human health and performance during and after spaceflight. This new branch of work will deepen our understanding of how spaceflight exploration beyond low Earth orbit affects human health and performance.
The Spaceflight Standard Measures experiment, which began in 2018, has collected a comprehensive suite of data from more than 30 astronauts completing missions in low Earth orbit aboard the space station. The new data collected from participating Artemis II astronauts, gathered before, during, and after the Artemis II mission, will expand that data bank.
Data and sample collection will include measurements from blood, saliva, and urine to examine nutritional status, cardiovascular health, and immunological function. Other information will be gathered from MRIs to examine ocular and brain health. Further testing and surveys will investigate balance, motion sickness symptoms, vestibular health, muscle performance, and how microorganism composition changes during the mission. Additional physical function tests unique to the Artemis branch of the standard measures study series will include egressing a capsule and conducting simulated moonwalk activities in a pressurized spacesuit immediately upon return to Earth.
Impact
This data, which is gathered before, during, and after a mission, will provide researchers with insight into key physiological responses that will inform future protocols aimed at maintaining astronauts’ health and performance as missions venture onward to Mars and beyond.
Formal project title: Artemis II Spaceflight Standard Measures
