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Fit for Space Fact Sheets
How do astronauts maintain balance while in microgravity? It's a question researchers at NASA Johnson Space Center study daily.
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Human Behavior and Performance
Sometimes astronauts' biological clocks have problems adjusting in space.
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Muscle Atrophy
Studies have shown that astronauts experience up to a 20 percent loss of muscle mass on space flights lasting five to 11 days.
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Bone Loss
Weightlessness leads to the release of calcium, leaving the bones more brittle and weak.
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Cardiovascular Adaptation
Space flight can be a major rush for astronauts. But did you know that the journey could sometimes be very taxing on an astronaut's heart?
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Immune System
Studies conducted on astronauts during and immediately after a mission have demonstrated that space flight alters some aspects of the immune system.
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Balance Issues (Integrated Treadmill Locomotion & Functional Mobility Tests)
At the beginning of a space mission, astronauts often feel dizzy and even experience motion sickness until they get used to their new environment.
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Radiation Effects
Outside the Earth's protective atmosphere, the harmful radiation that astronauts are exposed to can lead to cell damage and increase their chances of developing cancer.
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Kidney / Renal Stones
Renal stones, or kidney stones as some call them, are very painful. The condition can sometimes place crewmembers on bed rest, and it also can negatively impact mission goals.
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Human Research Facility
The Human Research Facility supports life sciences investigations on the International Space Station.
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Foot / Ground Reaction Forces
This space flight experiment being conducted on the Space Station measures the forces on the lower limbs of astronauts during their regular workdays.
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PuFF Experiment
Little is known about how the lungs can be affected by long-term exposure to microgravity. Pulmonary Function in Flight, or PuFF, research focuses on lung function both following a spacewalk and inside the Space Station.
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Space Station Overview
It's home to astronauts and cosmonauts who are conducting scientific research to help improve life here on Earth. The Space Station is an orbital laboratory where experiments can float.
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Preflight Adaptation Training Facility
Our perception of how we are oriented and move in space is dependent on information from vision, inner ears, touch and hearing systems.
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Space Food and Nutrition
Astronauts on the International Space Station can choose from shrimp cocktail, stir fried chicken and fettuccine alfredo.
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Getting Fit Can Be Rocket Science
This fact sheet provides a list of products developed with NASA technologies relevant to health & fitness.
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+ Back to Fit for Space Home
Media seeking more information on fitness for space or to schedule an interview, please contact the Communications and Media Outreach team, NASA Public Affairs, Johnson Space Center, 281-483-5111.