HRP Videos

NASA’s “Groundlink” series connects students with crew currently inside NASA’s Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, a habitat here on Earth.

Episode 4: Crew members Sandra Herrmann and Katie Koube, from HERA Campaign 6 Mission 4, answer questions from students all over the world.

Episode 3: Crew members Jennifer Milczarski and Roberto Carlino, from HERA Campaign 6 Mission 3, answer questions from students all over the world.

Episode 2: Crew members Jared Broddrick and Patrick Ridgley, from HERA Campaign 6 Mission 2, answer questions from students around the world.

Episode 1: Crew members Christopher Roberts and Madelyne Willis, from HERA Campaign 6 Mission 1, answer questions about life in HERA.

This hazard of a human mission to Mars is the most difficult to visualize because, well, space radiation is invisible to the human eye. Radiation is not only stealthy, but considered one of the most hazardous aspects of spaceflight.

Behavioral responses occur among groups of people isolated and confined in a small space over a long period of time.  Crews must be carefully chosen, trained, and supported to ensure they can work effectively as a team for months or years in space.

Mars is, on average, 140 million miles from Earth. Rather than a three-day lunar trip, astronauts would be leaving our planet for roughly three years. Planning and self-sufficiency will be key to successful deep space missions.

On Mars, astronauts would need to live and work in three-eighths of Earth’s gravitational pull for up to two years. Throughout this time, their bodies – muscles, bones, inner ear, and organs – will be adjusting to new gravitational loads.

A spacecraft is not only a home, it’s also a machine. The ecosystem inside a vehicle plays a big role in everyday astronaut life. Important habitability factors include temperature, pressure, lighting, noise, the presence of microbes, and more.

John Charles from NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) explains the research to be conducted during the 'One-Year Mission.'

During NASA’s One-Year Mission, visual impairment investigations will be conducted to learn more about fluid shifts and ocular health.

During NASA’s One-Year Mission, physical performance assessments will enhance our knowledge of effects on bones, muscles and heart.

Learn about NASA's One-Year Mission research and how investigations will assess and help combat stress and fatigue.

Learn about the human factors in NASA's One-Year Mission, focusing on fine motor performance, habitability, and training retention.

Learn about NASA's One-Year Mission research and how the Fluid Shift Study advances the Journey to Mars.

Learn about One-Year Mission biomarker studies that improve body chemistry, heart and immune system for a journey to Mars.

As part of the One-Year Mission, researchers are studying how microbes on astronauts’ skin, inside their bodies, and on the station impact their health. 

NASA’s One-Year Mission investigators are peering into their new findings to help address astronaut vision issues.

Adapting to the microgravity environment changes brain function, decreases muscle strength and alters cardiovascular function.

On March 7, NASA announced the selection of 10 investigations for the study of identical twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly and, in doing so, launched human space life science research into a new era. These 10 investigations will provide NASA with broader insight into the subtle effects and changes that may occur in spaceflight as compared to Earth-based environments.

NASA Human Research Program Twins Study investigator Emmanuel Mignot, M.D., Ph.D, known for discovering the cause of narcolepsy is related to the immune system, is studying twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly. He’s investigating how their immune system responds to the seasonal flu vaccine over the course of a year in space and on Earth.

NASA didn’t miss a (heart)beat when the opportunity arose to study the cardiovascular systems of identical twin astronauts, one aboard the International Space Station and the other on Earth. Results from the Cardio Ox study may provide a better understanding of cardiovascular disease risk that astronauts encounter during and after long-duration spaceflight. 

Just like early explorers, NASA Twins Study investigators are venturing into new territory. Conducting human omics research on twin astronauts as part of the One-Year Mission that took place aboard the International Space Station is one such venture. NASA is evaluating more efficient and innovative research techniques to prepare for the journey to Mars.

You may think you’re just an average Joe, but according to your metabolomics data, your body is percolating some expressive information about your daily life. Stanford University School of Medicine Postdoctoral Fellow Tejaswini Mishra, Ph.D.  is integrating multi-omics data for NASA's Twins Study and comparing metabolites in retired twin astronauts.

“Some of the most exciting things that we’ve seen from looking at gene expression in space is that we really see an explosion, like fireworks taking off, as soon as the human body gets into space,” Twins Study Principal Investigator Chris Mason, Ph.D., of Weill Cornell Medicine, said. "With this study, we’ve seen thousands and thousands of genes change how they are turned on and turned off."

NASA's Twins Study, which included 10 investigations that studied retired identical twin NASA astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly had yielded an amazing amount of data and research that has culminated in to three key findings related to telomeres, gene expression and immunology. Learn more about this research and the benefits of the Twins Study.

Journaling has and will always play an important role in any journey. Today’s astronauts journal through their missions, just like most other explorers.

Lead scientist of the Cardiovascular and Vision Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, explains the current investigations of Vision Impairment Syndrome.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins explored heart cells in space. Those cells were returned to Earth by SpaceX for analysis by scientists to improve heart health.

Learn what factors alter the human body's immune system and how scientists are working to understand exactly what parts are altered during spaceflight.

In space, the astronauts’ environment impacts their nutrition needs.  Today’s explorers cross miles of space with no hope of finding an island with food and nutrients along the way.

NASA Clinical Translational Scientist Jennifer Fogarty explains the risk of vision impairment both during and after spaceflight and its link to intracranial pressure

NASA Immunologist Brian Crucian discusses the findings of a collaborative investigation that determined spaceflight causes changes to the immune system.

Astronauts in space may lose an average of 1% bone density per month. Learn how the bones of the human body are affected by the microgravity of space.

Exercise relieves stress, burns fat, and keeps our heart and muscles strong. Exposure to reduced gravity during spaceflight can leave astronauts with weak muscles and less coordination.

Exercise is essential for our astronauts to maintain healthy bones, muscles and heart during space flight and exploration missions. Learn more about exercise regimens in space.

Just outside the protective layer of Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere, is a universe full of radiation. What happens to our bodies when we leave the surface of Earth to travel in space?

Scott Kelly demonstrates the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device, which is one of the machines available to the International Space Station crew members for their daily exercise regimen.

Just outside the protective layer of Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere, is a universe full of radiation. What happens to our bodies when we leave the surface of Earth to travel in space or visit the International Space Station?

Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York has a Heavy Ion Collider. NASA utilizes this facility to test the effects of space radiation on astronauts at the NASA Space Radiation Lab (NSRL). 

While it’s true that space radiation is one of the biggest challenges for a human journey to Mars, it’s also true that NASA is developing technologies and countermeasures to ensure a safe and successful journey to the red planet.

In each life a little rain must fall, but in space, one of the biggest risks to astronauts’ health is radiation “rain". HRP is simulating space radiation on Earth following upgrades to the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL).

Charged particles may be small, but they matter to astronauts. HRP is investigating these particles to solve one of its biggest challenges for a human journey to Mars: space radiation and its effects on the human body.

While people protect their eyes from the sun’s radiation during a solar eclipse, HRP is working to protect the whole human body from radiation in space. Space radiation is dangerous and one of the primary health risks for astronauts.

Much of the energy radiating from the Sun is harmful to humans. Outside Earth’s protective magnetic field and atmosphere, the ionizing radiation in space will pose a serious risk to astronauts as they travel to Mars.

HRP's Integrated Resistance and Aerobic Training study, (iRAT) evaluated the use of high-intensity exercise training to minimize loss of muscle, bone on the International Space Station. 

The ground-based mission HERA, or Human Exploration Research Analog, represents an analog for simulation of isolation, confinement and remote conditions of mission exploration scenarios.

You always want to be the last man standing. Optimal functional performance, such as standing, is taken even more seriously when preparing for future missions to Mars and beyond.

The Human Factors and Behavioral Performance (HFBP) Element is responsible for characterizing and mitigating human factors and behavioral performance risks associated with living and working in space, and safely returning to Earth.

The goal of the Space Radiation (SR) Element is to ensure that crewmembers can safely live and work in space without exceeding acceptable radiation health risks. Space radiation differs from radiation encountered on Earth. 

While it’s true that space radiation is one of the biggest challenges for a human journey to Mars, it’s also true that NASA is developing technologies and countermeasures to ensure a safe and successful journey to the red planet.

NASA’s Human Research Program is releasing the first half of a video series entitled Omics: Exploring Space Through You to highlight its Twins Study, in conjunction with National DNA Day. The series explores space through you by using omics to look more closely at individual health.

NASA’s Human Research Program is releasing the first half of a video series entitled Omics: Exploring Space Through You to highlight its Twins Study, in conjunction with National DNA Day. The series explores space through you by using omics to look more closely at individual health.

NASA’s Human Research Program is releasing the first half of a video series entitled Omics: Exploring Space Through You to highlight its Twins Study, in conjunction with National DNA Day. The series explores space through you by using omics to look more closely at individual health.

NASA’s Human Research Program is releasing the first half of a video series entitled Omics: Exploring Space Through You to highlight its Twins Study, in conjunction with National DNA Day. The series explores space through you by using omics to look more closely at individual health.

NASA’s Human Research Program is releasing the first half of a video series entitled Omics: Exploring Space Through You to highlight its Twins Study, in conjunction with National DNA Day. The series explores space through you by using omics to look more closely at individual health.

NASA’s Human Research Program is releasing the first half of a video series entitled Omics: Exploring Space Through You to highlight its Twins Study, in conjunction with National DNA Day. The series explores space through you by using omics to look more closely at individual health.

NASA’s Human Research Program is releasing the first half of a video series entitled Omics: Exploring Space Through You to highlight its Twins Study, in conjunction with National DNA Day. The series explores space through you by using omics to look more closely at individual health.

This is the last video in a series of eight which explores space through you by using omics to look more closely at the unique health of an individual. Omics integrates multiple biological disciplines to focus on measurements of a diverse array of biomolecules.