A University of Lethbridge researcher is part of a team further exploring how the human body responds to space travel.
Dr. Gerlinde Metz, a neuroscientist at the University of Lethbridge's Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, along with other researchers including Tony Montina from the university's department of chemistry and biochemistry, have been awarded a $225,000 Canadian Space Agency grant to continue work into furthering our understanding of space travel. The grant, which funds work for three years, was among 14 recently announced for Canadian post-secondary institutions by federal industry minister Mélanie Joly.
"This is NASA's largest ever human research efforts," she said Tuesday.
NASA has compiled at least a dozen years of astronaut data, from astronauts who went to the International Space Station, collecting data before launch, during their stay in space and after their return to Earth. It's a rich data set, said Metz.
"We know exactly what's going on over time, and this is a really unique situation because, along with these biological data and samples that we're collecting, we have all kinds of information about the health and their psychological status, their cognition, their diet, their exercise regimen, their environmental measures and so on."
At the University of Lethbridge for over 11 years, small chemicals in biofluids, such as blood, urine and saliva, of astronauts have been studied.
"We're able to get a signature of the chemicals in the blood or in the urine, which is really exciting, because it is a very robust predictor for health problems," said Metz.
Researchers are hoping to identify pathways linked to health risks in space, and, with that knowledge, astronauts could receive timely intervention -- perhaps a change in diet, or exercise -- to help them reduce their stress while in space.
The nutritional biochemist developing the diets for astronauts is using the data for his work, said Metz.
Astronauts are under plenty of stress, as they are on their own for an extended period of time and are exposed to microgravity, noise and radiation. While the stress of space travel, which comes with many health risks, is by itself of interest to researchers, the experience also helps them understand how humans age on Earth.
Astronauts tend to display signs linked to aging, such as lower bone density and muscle atrophy, and also experience cognitive functional decline, she said.
"We are interested, particularly in this project right now, how can we identify risks associated with aging and predict who's at risk of aging-associated diseases based on these metabolic changes," said Metz.
Studies, such as the 2010 to 2011 Mars500 project the European Space Agency undertook with the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow, and follow-up ones are important to help understand what humans can expect, both physically and mentally, from prolonged exposure to space, said Metz. The 10-day Artemis II mission, scheduled for next April, will send four astronauts around the Moon.
Most astronauts so far have been male, and the Canadian Space Agency grant will allow researchers to look into how females respond to space travel.
"What we've seen is that females need longer to adjust to such a profound change in their environment, like going to space and returning to Earth," she said. "They need more time to recover."
The physical condition of astronaut Sunita Williams, who, along with Butch Wilmore, returned to Earth in March after being stuck at the International Space Station for over nine months, concerned physicians due to the significant muscle atrophy and bone loss she suffered, said Metz, adding Wilmoreseemed to have fared better.
"We need to do studies that are systematic and we need to have a better sample size for female astronaut data so that we have more reliable information from rigorous scientific studies," she said.