INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION MEDICAL MONITORING (ISS MEDICAL MONITORING)
Research Area: Human Research: Crew Healthcare Systems
Expedition(s): 1-ongoing
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Medical Monitoring On Board the International Space Station (ISS) (Medical Monitoring)
involves the collection of health data at regular intervals from long-duration International Space
Station (ISS) crew members. Crew health before, during and following spaceflight is essential to
overall ISS mission success. All of the partner agencies recognize the importance of crew health
to mission success and are dedicated to maintaining the health of all crew members throughout
all phases of ISS missions.
EARTH BENEFITS
Maintaining crew member health and safety while in orbit better ensures that crew member
functionality is not jeopardized as a result of time spent on a mission, therefore, allowing them
to resume life on Earth unaffected by space travel.
SPACE BENEFITS
The optimization of crew health and safety increases
the productivity of their performance while
conducting in-orbit operations. With humans currently
occupying the International Space Station (ISS) for 6
months and space exploration missions of 1 to 3 years
on the horizon, preservation of crew member health
status and monitoring is a major objective of the
international space community.RESULTSMedical Monitoring covers a wide array of distinct ISS
investigational studies. Below are some of the results
that encompass the Medical Monitoring on ISS.A study has found that long-duration, but not short-,
spaceflight prolongs cardiac electrical conduction and
heart muscle recovery. Shifts in systemic cardiac
regulation and primary cardiac changes may be
responsible. Long-duration flight is associated withISS030E012609 – NASA astronaut Dan
Burbank (foreground), Expedition 30
commander, and Russian cosmonaut Anton
Shkaplerov, flight engineer, participate in a
Crew Health Care System medical
contingency drill in the Destiny laboratory of
the International Space Station. This drill
gives crew members the opportunity to work
as a team in resolving a simulated medical
emergency aboard the space station. Image
courtesy of NASA.