PROMOTING SENSORIMOTOR RESPONSE GENERALIZABILITY: A
COUNTERMEASURE TO MITIGATE LOCOMOTOR DYSFUNCTION AFTER LONG-
DURATION SPACE FLIGHT (MOBILITY)
Research Area: Nervous and Vestibular Systems
Expeditions: 5-12
Principal Investigator(s): ● Jacob J. Bloomberg, PhD, Johnson Space Center, Houston,
Texas
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Promoting Sensorimotor Response to Generalizability: A Countermeasure to Mitigate
Locomotor Dysfunction After Long-duration Spaceflight (Mobility) studies changes in posture
and gait after long-duration spaceflight. Anticipated results help in the development of an in-
flight treadmill training program for International Space Station (ISS) crew members, which
could facilitate rapid recovery of functional mobility after long-duration spaceflight.
EARTH BENEFITS
As people age on Earth, they sometimes experience instabilities in standing and walking. The
development of unique walking and balance training procedures like the ones proposed in this
study can be used to help prevent falling and injury in the elderly population.
SPACE BENEFITS
Following long-duration spaceflight, crew
members have trouble standing and walking. The
magnitude and duration of postflight instability
increases with longer exposure to microgravity
and can pose a risk to crew safety and to mission
objectives during extravehicular operations
during planetary exploration. Presently, no
operational countermeasure is available to
mitigate these balance and locomotor
disturbances. This study proposes to develop a
unified, multi-disciplinary countermeasure
system designed to enhance postflight adaptive
locomotor function that can be easily integrated
with the existing ISS treadmill procedures without
requiring more commitment of valuable crew
resources. If successful, this experiment will
provide methods for overcoming one of the most significant obstacles to long-term
spaceflights, including trips to the moon and Mars.
RESULTS
Following their return to Earth, astronauts experience disturbances in their ability to walk and
maintain postural stability due to the brain’s adaptation floating weightless in space. The goal
JSC2004E51814 - On November 24, 2004,
astronaut John L. Phillips (left), Expedition 11
NASA space station science officer and flight
engineer, participates in a mobility session of the
Integrated Treadmill Locomotion Test (ITLT) at
NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC). Jacob
Bloomberg (center) and Brian Peters assisted
Phillips.