STUDY OF THE REGULATION AND BIOMECHANICS OF RESPIRATION IN SPACEFLIGHT
(DYKHANIYE)
Research Area: Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems
Expedition(s): 15- 23
Principal Investigator(s): ● Victor M. Baranov, PhD, Institute of Medical and Biological
Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The Study of the Regulation and Biomechanics of Respiration in Spaceflight (Dykhaniye)
investigates upper respiratory functions in long-term orbital flight on the International Space
Station (ISS) in order to improve the medical monitoring and countermeasures system for
future long-duration crew members.
EARTH BENEFITS
Dykhaniye studies the condition of the
respiratory system in weightlessness, but
knowledge gained from the experiment can
also benefit respiratory research on Earth.
SPACE BENEFITS
Investigating how weightlessness affects the
respiratory system and regulation (including
voluntary control) of this function in long-term
spaceflight is important both for the study of
space physiology and space medicine, since
new findings serve as the basis for improving
and developing special countermeasures for
the deconditioning and rehabilitation of the
respiratory muscles.
RESULTS
A large amount of scientific information was obtained during the experiment, and analysis
showed that no statistically significant changes occurred in the volume/rate of breathing at rest
or breathing reserve indicators in the group under spaceflight conditions. Analysis of spirometry
(method in which breathing is voluntarily controlled after breathing at rest) parameters showed
that in both the transition from Earth to spaceflight conditions and vice versa, voluntary control
of respiratory movements was destabilized. Therefore, as a result of carrying out the Dykhaniye
experiment on the ISS, no significant changes were found in external respiration volume/rate in
the crew members tested. The increase in the duration of holding the breath, the decrease in
variability of breathing pattern time parameters, and shifts in the voluntary control of
respiratory movements were likely caused by changes in the system of breathing regulation,
which requires further in-depth study.
Yury Lonchakov aboard the International Space
Station during the Study of the Regulation and
Biomechanics of Respiration in Spaceflight
experiment. Roscosmos image.