Station Science Top News: Jan. 12, 2024
Top-tier result (30,000 downloads since publication in Nov. 2023 and 46 news stories from 44 outlets)
Researchers demonstrated that data from the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) can be used to identify and monitor specific sources of methane and carbon dioxide emissions. Increasing emissions in areas with poor reporting requirements create significant uncertainty in the global carbon budget. The high spatial resolution of EMIT data could enhance reporting transparency to address climate change.
Carbon dioxide and methane are the primary anthropogenic agents driving climate change. EMIT’s infrared imaging spectrometers, designed to determine the type and distribution of minerals in the dust of Earth’s arid regions, can also identify and quantify these greenhouse gasses. This enables precise monitoring even of sources that are close together, making it possible to attribute emissions to specific sources in the oil and gas, waste, and energy sectors.
***
Top-tier result
JAXA researchers identified five musculoskeletal proteins in the calf that respond to gravity changes, including one, Pvalb, that increased in mice with muscle atrophy and bone loss. Patients with osteoporosis have higher levels of Pvalb, further indicating its role in bone metabolism. Levels of Pvalb could provide objective evaluation of muscle and bone loss in the calf, and its identification could advance development of measures to prevent such loss during spaceflight.
Spending time in microgravity causes muscle atrophy and loss of bone mineral density. JAXA’s Medical Proteomics analyzed changes in protein expression in the blood, bone, and skeletal muscles of mice after spaceflight to identify those related to bone loss. Identification of the specific proteins supports development of countermeasures to protect the bone health of astronauts and of better treatments for those with bone loss on Earth.
***
Researchers found imbalance and cognitive dysfunction suggesting that changes in balance, time perception, and reaction time seen in astronauts after spaceflight are caused by effects on the central vestibular system, which creates the sense of balance and spatial orientation. Vestibular and somatosensory training in orbit and rehabilitation post-flight could be effective countermeasures to these effects.
ESA’s Time Perception in Microgravity quantifies the subjective changes in time perception humans experience during and after exposure to microgravity. Spaceflight alters cognitive performance, oculomotor control (maintaining a stable gaze while moving), eye-hand coordination, spatial orientation, and time perception – abilities critical for physical and cognitive performance during missions. Understanding the neurological mechanisms behind these changes can inform countermeasures to ensure crew safety and mission success.
***
Researchers identified reduced activity in spatial processing regions of the brain after spaceflight, particularly those involved in visuospatial imagery and orientation of spatial attention. This finding suggests that astronauts use complementary strategies to perform some spatial tasks and highlights the need for countermeasures to minimize spaceflight’s effects on spatial cognition on future long-distance missions.
In microgravity, astronauts cannot process vestibular cues normally provided by gravity, affecting their ability to perform complex spatial tasks. The CSA investigation Wayfinding examines how exposure to microgravity affects spatial orientation skills in astronauts and how long cognitive and neurological changes persist after return to Earth. Future missions to Mars or the Moon are likely to require crew members to perform spatial tasks shortly after transitions between gravity levels. It may be necessary to change the type of instructions and processes provided to crew members and to use automation or technology to assist with parts of these tasks until they recover spatial capabilities.
Learn more in this video.