NASA is ‘SIRIUS’ about its analog missions
2017-11-16
Before humans will go to Mars, NASA has practice missions on Earth. Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station (SIRIUS) missions are the latest spaceflight analogs NASA is using to help understand the risks of travel further into the solar system. This ground-based analog is a complement to human research being conducted aboard the International Space Station, such as Scott Kelly’s one-year mission. These missions are paving the way to learn how the human body reacts in unique environments.
An analog environment is a situation on Earth that produces effects on the body similar to those experienced in space—physically, mentally and emotionally. These studies are expected to help advance human spaceflight from lower-Earth orbit missions into deep space exploration. NASA is associated with at least 15 analog environments throughout the world. The SIRIUS analog takes place at the Institute for Bio-Medical Problems (IBMP) in Russia. Other NASA-associated analogs are in Germany, Canada, Antarctica and at sites in the United States.
The SIRIUS missions are the first time NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) has partnered with Russia’s IBMP ground-based experimental complex (NEK) to conduct a series of analog missions. The first of these missions is SIRIUS-17, named because of its 17-day duration. The mission began Nov. 7.
“The SIRIUS-17 mission, from a NASA perspective, is designed to test the capabilities of the Russian facility,” said Flight Analogs Program Manager Lisa Spence. “We want to exercise the facility capabilities, mission planning and integration procedures to identify challenges or issues now as opposed to during a longer-duration mission.”
The goal is for NASA to work with the IBMP to conduct at least three follow-on missions: a four-month mission in 2018, an eight-month mission in 2019 and a 12-month mission in 2020.
SIRIUS-17 will have six human participants who will be isolated and confined in a mock-spacecraft habitat for the mission’s duration. During the mission, they will perform a suite of scientific experiments. Training for the crew began the week of Oct. 9.
One of the reason NASA chose the Russian facility is that it is a dedicated facility. This means that during the mission, its purpose is to execute the simulated space missions and research activities targeted for an isolation environment.
“Also, they have done successful long-duration isolation missions at the IBMP facility in the past, even up to 520 days,” Spence said. “They have demonstrated the ability to do the type of missions we are planning to work up to.”
More than 40 scientific experiments have been selected for SIRIUS-17, which will place significant demands on crew time. HRP personnel developed a unified science requirements document that helps in the development of the mission timeline and maximizes the science data capture.
NASA's HRP is dedicated to discovering the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. HRP enables space exploration by reducing the risks to astronaut health and performance using ground research facilities, the International Space Station and analog environments. This leads to the development and delivery of a program focused on: human health, performance and habitability standards; countermeasures and risk-mitigation solutions; and advanced habitability and medical-support technologies. HRP supports innovative, scientific human research by funding more than 300 research grants to respected universities, hospitals and NASA centers to over 200 researchers in more than 30 states.
Monica Edwards
Laurie Abadie
NASA Human Research Strategic Communications
An analog environment is a situation on Earth that produces effects on the body similar to those experienced in space—physically, mentally and emotionally. These studies are expected to help advance human spaceflight from lower-Earth orbit missions into deep space exploration. NASA is associated with at least 15 analog environments throughout the world. The SIRIUS analog takes place at the Institute for Bio-Medical Problems (IBMP) in Russia. Other NASA-associated analogs are in Germany, Canada, Antarctica and at sites in the United States.
The SIRIUS missions are the first time NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) has partnered with Russia’s IBMP ground-based experimental complex (NEK) to conduct a series of analog missions. The first of these missions is SIRIUS-17, named because of its 17-day duration. The mission began Nov. 7.
“The SIRIUS-17 mission, from a NASA perspective, is designed to test the capabilities of the Russian facility,” said Flight Analogs Program Manager Lisa Spence. “We want to exercise the facility capabilities, mission planning and integration procedures to identify challenges or issues now as opposed to during a longer-duration mission.”
The goal is for NASA to work with the IBMP to conduct at least three follow-on missions: a four-month mission in 2018, an eight-month mission in 2019 and a 12-month mission in 2020.
SIRIUS-17 will have six human participants who will be isolated and confined in a mock-spacecraft habitat for the mission’s duration. During the mission, they will perform a suite of scientific experiments. Training for the crew began the week of Oct. 9.
One of the reason NASA chose the Russian facility is that it is a dedicated facility. This means that during the mission, its purpose is to execute the simulated space missions and research activities targeted for an isolation environment.
“Also, they have done successful long-duration isolation missions at the IBMP facility in the past, even up to 520 days,” Spence said. “They have demonstrated the ability to do the type of missions we are planning to work up to.”
More than 40 scientific experiments have been selected for SIRIUS-17, which will place significant demands on crew time. HRP personnel developed a unified science requirements document that helps in the development of the mission timeline and maximizes the science data capture.
NASA's HRP is dedicated to discovering the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. HRP enables space exploration by reducing the risks to astronaut health and performance using ground research facilities, the International Space Station and analog environments. This leads to the development and delivery of a program focused on: human health, performance and habitability standards; countermeasures and risk-mitigation solutions; and advanced habitability and medical-support technologies. HRP supports innovative, scientific human research by funding more than 300 research grants to respected universities, hospitals and NASA centers to over 200 researchers in more than 30 states.
Monica Edwards
Laurie Abadie
NASA Human Research Strategic Communications
Image Credit: IBMP
Elevated view of the IBMP facility where the SIRIUS-17 two-week analog mission is being conducted. Image Credit: IBMP