Hemolysis contributes to anemia during long-duration space flight

Anemia in astronauts has been noted since the first space missions, but the mechanisms contributing to anemia in space flight have remained unclear. Here, we show that space flight is associated with persistently increased levels of products of hemoglobin degradation, carbon monoxide in alveolar air and iron in serum, in 14 astronauts throughout their 6-month missions onboard the International Space Station. One year after landing, erythrocytic effects persisted, including increased levels of hemolysis, reticulocytosis and hemoglobin. These findings suggest that the destruction of red blood cells, termed hemolysis, is a primary effect of microgravity in space flight and support the hypothesis that the anemia associated with space flight is a hemolytic condition that should be considered in the screening and monitoring of both astronauts and space tourists.

Sleep deficiency in spaceflight is associated with degraded neurobehavioral functions and elevated stress in astronauts on six-month missions aboard the International Space Station

Astronauts are required to maintain optimal neurobehavioral functioning despite chronic exposure to the stressors and challenges of spaceflight. Sleep of adequate quality and duration is fundamental to neurobehavioral functioning, however astronauts commonly experience short sleep durations in spaceflight (<6 h). As humans embark on long-duration space exploration missions, there is an outstanding need to identify the consequences of sleep deficiency in spaceflight on neurobehavioral functions. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal study that examined the sleep-wake behaviors, neurobehavioral functions, and ratings of stress and workload of N=24 astronauts before, during, and after 6-month missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The computerized, Reaction SelfTest (RST), gathered astronaut report of sleep-wake behaviors, stress, workload, and somatic behavioral states; the RST also objectively assessed vigilant attention (i.e., Psychomotor Vigilance Test-Brief). Data collection began 180 days before launch, continued every 4 days in-flight aboard the ISS, and up to 90 days post-landing, which produced N=2,856 RSTs. Consistent with previous ISS studies, astronauts reported sleeping ~6.5 h in-flight. The adverse consequences of short sleep were observed across neurobehavioral functions, where sleep durations <6 h were associated with significant reductions in psychomotor response speed, elevated stress, and higher workload. Sleep durations <5 h were associated with elevated negative somatic behavioral states. Furthermore, longer sleep durations had beneficial effects on astronaut neurobehavioral functions. Taken together, our findings highlight the importance of sleep for the maintenance of neurobehavioral functioning and as with humans on Earth, astronauts would likely benefit from interventions that promote sleep duration and quality.

Genomic Characterization of Potential Plant Growth-Promoting Features of Sphingomonas Strains Isolated from the International Space Station

Sphingomonas is ubiquitous in nature, including the anthropogenically contaminated extreme environments. Members of the Sphingomonas genus have been identified as potential candidates for space biomining beyond earth.

PRESSURE MEASUREMENT OF INDUCED EXTERNAL ATMOSPHERE ON THE RUSSIAN SEGMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IN EXPERIMENT «CONTROL»

The goals and objectives of space experiment Control to study parameters of the induced external atmosphere of the Russian Segment of the International Space Station are presented. The processing and analysis procedure for telemetry data obtained using scientific equipment Indicator - ISS is described. Numerical calculations were performed by direct statistical modeling of the flow around the pressure sensor by incoming flotation the Earth's outer atmosphere in the background measurement conditions, as well as in disturbed conditions with two vernier engines of the Zvezda module being operated. A correction function of the pressure sensor is obtained depending on the orientation, temperature factor and selected model of interaction of incident flow molecules with the internal and external device surfaces. The results of numerical modeling of the jet discharges of the the Zvezda vernier engine were compared with the data obtained in full-scale pressure measurements in experiment Control. Key words: pressure sensor, orbital station, induced external atmosphere, direct statistical modeling method.

Reducing the Specular Properties of Metalized Teflon Coverings on Canadian Mobile Servicing Station on the International Space Station

A surface modification process was developed for the metalized Teflon coverings used for thermal protection of electronic equipment on the International Space Station [1]. The developed modification process of Teflon surfaces reduced substantially the specularity of Ag-Inconel coated Teflon thermal control films by changing the morphological appearance of their surfaces by ion-beam texturing in a controlled manner from a metallic-like and shiny to complete milky, white appearance without significantly affecting the thermal optical properties. A number of space hardware units covered with the textured Silver-Teflon were exposed to the open space environment between June 2002 and June 2006 and delivered back to Earth at the end of 2006. Remarkable performance was demonstrated by the treated Ag/Teflon, with the solar absorptance and total emittance values and the α/ε ratio remaining very close to the original values as measured before the flights [2]. In an attempt to protect further the textured surfaces of Teflon from possible erosion by atomic oxygen and VUV in LEO environment, an additional novel surface modification process was developed that created an SixOyCzFn type of structure on the treated surface. The textured Teflon samples before and after surface treatments were tested in a space simulator facility under a combined atomic oxygen/vacuum ultraviolet exposure. A number of advanced characterization techniques were used to evaluate the properties of the modified films [3].

Autonomous Streaming Space Objects Detection Based on a Remote Optical System

Traditional image processing techniques provide sustainable efficiency in the astrometry of deep space objects and in applied problems of determining the parameters of artificial satellite orbits. But the speed of the computing architecture and the functions of small optical systems are rapidly developing thus contribute to the use of a dynamic video stream for detecting and initializing space objects. The purpose of this paper is to automate the processing of optical measurement data during detecting space objects and numerical methods for the initial orbit determination.This article provided the implementation of a low-cost autonomous optical system for detecting of space objects with remote control elements. The basic algorithm model had developed and tested within the framework of remote control of a simplified optical system based on a Raspberry Pi 4 single-board computer with a modular camera. Under laboratory conditions, the satellite trajectory had simulated for an initial assessment of the compiled algorithmic modules of the computer vision library OpenCV.Based on the simulation results, dynamic detection of the International Space Station in real-time from the observation site with coordinates longitude 25o41′49″ East, latitude 53o52′36″ North in the interval 00:54:00–00:54:30 17.07.2021 (UTC + 03:00) had performed. The video processing result of the pass had demonstrated in the form of centroid coordinates of the International Space Station in the image plane with a timestamps interval of which is 0.2 s.This approach provides an autonomous raw data extraction of a space object for numerical methods for the initial determination of its orbit.