NASA's Artemis II Mission to Provide Valuable Insights on Human Health in Space

Strategic Insights -

As part of the Artemis program, NASA is planning a historic 10-day mission around the Moon, where three astronauts and one CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut will undergo extensive health studies to better understand the effects of deep space travel on the human body, mind, and behavior. The mission, set to launch in 2026, will provide a unique opportunity for scientists to gather essential data for NASA's Human Research Program and other agency science teams.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Artemis II mission will involve a series of studies, including Immune Biomarkers, ARCHeR (Artemis Research for Crew Health and Readiness), and Artemis II Standard Measures, to assess the effects of deep space travel on the human immune system, behavior, and overall health.
  • Astronauts will collect saliva samples, wear wrist monitors to track movement and sleep, and supply liquid saliva on Earth and dry saliva samples in space to assess changes over time.
  • The ARCHeR study will evaluate how crew members perform individually and as a team throughout the mission, including how easily they can move around within the confined space of their Orion spacecraft.
  • Radiation sensors placed inside the Orion capsule cells will collect information about radiation shielding functionality, and organ-on-a-chip devices will study how deep space travel affects humans at a cellular level.
  • Astronauts will also provide data for these Artemis II health studies beginning about six months before the mission and extending for about a month after they return to Earth.
  • The mission will help scientists characterize the radiation environment in deep space, and crew members will keep dosimeters in their pockets to measure radiation exposure in real time.
  • The Artemis II mission will be the farthest NASA astronauts have ventured into space since the Apollo era, and the study will help clarify key mission challenges, how astronauts work as a team, and the usability of the new space vehicle system.
  • NASA plans to use the Artemis II mission to help scientists understand how best to shield crew and equipment from harmful space radiation at various distances from Earth.

Statistics:

  • The Artemis II mission will be a 10-day mission set to launch in 2026.
  • The crew will collect saliva samples, wear wrist monitors, and supply liquid saliva on Earth and dry saliva samples in space to assess changes over time.
  • Radiation sensors placed inside the Orion capsule cells will collect information about radiation shielding functionality.
  • Organ-on-a-chip devices will study how deep space travel affects humans at a cellular level.
  • Astronauts will provide data for these Artemis II health studies beginning about six months before the mission and extending for about a month after they return to Earth.
  • The Artemis II mission will be the farthest NASA astronauts have ventured into space since the Apollo era.

Sources:

  • NASA press release
  • Laurie Abadie, aerospace engineer for the program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston
  • Steven Platts, chief scientist for human research at NASA Johnson
  • Suzanne Bell, NASA psychologist based at Johnson
  • Brian Crucian, immunologist with NASA Johnson who's leading the Immune Biomarkers study
  • NASA's Artemis II Standard Measures study
  • NASA's ARCHeR study
  • German Space Agency DLR's radiation sensing technologies