National Aeronautics and Space Administration HUMAN RESEARCH PROGRAM 2014 Fiscal Year Annual Report New Ideas. Meaningful Research. Promising Results. MESSAGE FROM THE PROGRAM MANAGER The Human Research Program (HRP) continues to make excellent progress toward under- standing and mitigating the health and performance risks that challenge NASA’s ability to fly exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. Our access to space this year was unprecedented; our access to medical data improved substantially; our cooperation with international partners expanded; and, for the first time, NASA engineers asked for our requirements before beginning to design a new space vehicle. By any measure, FY2014 was a banner year with numerous accomplishments, and I am honored to share some of our significant highlights. The life extension of the International Space Station formance (BHP) Element risk reduction goals, which (ISS) to 2024 announced earlier this year was in part are among the most participant-intensive in our PRR. due to the HRP Path to Risk Reduction (PRR). The PRR clearly demonstrated our planned flight research The ISS-commissioned Multilateral Human Re- could not be completed with the number of crew search Panel for Exploration (MHRPE), led by our slated to fly before its previous decommission date of own Dr. John Charles, had a successful year devel- 2020. While this eased our concerns, there are still oping the hardware, data, and subject sharing plans likely too few flight subjects to answer all key re- to facilitate the first one-year ISS mission. A group search questions. To address this limitation, we began of multinational experiments were selected for this working closely with the Human pilot mission—launching in early System Risk Board to ensure the 2015—which will refine our un- likelihood and consequences of derstanding of extended mission each of the risks in our PRR were durations on crew health and accurately assessed. performance. Preflight data collec- tion and crew training is underway Alternative approaches are being for the one-year crewmembers, sought to reduce our need for Scott Kelly from the U.S. and flight subjects, among which is the Mikael Kornienko from Rus- increased sharing of flight resourc- sia. Among the studies planned es with our international partners. for this ambitious mission is one Additionally, we are increasing our investigating the hypothesis that use of analog environments, both William H. Paloski, Ph.D. cranial fluid shifts are the primary domestic and international, to fine HRP Program Manager initiating factor for the visual im- tune solutions prior to flight as pairment observed in many recent well as developing standard outcome measures to be crewmembers. To carry out this complex study, U.S. collected on each flight crew research subject. hardware will be transported for the first time into the Russian segment to observe the physiological ef- One success in the analog approach this fiscal year fects of crewmembers exposed to lower body negative was the completion of four seven-day campaigns in pressure in the Russian Chibis device. the newly refurbished Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA). This analog is expected to substan- The “Twins” study, which is part of the one-year mis- tially reduce the number of astronaut test subjects sion, will take advantage of the rare opportunity to required to achieve the Behavioral Health and Per- examine space-related nature versus nurture questions HUMAN RESEARCH PROGRAM 2014 ANNUAL REPORT MESSAGE FROM THE PROGRAM MANAGER using identical twin brothers. During Scott’s one-year was approved for this specific set of investigations, and mission, his identical twin brother, retired astronaut debate continues toward a permanent agency policy. Mark Kelly, will serve as the ground control subject. This work has also developed closer connections and Through an open HRP solicitation, we selected ten possible collaborations with the GeneLab Project, investigations from a pool of forty outstanding pro- currently being defined at NASA Headquarters, as posals to examine the effects of spaceflight on funda- well as with the Space Biology and the Center for the mental biological processes in these two siblings. Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) programs. With expert leadership from Dr. Craig Kundrot of The Human Research Program is on a success-ori- HRP and Dr. Graham Scott of the National Space ented trajectory. We have recognition and regard at Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), the Twins the highest levels of the Agency, continue to attract investigations coalesced quickly into a single team outstanding investigators to work on our scientific investigation, which was manifested in record time objectives, and are developing strong, collaborative by our amazing ISSMP Element team. The scope international relationships to create successful col- of these investigations ranges across all of the con- laborations which advance our mutual goals. I remain temporary “omics” sub-disciplines, which includes both optimistic and committed to finding solutions genomics, epigenomics, proteomics, and also extends that enable safe, reliable, and productive human space to systems physiology and behavioral performance. exploration. With these studies, HRP expects to introduce new investigators and systems biology tools into the Pro- gram, thereby initiating innovative approaches and solutions to personalized medicine and countermea- sures for exploration-class missions. William H. Paloski, Ph.D. The Twins investigations have prompted challenging Program Manager discussions within NASA regarding the privacy and ethics issues associated with collecting and sharing omics data from astronaut subjects. An interim policy In March 2015, American Astronaut Scott Kelly (left) and Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko (right) will begin collaborative investigations on the International Space Station (ISS). They will reside on the ISS for a year, which is twice as long as typical U.S. missions. HUMAN RESEARCH PROGRAM 2014 ANNUAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS Human Research Program Overview ................................................................... 01 }}Background }}Goal and Objectives }}Program Organization }}Partnerships and Collaborations Major Program-Wide Accomplishments ...............................................................07 International Space Station Medical Projects Element .......................................... 15 Space Radiation Element ...................................................................................... 25 Human Health Countermeasures Element ........................................................... 31 }}Vision and Cardiovascular Portfolio }}Exercise and Performance Portfolio }}Multisystem Portfolio }}Bone and Occupant Protection Portfolio }}Technology and Infrastructure Portfolio Exploration Medical Capability Element .............................................................. 45 Space Human Factors and Habitability Element .................................................. 51 }}Advanced Environmental Health Portfolio }}Advanced Food Technology Portfolio }}Space Human Factors Engineering Portfolio Behavioral Health and Performance Element ....................................................... 57 }}Sleep/Fatigue Portfolio }}Behavioral Medicine Portfolio }}Team Risk Portfolio Engagement and Communications ....................................................................... 63 Publications .......................................................................................................... 67 HUMAN RESEARCH PROGRAM 2014 ANNUAL REPORT OVERVIEW Background missions which will ultimately reduce risks to crew Crew health and performance are critical to successful health and performance. human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Hazards include physiologic effects from radiation, hypograv- Goal and Objectives ity, and planetary environments, as well as unique challenges associated with the distance from Earth. The goal of the Human Research Program is to The scientists and engineers of the Human Research provide human health and performance counter- Program (HRP) investigate and reduce the greatest measures, knowledge, technologies, and tools to risks to human health and performance, and provide enable safe, reliable, and productive human space essential countermeasures and technologies for hu- exploration. The specific objectives of the HRP are: man space exploration. 1) Develop capabilities, necessary counter- HRP delivers products and strategies to protect the measures, and technologies in support of health and safety of spaceflight crews and increase human space exploration, focusing on miti- their productivity while living and working in gating the highest risks to crew health and space. Research is performed onboard the Interna- performance. Enable the definition and im- tional Space Station (ISS), on the ground in analog provement of human spaceflight medical, environments that have features similar to those of environmental and human factors standards. spaceflight, and in laboratory environments. Data from these experiments further the understanding of 2) Develop technologies that serve to reduce med- how the space environment affects the human system. ical and environmental risks, to reduce human sys- These research results contribute to scientific knowl- tems resource requirements (mass, volume, power, edge and technology developments that address the data, etc.) and to ensure effective human-system human