Since the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program includes onboard monitoring of calcium metabolism, a method suitable for this determination under conditions of weightlessness has been investigated. Most techniques for calcium assay that are used at the present time have certain disadvantages that would preclude their use under conditions of weightlessness; whereas the nuclear fast red (NFR) techni...

Human brain adaptation in weightlessness follows the necessity to reshape the dynamic integration of the neural information acquired in the new environment. This basic aspect was here studied by the electroencephalogram (EEG) dynamics where oscillatory modulations were measured during a visuo-attentional state preceding a visuo-motor docking task. Astronauts in microgravity conducted the experi...

We investigated the role of the visual eye-height (VEH) in the perception of affordance during short-term exposure to weightlessness. Sixteen participants were tested during parabolic flight (0g) and on the ground (1g). Participants looked at a laptop showing a room in which a doorway-like aperture was presented. They were asked to adjust the opening of the virtual doorway until it was perceive...

Before participating in a space mission, astronauts undergo parabolic-flight and underwater training to facilitate their subsequent adaptation to weightlessness. Unfortunately, similar training methods can't be used to prepare re-adaptation to planetary gravity. Here, we propose a quick, simple and inexpensive approach that could be used to prepare astronauts both for the absence and for the re...

A fiber-optic based flow cytometry platform was designed to build a portable and robust instrument for space applications. At the core of the Microflow1 is a unique fiber-optic flow cell fitted to a fluidic system and fiber coupled to the source and detection channels. A Microflow1 engineering unit was first tested and benchmarked against a commercial flow cytometer as a reference in a standard...

The requirement for monitoring the physiological functions of the test subject in weightlessness simulation activities coupled with the advantages of using telemetry for such monitoring led to the development of a biotelemetry system. One valuable technique for simulation of weightlessness uses the neutral buoyancy obtained by having the subject under water, which leads to a requirement that th...