The challenge of designing biomedical equipment during human research for long duration low-gravity NASA missions

NASA has been studying human adaptation to low-gravity (zero-g) environments for several years, beginning with the first manned space flight in 1961. As both flight and scientific opportunities have steadily increased, NASA has advanced in the development of sophisticated human experiments. Difficulties encountered include the ability to preserve samples for extended duration flights and the development of flight certifiable biomedical hardware. A major challenge to the development of flight biomedical hardware is that it requires minimal power, must accommodate multi-usages, must meet material concern for small enclosed environments, be functional in space radiation environments, and possess minimal volume. Discussion includes the types of equipment development for use during previous NASA Space Shuttle missions, including the recent joint NASA/Russian mission flown of the Russian Space Station Mir. Also addressed is the focus on future needs as NASA prepares for the International Space Station, Lunar Mars Exploration, and a dedicated Neuroscience Spacelab mission. All NASA Human Life Sciences experiments are managed at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Principal Investigators (PI´s) from around the world have teamed up to perform experiments in a range of disciplines requiring international cooperation