失重飞行一日游

“天旋地转，惊骇无比!”这是在美国零重力公司2004年9月向公众推出的一项商业旅游新品——“失重飞行一日游”中所能感受到的。尝试了失重飞行之后，虽然游客们谁都没用“愉快”二字形容这次奇异的旅行，但他们无一例外地承认自己真真切切地感受到了原本只有航天员才有机会体验到的太空失重状态。     

细说失重

1　失重的机理□□失重是航天飞行中最为奇妙独特和违背“常理”的现象 ,而且是在地面上最难再现和模拟的物理过程。人们在对这种现象感到无比有趣的同时 ,常常希望了解它产生的原因和机理。然而关于失重原因和机理存在着一些似是而非的 ,或者并不准确的解释。科普读物上常见的有两种解释 :一是“引力为零”;二是“离心力与地球引力相抵消 ,或相平衡”。这第一种解释是错误的。首先应当指出的是 ,“失重”是指物体失去重量 ,而不是失去重力。重量是物体对其周围相接触的物体或介质所表现出来的作用力 ;重力则是地球 (或其他天体 )对物体的引…     

-6°卧床模拟失重对T淋巴细胞的影响及内分泌调节机制的研究

本文研究了-6°卧床模拟失重对T淋巴细胞受到有丝分裂原刺激后增殖能力和外周血总T淋巴细胞亚群(CD3+T细胞)、辅助/炎性T细胞亚群(CD4+T细胞)、杀伤T细胞亚群(CD8+T细胞)、及表达CD25分子细胞数的影响,同时观察生长激素、促肾上腺皮质激素、皮质激素的改变,来探讨免疫功能的变化与内分泌系统改变的关系.结果表明,模拟失重造成的免疫功能下降与内分泌系统紊乱有关.      

地面上的模拟失重方法

航天员在轨道飞行时,由于失重因素,产生了一系列生理、病理变化,出现了空间运动病、心血管和水盐代谢紊乱、骨质脱钙、肌肉萎缩等机能紊乱和失调。这些变化或多或少地影响了航天员的健康和工作,及返回地球的再适应能力,并可能成为长时间航天飞行的主要障碍。因此,了解失重对人体的影响、生理机能失调的机制及采取有效的防护措施是十分必要的。但是在航天飞行中航天员的人数有限,且任务繁忙不能进行大量的生理实验和测试。加之,飞行中的实验     

中药对模拟失重兔耳微循环和血液流变性的影响

因失重时血循环系统的改变十分类似于中医“血淤症”时的变化,故采用活血化淤中药来改善失重时的血循环状态可能是一种较好的防护措施。实验比较了4种中药(丹-黄合剂、川芎、冠心Ⅱ号、樟柳碱)对模拟失重兔耳微循环和血液流变性的影响。结果表明4种中药均有改善模拟失重兔血循环的作用,其效果是丹-黄合剂>川芎>冠心Ⅱ号>樟柳碱。两种药量实验结果表明丹黄合剂用15g/kg,川芎用10g/kg 效果较好。     

人在太空中会晕飞船么?

正进入太空后,由于失重,所有东西都会漂浮,人也不例外。且舱内的空间狭小封闭,这导致人类没有参考、无法区分上下前后左右东西南北,前庭系统和脑部相关神经就会出现紊乱,一个表现就是无法抑制的恶心。为了应对这个,每位航天员都经过了各种艰苦的训练。关于前庭系统     

“希望号”奥运星搭载方案揭晓

8月22日,“希望号”奥运星搭载方案评选在西昌卫星发射中心揭晓,北京景山学校一年级学生刘重华提出的“天圆地方”方案,由于创意新颖,简单可行,被专家推选为“希望号”奥运星的搭载方案并被评选为小学组一等奖。在入围的44项方案中,还有北京景山学校提交的“无菌蝇蛹在太空中的羽化试验”、湖南省常德市长怡中学提交的“太空环境中水在各种温度下的状态以及部分基于水的实验”和珠海市第二中学提交的“失重对含羞草运动现象的影响”分别获得小学组、初中组和高中组的一等奖。     

训练航天员的大型水池

太空环境与地面环境的最大区别是失重，或者称为微重力。航天员在基础训练阶段就要开始进行失重训练，使他们熟悉失重环境和学习太空行走。在地面上对航天员进行失重训练的方法有两种：用飞机作抛物线飞行和使用大型水池。     

NASA成立空间生物医学研究所

NASA 最近新成立了空间生物医学研究所,其主要任务是研究宇航员对失重的适应问题。在最近一次航天飞机飞行中,美国的两名医生和宇航员对这一课题进行了研究。NASA 承认,22年来 NASA 参加飞行的宇航员中有45％的人患“空间晕”,主要表现     

恶劣可怕的火星环境

航天员的火星旅行首先要经过太空，然后到达火星表面，最后又通过太空返回地球。在火星旅行的整个来回过程中，航天员要经受各种各样的环境因素的“考验”，但其中主要是失重、低重力、火星大气和宇宙辐射。因为这四种因素对航天员的危害最大，因此需要很好地研究和预防。     

模拟失重时家兔耳廓微循环的变化

为了解失重时体液头向分布这一因素对微循环的影响,比较了两组兔(平卧组和头低位20°悬吊组)在实验7天中耳廓微循环和血液流变学指标的变化。结果证明体液头向分布可引起一定的微循环障碍,表现为毛细血管和细静脉管径变粗、流速减慢、血液在静脉中潴留、红细胞聚集、耳廓出血及立位时微血管调节功能发生改变,血液流变学指标也出现相应变化。本文分析了其中一些变化的起因,提出一些新的看法。      

失重因素对航天员体温调节影响的分析

系统地总结了实际载人航天及地面模拟中失重因素引起的航天员生理性体温调节功能变化的种种现象和内在联系。指出在失重环境下 ,自然对流消失 ,血液重新分布 ,排尿性失水增加 ,血浆容积变小 ,心血管系统功能下降 ,最大氧摄入量降低 ,这些都可导致体温调节能力受损 ,最终使航天员的高温耐力明显下降。文章同时指出 ,在体温调节系统中 ,行为性调节是生理性调节的补充和延伸 ,前者只有通过后者才能发挥作用 ,因此 ,在航天器座舱温控系统及航天服通风 -液冷系统的设计中 ,应充分考虑失重因素的影响。     

Biological effects of weightlessness and clinostatic conditions registered in cells of root meristem and cap of higher plants.

Research in cellular reproduction, differentiation and vital activity, i.e. processes underlying the development and functioning of organisms, plants included, is essential for solving fundamental and applied problems of space biology. Detailed anatomical analysis of roots of higher plants grown on board the Salyut 6 orbital research station show that under conditions of weightlessness for defined duration mitosis, cytokinesis and tissue differentiation in plant vegetative organs occur essentially normally. At the same time, certain rearrangements in the structural organization of cellular organelles--mainly the plastid apparatus, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus and nucleus--are established in the root meristem and cap of the experimental plants. This is evidence for considerable changes in cellular metabolism. The structural changes in the subcellular level arising under spaceflight conditions are partially absent in clinostat experiments designed to simulate weightlessness. Various clinostatic conditions have different influences on the cell structural and functional organization than does space flight. It is suggested that alterations of cellular metabolism under weightlessness and clinostatic conditions occur within existing genetic programs.     

The first dedicated Life Sciences mission--Spacelab 4.

Spacelab is a large versatile laboratory carried in the bay of the Shuttle Orbiter. The first Spacelab mission dedicated entirely to Life Sciences is known as Spacelab 4. It is scheduled for launch in late 1985 and will remain aloft for seven days. This payload consists of 25 tentatively selected investigations combined into a comprehensive integrated exploration of the effects of acute weightlessness on living systems. An emphasis is placed on studying physiological changes that have been previously observed in manned space flight. This payload has complementary designs in the human and animal investigations in order to validate animal models of human physiology in weightlessness. The experimental subjects include humans, squirrel monkeys, laboratory rats, several species of plants, and frog eggs. The primary scientific objectives include study of the acute cephalic fluid shift, cardiovascular adaptation to weightlessness, including postflight reductions in orthostatic tolerance and exercise capacity, and changes in vestibular function, including space motion sickness, associated with weightlessness. Secondary scientific objectives include the study of red cell mass reduction, negative nitrogen balance, altered calcium metabolism, suppressed in vitro lymphocyte reactivity, gravitropism and photropism in plants, and fertilization and early development in frog eggs. The rationale behind this payload, the selection process, and details of the individual investigations are presented in this paper.     

Protozoa as model systems for the study of cellular responses to altered gravity conditions.

The orientation behavior of Paramecium changed in a similar way after transition to conditions of free-fall in a sounding rocket and after transition to conditions of simulated weightlessness on a fast rotating clinostat. After a period of residual orientation, Paramecium cells distributed themselves randomly 80 s (120 s) after onset of free-fall (simulated weightlessness). Swimming velocity increased significantly; however, the increase was transient and subsided after 3 min in the rocket experiments, while the velocity remained enhanced even during 2 h of rotation on a fast clinostat. Trichocysts were present and without morphological changes in Paramecium cells which had been exposed to a rocket flight, as well as to fast or slow rotation on a clinostat. Regeneration of the oral apparatus of Stentor and morphogenesis of Eufolliculina proceeded normally on the clinostat. The results demonstrate that the clinostat is a useful tool to simulate the conditions of weightlessness on earth and to detect gravisensitive cellular functions.     

Changes in the micro-structure of the vestibular apparatus of tadpoles (Rana temporaria) developed in simulated weightlessness

The vestibular apparatus of tadpoles (Rana temporaria) exposed to simulated weightlessness was examined by electron microscopy. Extended exposure to simulated weightlessness is followed by significant alterations in the sensory epithelia and also in the otolith membrane. Large vacuoles, filled with necrobiotic mitochondria and fragments of endoplasmic reticulum, were concentrated in the region where an otolith membrane covers the hair cells but were mostly absent in zones of the epithelia with undifferentiated cells. The number of otoconia in the otolith membrane was diminished. The results were compared with data from space flight experiments and some concordance was noted. The possible connection between some unusual behavior of the tadpoles after weightlessness simulation and the structural alterations in the gravitational sensors was discussed.     

Calcium influx through stretch-activated channels mediates microfilament reorganization in osteoblasts under simulated weightlessness

We have explored the role of Ca²⁺ signaling in microfilament reorganization of osteoblasts induced by simulated weightlessness using a random positioning machine (RPM). The RPM-induced alterations of cell morphology, microfilament distribution, cell proliferation, cell migration, cytosol free calcium concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i), and protein expression in MG63 osteoblasts were investigated. Simulated weightlessness reduced cell size, disrupted microfilament, inhibited cellular proliferation and migration, and induced an increase in [Ca²⁺]_i in MG63 human osteosarcoma cells. Gadolinium chloride (Gd), an inhibitor for stretch-activated channels, attenuated the increase in [Ca²⁺]_i and microfilament disruption. Further, the expression of calmodulin was significantly increased by simulated weightlessness, and an inhibitor of calmodulin, W-7, aggravated microfilament disruption. Our findings demonstrate that simulated weightlessness induces Ca²⁺ influx through stretch-activated channels, then results in microfilament disruption.     

Weightlessness acts on human breast cancer cell line MCF-7.

Because cells are sensitive to mechanical forces, weightlessness might act on stress-dependent cell changes. Human breast cancer cells MCF-7, flown in space in a Photon capsule, were fixed after 1.5, 22 and 48 h in orbit. Cells subjected to weightlessness were compared to 1 g in-flight and ground controls. Post-flight, fluorescent labeling was performed to visualize cell proliferation (Ki-67), three cytoskeleton components and chromatin structure. Confocal microscopy and image analysis were used to quantify cycling cells and mitosis, modifications of the cytokeratin network and chromatin structure. Several main phenomena were observed in weightlessness: The perinuclear cytokeratin network and chromatin structure were looser; More cells were cycling and mitosis was prolonged. Finally, cell proliferation was reduced as a consequence of a cell-cycle blockade; Microtubules were altered in many cells. The results reported in the first point are in agreement with basic predictions of cellular tensegrity. The prolongation of mitosis can be explained by an alteration of microtubules. We discuss here the different mechanisms involved in weightlessness alteration of microtubules: i) alteration of their self-organization by reaction-diffusion processes, and a mathematical model is proposed, ii) activation or deactivation of microtubules stabilizing proteins, acting on both microtubule and microfilament networks in cell cortex.     

Activity of the sympathetic-adrenomedullary system in rats after space flight on the COSMOS biosatellites

The indicators of adrenomedullary activity (catecholamine content (CA) and the activity of the catecholamine-synthesizing enzymes tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DBH)) were measured in the adrenal glands of rats living in a state of weightlessness for 18.5–19.5 days on board the biosatellites COSMOS 936 and COSMOS 1129. None of these indicators was significantly changed by space flight, neither in the group living in a state of weightlessness nor in the group living in a centrifuge on board the spacecraft and exposed to artificial gravity of 1 g (COSMOS 936). Animals exposed after space flight to repeated immobilization stress on Earth showed a significant decrease of adrenal adrenaline and an appreciable increase in adrenal TH activity compared to stressed animals which were not in space. These results suggest that a prolonged state of weightlessness during space flight does not by itself represent an intensive stressful stimulus for the adrenomedullary system but potentiates the response of cosmonauts to stress after return to Earth.