Main medical results of extended flights on space station Mir in 1986-1990

During 1986-1990 seven prime spacecrews (16 cosmonauts) have flown on-board the Mir orbital complex. The longest space mission duration was 366 days The principal objectives of the medical tasks were the maintenance of good health and performance of the spacecrews and conducting medical research programs which included study of the cardiovascular, motor, endocrine, blood, immune, and metabolic systems. Results obtained point to the ability of humans to readily adapt to a year-long stay in space and maintain good health and performance. Readaptation had a similar course as after other previous long-term space flights of up to 8 months in duration. Primary body system changes were not qualitatively different from findings after flights aboard the Salyut 6 and 7 space stations. In this case, during and after an 11-12 month flight, body system alterations were even less severe which was a result of adequate countermeasure use, their systematic and creative employment and maintenance of required environments to support life and work in space.     

Electrostatic Noise Spectrum at the Electron Cyclotron Frequency and Electromagnetic Emission in the Inhomogeneous Plasma of the Topside Ionosphere

Measurements of the wave emission of the topside ionosphere made onboard the APEX satellite using the electric component of the wave field in the 0.1–10 MHz frequency band are presented. At middle latitudes a wave intensity decrease was observed in the broad-band spectrum of the electrostatic noise at the electron cyclotron frequency. It is shown that a break in the spectrum of electrostatic modes at the electron cyclotron frequency (the absence of the plasma eigen-frequencies) may be a cause of the observed effect. The increase of the intensity at the electron cyclotron frequency in the ionospheric trough and at latitudes above the trough region as compared to middle latitudes may be explained by the capture by plasma irregularities of the electromagnetic emission of the auroral electron fluxes.__________Translated from Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, Vol. 43, No. 3, 2005, pp. 201–208.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Izhovkina, Prutensky, Pulinets, Kiraga, Klos, Rothkael.     

A new method of determining the spectral index for protons in the energy range about 10<Superscript>13</Superscript> eV

We consider a relationship between the difference in spectral indices of the spectra of single hadrons and all hadrons (_sngl – _h) and the difference in the indices of the spectra of galactic cosmic ray (GCR) protons and nuclei. It is demonstrated that at the mountain level the ratio (_p – _Z)/(_sngl – _h) is always larger than unity, if (_sngl – _h) > 0.1. From the experimental value _sngl – _h = 0.4 ± 0.05 we derive that, in the vicinity of E = 10 TeV, _p – _Z 0.49 ± 0.06 , i.e., _p 3.09 ± 0.06.__________Translated from Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, Vol. 43, No. 2, 2005, pp. 83–87.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Grigorov, Tolstaya.     

Future investigations onboard Soviet biosatellites of the Cosmos series.

Many rat experiments onboard Cosmos biosatellites have furnished information concerning the effects of weightlessness, artificial gravity, and ionizing radiation combined with weightlessness on structural and biochemical parameters of the animal body. The necessity to expand the scope of physiological investigations has led to the project of flight primate studies. It is planned to carry out the first primate experiments onboard the Cosmos biosatellite in 1982. At present investigations of weightlessness effects on the cardiovascular and vestibular systems, higher nervous activity, skeletal muscles and biorhythms of two rhesus monkeys are being developed and tested. It is also planned to conduct a study of weightlessness effects on embryogenesis of rats and bioenergetics of living systems onboard the same biosatellite. Further experiments onboard Cosmos biosatellites are planned.     

Loading effects on rat craniomandibular morphology: a system for gravity studies

Gravity effects on muscle and bone are a major impediment to long-term space travel. We introduce a model for studying these effects, the craniomandibular system. Some advantages of this system include: (1) craniomandibular morphology is determined by epigenetic factors including gravity, (2) relatively light forces can significantly alter its morphology, and (3) soft diet and tooth loss produce effects that are similar to those produced in lower limbs by weightlessness. In the study, implants made either of gold (experimental group) or lightweight acrylic (controls) were attached to adult rats' mandibles. After 13 weeks, the animals' skulls and mandibles were dissected. Pair-wise comparisons indicated that the experimental animals showed significantly shortened and narrowed cranial bases, and significant changes in the posterior zygomatic arch region. These results indicate that simulated macrogravity influences bone remodeling in the adult craniomandibular system.     

Changes in chromatin and nucleic acids in rat tissues after two-week spaceflight

The quantitative changes in nucleic acids and chromatin breakdown were followed in blood, thymus and spleen in rats after 14 day flights on board the biosatellites Cosmos-1887 and Cosmos-2044. Quantitative nucleic acid changes within 8-11 h after landing were only mild, most statistically non-significant. An analysis at 48 h after landing showed a marked decrease in a total content of DNA and RNA in spleen and thymus. Within 8-11 h after landing, the symptoms of chromatin breakdown were found as is seen in an increased concentration of its fragments-polydeoxyribonucleotides. The obtained results show that a partial adaptation to microgravity occurs up to flight day 14 in lymphoid organs. Adaptation is accompanied with a reappearing of the sensitive cells. Their chromatin breaks down, then, in a final phase of flight due to hypergravity stress manifesting itself by a temporary increase in polydeoxyribonucleotide concentration several hours after landing. The results are discussed in relation to the changes in chosen parameters after shorter or more prolonged flights.     

Working and walking on small asteroids with circumferential ropes

The low gravity of a small asteroid would present a challenge for an astronaut attempting to work on its surface. Extravehicular activities (EVAs) of the sophistication of the Apollo Moon missions are not likely to be possible if astronauts attempt to walk freely on the asteroid, hover above its surface, or anchor locally into the regolith. Manipulating large rocks, drilling, and excavating at multiple locations is a high priority science objective, but would be difficult without a hold-down mechanism. If the asteroid has even a small rotation rate, maneuvering precisely over its surface could be cumbersome. A plausible means of conducting complex EVAs is to tie ropes entirely around the asteroid, under which the astronaut is pushed downward onto the asteroid surface by the tension in the rope. The downward force provides an artificial gravity that permits the astronaut to drill, excavate, hammer, and carefully document materials on the surface without the worry of being thrown from the asteroid. An astronaut could also use the ropes as handholds or guides to maneuver freely over the surface.     

Determination of the Microacceleration Quasisteady Component onboard the International Space Station

A comparison of two methods of determination of the microacceleration quasisteady component arising onboard the International Space Station was performed. In the first method the acceleration was calculated using the relative motion of the station reconstructed on the basis of telemetry data. The second method was a direct measurement of the microacceleration by a low-frequency accelerometer and a smoothing of the data obtained. The used measurements were made by the American accelerometer MAMS. The above comparison can theoretically be used to refine the position of the station center of mass relative to its body.     

Statistical Approach to the Evaluation of the Mean Correlation Length and the Propagation Velocity of Middle-Scale Plasma Structures in the Earth's Foreshock

Based on simultaneous measurements of ion fluxes made onboard the closely separated satellites Interball-1and Magion-4, the propagation velocity of middle-scale plasma structures in the Earth's foreshock relative to the solar wind flow is estimated. The derived value of this velocity allows these structures to be identified as a fast magnetosonic wave propagating upstream of the solar wind inflowing the Earth's bow shock. An evaluation is also made of the correlation length of these disturbances in the plane perpendicular to the Sun–Earth line. This length is approximately equal to 2R _E.     

On the Origin of High-Latitude Boundary Layer of the Earth's Magnetosphere

Localization of the reconnection region at the dayside magnetopause is among the unsolved problems of magnetospheric physics. There are two alternative models, one of which predicts the reconnection at the equatorial magnetopause, and the other predicts the reconnection in the region where the magnetic field of the solar wind flowing around the magnetosphere is antiparallel to the geomagnetic field. The statistical analysis carried out for 53 INTERBALL-1crossings of the high-latitude magnetopause in a special coordinate frame invariant with respect to the interplanetary conditions shows that the model of a reconnection in antiparallel fields agrees well with the experimental data.