The effect of hypokinesia on lipid metabolism in adipose tissue

The increase of nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentration in plasma was observed in rats subjected to hypokinesia for 1-60 days. In the period of recovery (7 and 21 days after 60 days immobilization) the content of NEFA returned to control values. The increase of fatty acid release from adipose tissue was observed in hypokinetic rats, however the stimulation of lipolysis by norepinephrine was lower in rats exposed to hypokinesis. The decrease of the binding capacity and a diminished number of beta-adrenergic receptors were found in animals after hypokinesia. The augmentation of the incorporation of glucose into lipids and the marked increase in the stimulation of lipogenesis by insulin were found in adipose tissue of rats subjected to long-term hypokinesia. These results showed an important effect of hypokinesia on lipid mobilization, on lipogenesis and on the processes of hormone regulation in adipose tissue.     

Effect of weightlessness on sympathetic-adrenomedullary activity of rats.

Three cosmic experiments were performed in which rats spent 18-20 days in space on board the biosatellites "COSMOS 782", "COSMOS 936" and "COSMOS 1129". The following indicators of the sympathetic-adrenomedullary system (SAS) activity were measured: tissue and plasma catecholamines (CA), CA-synthesizing enzymes--tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH), phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PNMT)--as well as CA-degrading enzymes-monoamine oxidase (MAO) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). Adrenal epinephrine (EPI) and norepinephrine (NE) as well as CA-synthesizing and degrading enzymes were not significantly changed in the animals after flight on COSMOS 782. On the other hand, a significant increase was found in heart CA, the indicator which is usually decreased after stress. 26 days after landing all values were at control levels. The results obtained, compared to our previous stress experiments on Earth, suggest that prolonged weightlessness does not appear to be a pronounced stressful stimulus for the SAS. Heart and plasma CA, mainly NE, were increased both in the group living in the state of weightlessness and the group living in a centrifuge and exposed to artificial gravitation 1 g (COSMOS 936), suggesting again that prolonged weightlessness is not an intensive stressful stimulus for the SAS. The animals exposed after space flight on COSMOS 1129 to repeated immobilization stress on Earth showed a significant decrease of adrenal EPI and an expressive increase of adrenal TH activity compared to stressed animals which were not in space. Thus, the results corroborate that prolonged state of weightlessness during space flight though not representing by itself an intensive stressful stimulus for the sympathetic-adrenomedullary system, was found to potentiate the response of "cosmic rats" to stress exposure after return to Earth.     

Plasma and urine catecholamine levels in cosmonauts during long-term stay on Space Station Salyut-7.

The activity of the sympathetic adrenal system in cosmonauts exposed to a stay in space lasting for about half a year has so far been studied only by measuring catecholamine levels in plasma and urine samples taken before space flight and after landing. The device "Plasma 01", specially designed for collecting and processing venous blood from subjects during space flight on board the station Salyut-7 rendered it possible for the first time to collect and freeze samples of blood from cosmonauts in the course of a long-term 237-day space flight. A physician-cosmonaut collected samples of blood and urine from two cosmonauts over the period of days 217-219 of their stay in space. The samples were transported to Earth frozen. As indicators of the sympathetic adrenal system activity, plasma and urine concentrations of epinephrine and norepinephrine as well as urine levels of the catecholamine metabolites metanephrine, normetanephrine, and vanillylmandelic acid were determined before, during and after space flight. On days 217-219 of space flight plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine levels were slightly increased, yet not substantially different from normal. During stress situations plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine levels usually exhibit a manifold increase. On days 217-219 of space flight norepinephrine and epinephrine levels in urine were comparable with pre-flight values and the levels of their metabolites were even significantly decreased. All the parameters studied, particularly plasma norepinephrine as well as urine norepinephrine, normetanephrine, and vanillylmandelic acid, reached the highest values 8 days after landing. The results obtained suggest that, in the period of days 217-219 of the cosmonauts stay in space in the state of weightlessness, the sympathetic adrenal system is either not activated at all or there is but a slight activation induced by specific activities of the cosmonauts, whereas in the process of re-adaptation after space flight on Earth this system is considerably more markedly activated.     

Catecholamines and their enzymes in discrete brain areas of rats after space flight on biosatellites Cosmos

The activity of the catecholaminergic system was measured in the hypothalamus of rats which had experienced an 18.5-19.5-day-long stay in the state of weightlessness during space flights on board Soviet biosatellites of the type Cosmos. In the first two experiments, Cosmos 782 and 936, the concentration of norepinephrine and the activities of synthesizing enzymes tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase and of the degrading enzyme monoamine oxidase were measured in the total hypothalamus. None of the given parameters was changed after space flight. In the light of the changes of these parameters recorded after exposure to acute stress on Earth, this finding indicates that long-term state of weightlessness does not represent an intensive stressogenic stimulus for the system studied. In the space experiment Cosmos 1129, the concentration of norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine was studied in isolated nuclei of the hypothalamus of rats within 6-10 hr following return from space. Norepinephrine was found to be significantly reduced in the arcuate nucleus, median eminence and periventricular nucleus, epinephrine in the median eminence, periventricular and suprachiasmatic nuclei, whereas dopamine was not significantly changed after space flight. The decreased catecholamine levels found in some hypothalamic nuclei of rats which had undergone space flight indicate that no chronic intensive stressor could have acted during the flight, otherwise the catecholamine concentration would have been increased in the nuclei. The decreased levels must have been induced by the effect of a stressogenic factor acting for a short time only, and that either during the landing maneuver or immediately after landing. Thus long-term exposure of the organism to the state of weightlessness does not represent a stressogenic stimulus for the catecholaminergic system in the hypothalamus, which is one of the regulators of the activation of neuroendocrine reactions under stress.     

Biochemical and morphological stress-reactions in humans and animals in microgravity

This article is a literary review focused on the problem of the stress-effect of microgravity. Based on the all-round analysis of data from manned missions and space experiments with rats it is concluded that microgravity as a permanent factor of space flight does not produce an intense chronic stress in either humans or animals. On the other hand, microgravity is responsible for deconditioning of a number of vital systems and of the organism as a whole. On return to Earth, the deconditioned bodies of humans and animals exaggerate the usual terrestrial loads due to gravity forces and respond by acute gravitational stress.     

Erythropoietic effects of space flight

Various factors which are important in the regulation of erythropoiesis have been studied in dehydrated mice in the belief that some information would be gained relevant to the erythropoietic effects of space flight. Dehydration reduced the plasma volume and, because changes in red cell volume were minimal, the hematocrit was elevated. Thus a state of relative erythrocytosis was produced. Our understanding of the mechanism whereby these changes decreased red cell production is uncertain and appears to differ somewhat from the erythroid suppression seen following elevation of the hematocrit in animals with an absolute erythrocytosis. It is suggested that factors outside of the normal erythropoietic control pathway (such as energy balance) may play an important role in the decrease in red cell volume seen in man following space flight.     

Study of physiological effects of weightlessness and artificial gravity in the flight of the biosatellite Cosmos-936.

In the 18.5-day flight of the Soviet biosatellite Cosmos-936 (3-22, August 1977) com-parative investigations of the physiological effects of prolonged weightlessness (20 rats) and artificial gravity of 1 g (10 rats) were carried out. Throughout the flight artificial gravity was generated by means of animal rotation in two centrifuges with a radius of 320mm. Postflight examination of animals and treatment of the flight data were performed by Soviet scientists in collaboration with the specialists from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, Rumania, France and the U.S.A. During the flight the total motor activity of the weightless rats was higher and their body temperature was lower than those of the centrifuged animals. Postflight examination of the weightless rats showed a greater percentage of errors during maze an increase in water intake and a decrease in diuresis; a fall of the resistance of peripheral red cells; an increase in the conditionally pathogenic microflora in the mouth; a decrease of oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production and energy expenditures; a drop in the static physical endurance; a decline in the capacity to keep balance on the rail; an increase in the latent period of the lifting reflex, etc. The centrifugal animals displayed lesser or no change of the above type. These findings together with the biochemical and morphological data give evidence that during and after flight adaptive processes in the centrifuged rats developed better.     

Haploid deletion strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that determine survival during space flight

This study identifies genes that determine survival during a space flight, using the model eukaryotic organism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Select strains of a haploid yeast deletion series grew during storage in distilled water in space, but not in ground based static or clinorotation controls. The survival advantages in space in distilled water include a 133-fold advantage for the deletion of PEX19, a chaperone and import receptor for newly- synthesized class I peroxisomal membrane proteins, to 77–40 fold for deletion strains lacking elements of aerobic respiration, isocitrate metabolism, and mitochondrial electron transport. Following automated addition of rich growth media, the space flight was associated with a marked survival advantage of strains with deletions in catalytically active genes including hydrolases, oxidoreductases and transferases. When compared to static controls, space flight was associated with a marked survival disadvantage of deletion strains lacking transporter, antioxidant and catalytic activity. This study identifies yeast deletion strains with a survival advantage during storage in distilled water and space flight, and amplifies our understanding of the genes critical for survival in space.     

Technology Improvement for the High Reliability LM-2F Launch Vehicle

The Long March 2 F(LM-2F) launch vehicle, the only launch vehicle designed for manned space flight in China, successfully launched the Tiangong 2 space laboratory and the Shenzhou 11 manned spaceship into orbits in 2016 respectively. In this study, it introduces the technological improvements for enhancing the reliability of the LM-2F launch vehicle in the aspects of general technology, control system, manufacture and ground support system. The LM-2F launch vehicle will continue to provide more contributions to the Chinese Space Station Project with its high reliability and 100% success rate.     

Serotonin in individual hypothalamic nuclei of rats after space flight on biosatellite Cosmos 1129.

The experiment on Cosmos 1129 was based on our results obtained in rats exposed to single or repeated restrain stress in the laboratory. These results have convincingly demonstrated a significant increase of serotonin concentration (5-HT) in the hypothalamus in acutely stressed rats. This response, which was found also in the isolated hypothalamic nuclei, was diminished in repeatedly (40 times) immobilized rats. While the concentration of 5-HT was unchanged in the majority of the hypothalamic nuclei of animals subjected to cosmic flight, an increase was recorded only in the supraoptic nucleus (NSO) and a decrease in the periventricular nucleus. These findings demonstrate that only few areas of the hypothalamus respond to cosmic flight with changes of 5-HT concentration and suggest either that long-term cosmic flight cannot be an intensive stressor or that during the flight the rats became already adapted to its long-term effect. However, the exposure of flight rats to repeated immobilization stress resulted in a significant increase of 5-HT in the NSO, para-ventricular and dorsomedial (NDM) nuclei. It should be noted that we have never seen any changes of 5-HT concentration, tryptophan hydroxylase and monoamineoxidase activities in repeatedly (40 times) immobilized rats. On the other hand, the increase of 5-HT concentration in the NDM is a typical finding after seven exposures of rats to immobilization on Earth, daily for 150 min. In the experiment COSMOS 1129 such an increase of 5-HT concentration in the NDM was found not only in the flight group but also in the control group of rats subjected to five daily exposures of immobilization stress. With respect to these findings, the increased 5-HT concentrations observed in some isolated hypothalamic nuclei in the flight group of rats exposed after landing to repeated immobilization stress suggest that long-term space flight and the state of weightlessness do not represent a stressogenic factor with respect to the serotoninergic system in the hypothalamus.     

Reloading partly recovers bone mineral density and mechanical properties in hind limb unloaded rats

Skeletal unloading results in decreased bone formation and bone mass. During long-term space flight, the decreased bone mass is impossible to fully recover. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the effective countermeasures to prevent spaceflight-induced bone loss. Hindlimb Unloading (HLU) simulates effects of weightlessness and is utilized extensively to examine the response of musculoskeletal systems to certain aspects of space flight. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a 4-week HLU in rats and subsequent reloading on the bone mineral density (BMD) and mechanical properties of load-bearing bones.     

Animals in biomedical space research

The use of experimental animals has been a major component of biomedical research progress. Using animals in space presents special problems, but also provides special opportunities. Rat and squirrel monkeys experiments have been planned in concert with human experiments to help answer fundamental questions concerning the effect of weightlessness on mammalian function. For the most part, these experiments focus on identified changes noted in humans during space flight. Utilizing space laboratory facilities, manipulative experiments can be completed while animals are still in orbit. Other experiments are designed to study changes in gravity receptor structure and function and the effect of weightlessness on early vertebrate development. Following these preliminary animals experiments on Spacelab Shuttle flights, longer term programs of animal investigation will be conducted on Space Station.     

Spacelab Life Sciences flight experiments: an integrated approach to the study of cardiovascular deconditioning and orthostatic hypotension

The microgravity environment of spaceflight produces rapid cardiovascular changes which are adaptive and appropriate in that setting, but are associated with significant deconditioning and orthostatic hypotension on return to Earth's gravity. The rapidity with which these space flight induced changes appear and disappear provides an ideal model for studying the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of deconditioning and orthostatic hypotension, regardless of etiology. Since significant deconditioning is seen after flights of very short duration, muscle atrophy due to inactivity plays, at most, a small role. These changes in circulatory control associated with cephalad fluid shifts, rather than inactivity per se, are probably more important factors. In order to test this hypothesis in a systematic way, a multidisciplinary approach which defines and integrates inputs and responses from a wide variety of circulatory sub-systems is required. The cardiovascular experiments selected for Spacelab Life Sciences flights 1 and 2 provide such an approach. Both human and animal models will be utilized. Pre- and post-flight characterization of the payload crew includes determination of maximal exercise capacity (bicycle ergometry), orthostatic tolerance (lower body negative pressure), alpha and beta adrenergic sensitivity (isoproterenol and phenylephrine infusions), baroreflex sensitivity (ECG-gated, stepwise changes in carotid artery transmural pressure with a pneumatic neck collar), and responses to a 24 h period of 5 deg head-down tilt. Measurements of cardiac output (CO2 and C2H2 rebreathing), cardiac chamber dimensions (phased-array 2-dimensional echocardiography), direct central venous pressure, leg volume (Thornton sock), limb blood flow and venous compliance (occlusion plethysmography), blood and plasma volumes, renal plasma flow and glomerular filtration rates, and various hormonal levels including catecholamines and atrial natriuretic factor will also be obtained. The central venous catheter will be inserted immediately pre-launch and monitored with heart rate and blood pressure in-flight until cardiac output, respiratory gas exchange and quantitative 2D echocardiography measurements can be performed. In-flight hemodynamic measurements will be repeated at rest and during submaximal exercise daily and also during maximal exercise midway through the flight to document the timecourse and extent of cardiovascular changes in the payload crew. Parallel studies are planned for the animals. In addition to measurements of right atrial and aortic pressures and cardiac output, a dorsal micro-circulatory chamber will allow determinations of changes in capillary and venular architecture and function in six of the rats. The techniques and findings from many of the SLS-1 and 2 supporting studies have already yielded significant information about circulatory regulation in patients with both hypo- and hypertension. The flight experiments themselves will provide new data to test the validity of both animal and human models currently used for simulating the fluid shifts of a micro-gravity environment. The development of effective countermeasures, not only for short and long duration space travellers, but also for Earth-bound medical patients can then be physiologically based on experimental data rather than anecdote.     

The explorer's complex

It is time to think about the rationales of space exploration, more than 50 years after the beginning of human space flight. Between J.F. Kennedy words (“landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth”) and the Mars One, what means today the dangers of exploration, or the concept of “representative of mankind” applied to the astronauts? Beyond the financial, technical and human risks, exploration, and today space exploration, belongs always to the human identity, the way to confront human nature (especially imagination) to the reality of time and space.     

Skylab experiment results: hematology studies

These studies were designed and coordinated to evaluate specific aspects of man's immunologic and hematologic systems which might be altered by or respond to the space flight environment. The biochemical functions investigated included cytogenetic damage to blood cells, immune resistance to disease, regulation of plasma and red cell volumes, metabolic processes of the red blood cell, and physical chemical aspects of red blood cell functions. Only minor changes were observed in the functional capacity of erythrocytes as determined by measuring the concentrations of selected intracellular enzymes and metabolites. Tests of red cell osmotic regulation indicated some elevation in the activity of the metabolic dependent Na-K pump, with no significant alterations in the cellular Na and K concentrations or osmotic fragility. A transient shift in red cell specific-gravity profile was observed on recovery, possibly related to changes in cellular water content. Measurements of hemoconcentration (hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, red cell count) indicated significant fluctuations postflight, reflecting observed changes in red cell mass and plasma volume. There was no apparent reticulocytosis during the 18 days following the first manned Skylab mission in spite of a significant loss in red cell mass. However, the reticulocyte count and index did increase significantly 5 to 7 days after completion of the second, longer duration, flight. There were no significant changes in either the while blood cell count or differential. However, the capacity of lymphocytes to respond to an in vitro mitogenic challenge was repressed postflight, and appeared to be related to mission duration. The cause of this repression is unknown at this time. Only minor differences were observed in plasma protein patterns. In the second mission there were changes in the proteins involved in the coagulation process which suggested a hypercoagulative condition.     

Lower body negative pressure (LBNP) as a countermeasure for long term spaceflight

The article presents the current status of lower body negative pressure (LBNP) as a countermeasure for preventing orthostatic intolerance after space flight or bed rest. Devices discussed include the Chibis vacuum suit, the Anthrorack device, a collapsible device, and an inflatable device. Two bed rest studies examined the effect of LBNP and exercise on orthostatic tolerance; plasma volume; vasopressin, plasma renin activity, and catecholamines; and side effects.     

近地轨道大型航天器的环境充电

许多空间实验和电子计算机预测已经揭示，在极光电子环境中大型航天器的充电电位会高达６０００－－７０００Ｖ。对采用大功率太阳阵的航天器而言，其相对于空间等离子体的悬浮电位将因太阳阵工作电压的提高而增加。例如表面材料因遭受离子轰击和电弧放电而老化、剥蚀、由于材料再沉积而使表面污染增加以及航天器电子系统因静电放电而受到严重的干扰和破坏等。因而对载人航天和长寿命空间站而言，解决航天器带电问题不可等闲视之。对     

Prolonged weightlessness and calcium loss in man

Data have been accumulated from a series of studies in which men have been subjected to weightlessness in orbital space flight for periods of up to 12 weeks. These data are used to predict the long term consequences of weightlessness upon the skeletal system. Space flight induced a loss of calcium which accelerated exponentially from about 50 mg/d at the end of 1 week to approx. 300 mg/d at the end of 12 weeks. The hypercalciuria reached a constant level within 4 weeks while fecal calcium losses continued to increase throughout the period of exposure. This apparent diminution of gastrointestinal absorptive efficiency was accompanied by a slight decline in the plasma level of parathyroid hormone and a slight elevation in the plasma level of calcium and phosphorus. Although losses in mineral from the calcaneus were closely correlated with the calcium imbalance, no changes were detected in the mineral mass of the ulna and radius. From the data presented it is concluded that the process of demineralization observed in space flight is more severe than would be predicted on the basis of observations in immobilized, bed rested, or paralyzed subjects. It is, moreover, suggested that the process may not be totally reversible.     

航天飞机末端区域能量管理段航程设计研究

末端区域能量管理段的主要目的是控制航天飞机的动能和势能，并最终达到进场着陆段的初始要求，以保证最终成功着陆。制导系统通过能量、速度和侧向轨迹的控制，使航天飞机达到标准的能量状态。而航程设计是制导系统的基础，制导系统中控制指令的产生都依赖于航程预测，因此，设计预测航程对航天飞机顺利完成末区能量管理段的飞行至关重要。所采用的制导方法是将末端区域能量管理段划分为四个飞行段，即S形转弯段、捕获段、航向校准段及进场前飞行段。分别对四段进行了预测航程设计，并给出了仿真实例。仿真结果表明所设计的航程能够使航天飞机很好地完成末区能量管理段的飞行，具有较高的工程实现价值。     

Effects of prolonged space flight on rat skeletal muscle

The effect of a 20-day space flight on water, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and glycogen contents as well as on activities of glycogen metabolism enzymes--glycogen synthetase and glycogen phosphorylase--of rat skeletal muscles was studied. This data is regarded as an integral test characterizing the state of contractile tissue of the animals at the final stage of flight aboard biosatellites. The measurements indicate that there were no significant changes of cations and glycogen contents nor of the enzymic activities in fast-twitch muscles during the 20-day spaceflight. At the same time dehydration in these muscles was observed, which disappeared on the 25th postflight day. In slow-twitch antigravitational skeletal muscle (m. soleus) there was a decrease of K+ and increase of Na+ in the tissue contents. The changes disappeared at the end of the on-earth readaptation period. From the pattern of these observations, we can conclude that the 20-day space flight leads to some reversible biochemical changes of the rat skeletal muscles. A conclusion can be drawn about necessity of creating, aboard the spaceship, an artificial load on antigravitational skeletal muscles.