Human reproductive issues in space.

Animal studies in space or analogous environments have suggested that there may be problems in the reproductive sphere; such factors might limit mankind's ability to live and work for extended periods of time in microgravity or on non-terrestrial planetary surfaces. A review of reproductive functioning in animal species studied during space flight demonstrated that most species were affected significantly by the absence of gravity and/or the presence of radiation. These two factors induced alterations in normal reproductive functioning independently of, as well as in combination with, each other. Based on animal models, we have identified several potential problem areas regarding human reproductive physiology and functioning in the space environment. While there are no current space flight investigations, the animal studies suggest priorities for future research in human reproduction. Such studies will be critical for the successful colonization of the space frontier.     

Animal research facility for Space Station Freedom.

An integrated animal research facility is planned by NASA for Space Station Freedom which will permit long-term, man-tended experiments on the effects of space conditions on vertebrates. The key element in this facility is a standard type animal habitat which supports and maintains the animals under full bioisolation during transport and during the experiment. A holding unit accommodates the habitats with animals to be maintained at zero gravity; and a centrifuge, those to be maintained at artificial gravity for control purposes or for gravity threshold studies. A glovebox permits handling of the animals for experimental purposes and for transfer to a clean habitat. These facilities are described, and the aspects of environmental control, monitoring, and bioisolation are discussed.     

Education programme on aerospace and environmental medicine for medical faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University.

The problems and approaches to organisation of the education process in the field of aerospace and environmental medicine for medical students are discussed. Original education developed on the basis of Russian experience in space biology and physiology, environmental medicine, aerospace medicine and medical support during spaceflight. The main goals of these programs are to acquaint students with: interaction of living organisms with natural and artificial surroundings, including space flight conditions; the physiological reactions on extreme environmental factors; basic mechanisms of human adaptation to space flight and particularly to microgravity; the current research in space medicine and new telecommunication technologies. All programs are formed in accordance with contemporary progress in life sciences and revealed a result of the interdisciplinary approach to education process.     

空间里的时间:微重力等环境下的生物节律研究

生物钟是地球上的生物为适应环境周期性变化经历长期演化而来的内在机制.在分子水平上受生物钟基因及其他相关基因的调节;在组织水平上,生物钟由主生物钟和外周生物钟组成.生物钟对于各种生物的生理、认知和行为等具有重要功能,是生物适应环境的决定因素之一.空间环境下的微重力、辐射、光照条件、社会性因素等与地面存在很大差异,这些因素均可能导致节律紊乱,影响生物的生理及环境适应性.因此,对地外生命的研究也应该考虑生物钟因素.对航天员而言,节律紊乱可引起睡眠障碍,并且对骨肌系统、神经系统、心血管系统及内分泌系统等造成不利影响,导致人的认知和工效水平下降.在未来空间生命探索以及航天员健康保障研究中,生物钟是一个不可忽视的重要因素.      

An Outline of Investigation of Space Medicine Problem and Its Mechanism

The human exploration of space is one of the great voyages of discovery in human history. For over forty years space exploration, human have gotten more profound knowledge about outer space and life phenomena, ranging from understanding and recognizing space to adapting and utilizing space. With these development, space medicine that aimed at studying effect of space environment on human health and ensuring the safety, health and effective working of human in space exploration, will become increasingly improved and matured.The contents of research will develop from the early phenomena observation of the effect of space environment on human physiology and biochemistry, and the effect definition, to the study of the mechanism of changes of cell, molecule, and gene, from the passive adaptation for space environment to taking the initiative countermeasures, in order to ensure the safety, health and effective working of astronauts during space flight.Space practices in the past forty years have confirmed that a variety of physiological and pathological changes have been found for organism exposed to space flight. These changes include cardiovascular dysfunction, bone loss,muscle atrophy, decline of immune function, endocrine function disorder and space motion sickness. In recent years, more attention has been focused on the study of the mechanism of these changes, especially the effects of space environment on cell, molecule and its gene expression. With the demand of China's manned space engineering task and continuous development, a series of studies on medical problem caused by space environment have been carried out.     

Using vegetation indices and texture measures to estimate vegetation fractional coverage (VFC) of planted and natural forests in Nanjing city,China

Vegetation fractional coverage (VFC) is an important vegetation parameter affecting exchanges of carbon, water, energy between the atmosphere and surface. In this study, the applicability of tonal and texture measures calculated using an IKONOS_2 image in retrieving VFC of forests was investigated in the urban area of Nanjing city, China. Four spectral vegetation indices (VI) and six texture measures (TEX) were related to VFCs acquired from in situ measurements. Models for estimating VFC based on VIs or/and TEXs were established and validated for planted low broad-leaf forest plots (PLB), planted mature forest plots (PMF), natural broad-leaf forest plots (NBF), and all forest plots (ALLv), respectively. The results show that high spatial resolution remote sensing data is applicable to estimate VFC in urban areas, and TEXs may act as effective supplements of vegetation indices (VIs) for the retrieval of VFC. VIs are suitable for VFC estimation of mature forests (such as NBF and PMF) with high vegetation density, and TEXs can yield a more accurate estimate for planted forests (such as PLB and PMF) with regular spatial distribution if they are calculated with proper parameters, such as window size. The combination of VIs and TEXs improve the estimation of VFC if forest types are not previously differentiated. The results can be used as a reference for determining effective spectral or texture parameters in VFC estimation under similar environmental conditions according to vegetation maturity and regularity.     

移位损伤剂量模型及其应用

首先描述了移位损伤的机理及其影响器件性能的机制,引入了适合航天器工程抗辐射加固设计使用的移位损伤剂量模型,探讨了其在CCD器件电荷传输效率CTE,Si器件平均暗电流以太阳电池阵输出功率等工程参数衰降中的应用,介绍了建立的基于移位损伤剂量模型的空间环境中CCD器件CTE衰降预测模式,其结果与欧空局空间环境信息系统的计算结果相吻合．该程序在光电器件抗辐射加固设计中具有重要的应用价值．     

Assessing ecohydrological factors variations and their relationships at different spatio-temporal scales in semiarid area,northwestern China

As a typical semiarid farming-pastoral ecotone sensitive to the environmennt, the Plain of West Liaohe Basin (WLBP) is currently experiencing drastic environmental changes. To identify how environmental change affect vegetation in the WLBP, we analysed spatiotemporal variation characteristics of Ecological environment factors based on monthly and annual air temperature (T), precipitation (P) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from 1982 to 2015. And the correlations between them were investigated by correlation analysis (Simple correlation, partial correlation and complex correlation) at temporal and spatial scale. The results showed that: (1) the vegetation growth of the WLBP showed ameliorated trend, with a change rate of 0.004/yr.; (2) P was more sensitive to NDVI than T; (3) and the influence of hydrothermal changes on vegetation growth was more significant than that of the change of single climate factors at time scales; (4) the effects of anthropogenic factors on vegetation change were 75.07% (1982–1993) and 98.08% (1994–2015), respectively. At the temp-special scales, P&T and land use type change (LUCC) were the main climatic and anthropogenic factors that affect vegetation changes, respectively.     

Space environmental factors affecting responses to radiation at the cellular level.

Previous space experiments suggest a high value for the RBE of cosmic radiation. A possible explanation could be a change in cell radiosensitivity due to a combined effect of radiation and other factors related to the space environment and to the space flight. Results of the EXOBLOC II experiment support this assumption. On earth, vibrations or accelerations applied before or after irradiation can change the responses to radiation. Microgravity could be the main factor affecting the radiosensitivity and DNA repair but this hypothesis must be confirmed by additional experiments.     

卫星发射对空间碎片环境影响分析

未来航天发射情况直接影响空间碎片环境，必须对其进行合理规划，以维护外空长期可持续发展.利用中国自主建立的空间碎片长期演化模型（SOLEM），结合蒙特卡洛方法，量化分析了空间物体发射数量、发射质量、发射面积等因子对未来空间碎片环境的影响，进一步研究了大型星座造成的未来空间物体碰撞次数和碎片数量的增加.仿真结果可为合理规划未来的航天发射规模提供理论依据.      

Materials selection for applications in space environment considering outgassing phenomenon

Application of the existing materials selection methods is not much popular in space environment. This is in spite of involvement of the selection process in this field with a wide range of influential factors (e.g. conventional mechanical properties and over 21 space environmental effects). In this paper an introductory road map for employing systematic materials selection methods in the field by engaging the selection process with mechanical properties and only one of the space environmental factors is presented. Here, selected case studies, which are involved with outgassing phenomenon of materials in vacuum condition, highlight the incapability of some of the methods in dealing with such example problems. The study specifically indicates the effectiveness of the most recently introduced method, i.e. Z-transformation, over other existing methods. The results show that considering the mechanical properties of materials in conjunction with the space environmental effects produce much more reliable ranking of the candidate materials. Besides, the results recommend introducing more space environmental aspects in the selection process may produce a better outcome.     

Human response to high-background radiation environments on Earth and in space

The main long-term objective of the space exploration program is the colonization of the planets of the Solar System. The high cosmic radiation equivalent dose rate represents an inescapable problem for the safe establishment of permanent human settlements on these planets. The unshielded equivalent dose rate on Mars ranges between 100 and 200 mSv/year, depending on the Solar cycle and altitude, and can reach values as high as 360 mSv/year on the Moon. The average annual effective dose on Earth is about 3 mSv, nearly 85% of which comes from natural background radiation, reduced to less than 1 mSv if man-made sources and the internal exposure to Rn daughters are excluded. However, some areas on Earth display anomalously high levels of background radiation, as is the case with thorium-rich monazite bearing sand deposits where values 200–400 times higher than the world average can be found. About 2% of the world’s population live above 3 km and receive a disproportionate 10% of the annual effective collective dose due to cosmic radiation, with a net contribution to effective dose by the neutron component which is 3–4 fold that at sea level. Thus far, epidemiological studies have failed to show any adverse health effects in the populations living in these terrestrial high-background radiation areas (HBRA), which provide an unique opportunity to study the health implications of an environment that, as closely as possibly achievable on Earth, resembles the chronic exposure of future space colonists to higher-than-normal levels of ionizing radiation. Chromosomal aberrations in the peripheral blood lymphocytes from the HBRA residents have been measured in several studies because chromosomal damage represents an early biomarker of cancer risk. Similar cytogenetic studies have been recently performed in a cohort of astronauts involved in single or repeated space flights over many years. The cytogenetic findings in populations exposed to high dose-rate background radiation on Earth or in space will be discussed.     

Radiation-induced health effects on atmospheric flight crew members: clues for a radiation-related risk analysis.

There are few human data on low-dose-rate-radiation exposure and the consequent acute and late effects. This fact makes it difficult to assess health risks due to radiation in the space environment, especially for long-term missions. Epidemiological data on civilian flight personnel cohorts can provide information on effects due to the low-dose and low-dose rate mixed high- and low-LET radiation environment in the earth's atmosphere. The physical characteristics of the radiation environment of the atmosphere make the results of the studies of commercial flight personnel relevant to the studies of activities in space. The cooperative international effort now in progress to investigate dose reconstructions will contribute to our understanding of radiation risks for space exploration.     

电磁监测试验卫星离子漂移计定标实验研究

离子漂移计用于探测离子垂直轨道方向的漂移速度.离子漂移计的定标实验包括电子学定标和等离子体环境定标.通过对自行研制的电磁监测试验卫星离子漂移计的电子学定标方法研究,测试得到离子漂移计的噪声、电流测量范围、增益和修正系数以及温漂等电子学定标参数.测试结果表明,离子漂移计的电子学性能优于设计要求,满足科学探测需求.此外,借助于意大利INAF-IAPS等离子体测试实验设备模拟电离层等离子体环境,对离子漂移计的等离子体环境定标问题进行了分析研究.等离子体环境下的测试结果表明,该离子漂移计在特征点处测量结果满足仪器指标要求,能够正确探测离子横向速度,且其相对精度满足设计要求.      

火星信道衰落特性对通信链路预算的影响

对火星星体段的信道衰落特性进行研究.通过对近火段自然环境因素的分析,提取影响火星通信性能的因素,重点分析火星的大气、云雾、沙尘对通信信道的衰落作用机理;并以NASA实际火星探测任务为例,针对以上衰落因素对UHF,S,X和Ka频段下的通信链路影响情况进行仿真;结合实际探测数据对地球通信链路预算模型进行修正,提出一种适用于火星通信链路预算的模型;明确火星大气衰落、云雾衰落、沙尘衰落的取值范围.研究结果可作为火星及其他深空探测任务的通信系统设计与链路复核复算的参考.      

HUMEX, a study on the survivability and adaptation of humans to long-duration exploratory missions, part I: lunar missions.

The European Space Agency has recently initiated a study of the human responses, limits and needs with regard to the stress environments of interplanetary and planetary missions. Emphasis has been laid on human health and performance care as well as advanced life support developments including bioregenerative life support systems and environmental monitoring. The overall study goals were as follows: (i) to define reference scenarios for a European participation in human exploration and to estimate their influence on the life sciences and life support requirements; (ii) for selected mission scenarios, to critically assess the limiting factors for human health, wellbeing, and performance and to recommend relevant countermeasures; (iii) for selected mission scenarios, to critically assess the potential of advanced life support developments and to propose a European strategy including terrestrial applications; (iv) to critically assess the feasibility of existing facilities and technologies on ground and in space as testbeds in preparation for human exploratory missions and to develop a test plan for ground and space campaigns; (v) to develop a roadmap for a future European strategy towards human exploratory missions, including preparatory activities and terrestrial applications and benefits. This paper covers the part of the HUMEX study dealing with lunar missions. A lunar base at the south pole where long-time sunlight and potential water ice deposits could be assumed was selected as the Moon reference scenario. The impact on human health, performance and well being has been investigated from the view point of the effects of microgravity (during space travel), reduced gravity (on the Moon) and abrupt gravity changes (during launch and landing), of the effects of cosmic radiation including solar particle events, of psychological issues as well as general health care. Countermeasures as well as necessary research using ground-based test beds and/or the International Space Station have been defined. Likewise advanced life support systems with a high degree of autonomy and regenerative capacity and synergy effects were considered where bioregenerative life support systems and biodiagnostic systems become essential. Finally, a European strategy leading to a potential European participation in future human exploratory missions has been recommended.     

Results of analysis of human impact on environment using the time series of vegetation satellite images around large industrial centers

The paper shows the efficiency of an application of the vegetation index image time series to determine long-term vegetation dynamics. The influence of large industrial centers of Siberia on the near-by vegetation is demonstrated. The analysis of the data shows that the influence of industrial waste is stronger in the Siberian North. These regions are characterized by critical conditions for vegetation existence. In the south of the Krasnoyarsk region, human impact is also important, but the possibility of vegetation self-rehabilitation is higher. The present-day economic situation in Russia is unique, with a temporary abrupt fall of industrial production and its following increase. Thus, we managed to analyze the degree of human impact on the environment within a relatively short-time interval.     

天基空间碎片光学探测影响因素分析及仿真

光学手段在天基空间碎片探测中被广泛应用,但容易受到杂光等因素影响。结合在轨试验数据,从探测器和碎片两方面分析了影响天基空间碎片光学探测的因素。影响探测器探测效果的因素包括太阳光、月光、地气光、大气辉光等杂光及南大西洋异常区辐射等;影响碎片可见性的因素包括地球遮挡、地影及反射的太阳光等。分别给出了上述影响因素涉及的特征量及规避影响的计算方法。基于某天基探测设备的仿真结果表明,上述影响在自然交会及姿态机动模式下均可能发生,在试验设计时需被充分考虑。最后,针对某天基空间碎片探测任务进行了规划。文章对天基光学探测试验设计具有一定的指导意义。     

Changes in the central nervous system during long-duration space flight: implications for neuro-imaging.

The purpose of this paper is to review the potential functional and morphological effects of long duration space flight on the human central nervous system (CNS) and how current neuroimaging techniques may be utilized to study these effects. It must be determined if there will be any detrimental changes to the CNS from long term exposure to the space environment if human beings are to plan interplanetary missions or establish permanent space habitats. Research to date has focused primarily on the short term changes in the CNS as the result of space flight. The space environment has many factors such as weightlessness, electromagnetic fields, and radiation, that may impact upon the function and structure of the CNS. CNS changes known to occur during and after long term space flight include neurovestibular disturbances, cephalic fluid shifts, alterations in sensory perception, changes in proprioception, psychological disturbances, and cognitive changes. Animal studies have shown altered plasticity of the neural cytoarchitecture, decreased neuronal metabolism in the hypothalamus, and changes in neurotransmitter concentrations. Recent progress in the ability to study brain morphology, cerebral metabolism, and neurochemistry in vivo in the human brain would provide ample opportunity to investigate many of the changes that occur in the CNS as a result of space flight. These methods include positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).     

Critical issues in connection with human missions to Mars: protection of and from the Martian environment.

Human missions to Mars are planned to happen within this century. Activities associated therewith will interact with the environment of Mars in two reciprocal ways: (i) the mission needs to be protected from the natural environmental elements that can be harmful to human health, the equipment or to their operations; (ii) the specific natural environment of Mars should be protected so that it retains its value for scientific and other purposes. The following environmental elements need to be considered in order to protect humans and the equipment on the planetary surface: (i) cosmic ionizing radiation, (ii) solar particle events; (iii) solar ultraviolet radiation; (iv) reduced gravity; (v) thin atmosphere; (vi) extremes in temperatures and their fluctuations; and (vii) surface dust. In order to protect the planetary environment, the requirements for planetary protection as adopted by COSPAR for lander missions need to be revised in view of human presence on the planet. Landers carrying equipment for exobiological investigations require special consideration to reduce contamination by terrestrial microorganisms and organic matter to the greatest feasible extent. Records of human activities on the planet's surface should be maintained in sufficient detail that future scientific experimenters can determine whether environmental modifications have resulted from explorations.