Living and Working in Space on STS-40 Millie Hughes-Fulford Ph.D. http://www.spacedu.com This presentation is about my experiences in spaceflight and the lose of bone during long duration missions. STS-40 was the first NASA dedicated mission in 1991.  M. Hughes-Fulford

Crew of STS-40 The crew of STS-40 From the top row left to right: Bryan O’Connor, Mission Commander, Tammy Jernigan, Mission Specialist, Sid Gutierrez, Pilot Bottom Row left to right, Francis Andrew Gaffney, Millie Hughes-Fulford, Payload Specialist, Rhea Seddon and Jim Bagian, Mission Specialists

Sid, Brian, Millie, Jim and Rhea at Ellington AFB The crew goes to the Cape 3 days before launch on the T-38 jets. Sid, Brian, Millie, Jim and Rhea at Ellington AFB ready to go to the Cape in the T-38

Flying to the Cape in the T-38 Note the pod on the bottom of the T-38, all the crews clothing is stored there for the trip to the launch pad.

After long years of preparation, STS-40 launches on June 5th 1991 After long years of preparation, STS-40 launches on June 5th 1991. This was the 40th mission flying 3.8 million nautical miles over 9 days.

Changes that Occur in Space Space Adaptation Syndrome Space Anemia Loss of Muscle Loss of Bone Many changes occur to the human body during spaceflight. Among them are Space adaptation syndrome (space motion sickness) which occurs in about 60% off all astronauts. Space Anemia (reduced production of blood cells) Loss of Muscle( muscle atrophy occurs due to lack of gravity stress) Bone Loss (space osteoporosis due to lack of gravity-stress exercise) This is one of the’ show stoppers’ for the Mars Mission with risks including possibility of kidney stones (due to high sera calcium) or bone fracture. .After a 30 months Mars Mission, up to 30% of bone could be lost.  M. Hughes-Fulford

Loss of OS Calcis Bone % Density 3 2 1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 - 6 Skylab 2 -1 % Density Skylab 3 -2 Apollo 14, 16, 18 -3 -4 Even during short term flights, there is significant bone loss. For instance during the 2 week Apollo missions, almost 2% of bone was lost. During the Mir missions of a year or longer, the bone loss was more severe, up to 1% of bone per month. Skylab 4 -5 - 6 DAYS 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

What is Osteoporosis? Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mass and microscopic breakdown of bone tissue leading to increase in fractures This is the definition of osteoporosis by the American Society for bone and Mineral Research. Osteoporosis is also a problem for people on earth, especially those confined to bedrest and the elderly.  M. Hughes-Fulford

Normal Bone Osteoporosis Photomicrographs of a normal bone and osteoporotic bone  M. Hughes-Fulford

Stress Exercise Stimulates Bone Growth GRAVITY In recent years, scientists have found that bone grows when we exercise. When teenagers participate in sports, they build bone for later years. New Bone Growth  M. Hughes-Fulford

Fracture Risk in Men and Women line Contrary to popular belief, both men and women lose bone with age. The graph above gives the average bone density (abscissa) verses age. The slope for both men and women are parallel, however, partly because of exercise during teen years, the men start out with more bone and therefor do not show fractures until they are in their mid 70’s.  M. Hughes-Fulford

Factors That Influence Bone Lack of Exercise (mechanical stress) Inadequate diet Lack of bone formation in teenage years The common causes of osteoporosis .  M. Hughes-Fulford

For studies on isolated osteoblasts go to http://www.spacedu.com Studies on Bone Calcium level changes during flight Hormone changes during flight Metabolic studies of effects of spaceflight For studies on isolated osteoblasts go to http://www.spacedu.com

The commute ‘home’ from the lab through the tunnel was short... 15 seconds .

Going from the Laboratory to the ‘lunchroom’ was a snap

Guess what this interesting food is…. coffee! What is this??

This is the BMMD, body mass measuring device This is the BMMD, body mass measuring device. Since there was no gravity, we sat in this spring loaded device, hit the release and were able to measure weight. Since the oscillation of the chair was proportional to the mass in the chair we could measure body mass daily to record any changes in body weight.

With 7 people and 29 rats aboard, there was a lot ov extra CO2 in the cabin, this was ‘scrubbed’ by filtering the air through lithium hydroxide canisters, here Sid is changing out the cylinders, a daily task.

The Earth as seen from Space Shuttle Columbia on SLS-1 (STS-40) Oahu is the the foreground followed by Molokai, Lanai, Maui and Hawaii.

Night and Day as seen from the Shuttle. Also known as the Terminator.

Return home to Edwards Airforce Base, California Return home to Edwards Airforce Base, California. Columbia had a perfect landing (thanks to Bryan O’Connor and Sid Gutierrez’s great skills). All their practice paid off for the whole crew.

Great to be home. I was greeted home by my family, George Fulford, Daughter, Tori and Son-in -law Craig Herzog at Edwards. Minutes later I was off for physiological testing for the next 8 hours.  M. Hughes-Fulford