Introduction
Sensorimotor deficits
associated with spaceflight along with their operational impacts are most
profound near periods of gravitational transition. The most profound deficits
occur immediately after landing, but most testing after long-duration
spaceflight does not occur until crews can be transported to and tested in
specialized laboratories a day or two after landing. The goal of this study is
to implement a set of sensorimotor tests that can be performed soon after
landing following a long-duration spaceflight to the ISS at remote testing sites
like that experienced by the Soyuz landing. These tests will be short in
duration and easy to implement in an operational environment.
Methods
Tests should include
assessments of postural stability, dynamic visual acuity and eye, head and hand
coordination.
How task will fill
or partially fill the gap
These
tests will serve to inform and refine the sensorimotor risks and will aid in
formulating fitness for duty tests. In addition, these tests will be
instrumental in establishing a time constant between the immediate post-landing
tests and those typically performed at a later time, allowing recovery to be
clearly documented.
Collaboration with Cardiovascular Discipline: Gradient Compression Garments will be integrated into the Field Test protocol.