The Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH), in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Space Medicine, Caltech, and MIT, has announced six research projects focused on human health and performance to be conducted during the Fram2 spaceflight mission. This initiative aims to study the effects of space travel on the human body, including cognitive function changes and radiation exposure impacts.
Jimmy Wu, TRISH deputy director and chief engineer at Baylor’s Center for Space Medicine, stated that "the valuable space health data that will be captured during Fram2 will advance our understanding of how humans respond and adapt to the stressors of space." He emphasized the importance of these studies in enhancing crew well-being on future missions.
Fram2 marks a milestone as the first all-civilian mission to enter a polar orbit. The four participants will spend several days aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft at an altitude exceeding that of the International Space Station. Rabea Rogge, Fram2 vehicle pilot, expressed excitement about contributing to knowledge regarding human adaptation in extreme environments: “We are excited to contribute to the knowledge of the human body in extreme environments – how does cognitive performance change and how fast do genetic alterations happen?"
The research projects include:
- Mathias Basner from the University of Pennsylvania will study cognitive responses using smartwatches and medical devices.
- Mark Shelhamer from Johns Hopkins University will investigate motion sickness through tests administered via tablet devices.
- Stuart George from NASA JSC will monitor radiation exposure using REM and CAD tools.
- Richard Gibbs and Harsha Doddapaneni from Baylor College will lead genomic evaluations with their GENESTAR manual.
- TRISH has developed standardized questionnaires to gather data on various health aspects.
- Sensorimotor adaptation data collection before and after flight is also part of TRISH's efforts.
These projects are under TRISH’s EXPAND Program, which gathers comprehensive health data across commercial spaceflights. The findings aim to support future deep-space missions by improving astronaut health care.
TRISH operates as part of NASA's Human Research Program dedicated to overcoming challenges associated with human exploration beyond Earth.
