Training in Space: Resisting Microgravity

Long-term spaceflights - such as missions to Mars, Jupiter's moons, or beyond - pose a number of threats to humans. The microgravity environment in outer space is quite a hostile environment for our bodily functions, and thus we have to find ways to keep them up and running. Only if we are able to secure the health of the astronaut crew members we will be able to boldly go where no man has gone before. Once returning to earth, many astronauts suffer from syncope caused by the sudden force of gravity to a body now used to weightlessness. Regular centrifuge exercise could be a possible measure to decrease changes in an astronaut’s cardiovascular system. The aim of this study was to find out whether an artificial gravity training using a short-arm human centrifuge would significantly increase the orthostatic tolerance time and consequently delay syncope.

Carmen Possnig studied medicine at the Medical University of Graz, graduating in 2014. For her diploma thesis she researched at the Department of Physiology and the DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt) in Köln under the supervision of Dr Nandu Goswami. She currently works as an assistant physician in Vienna.