NASA station crew tests vein scans, exercise gear and return-to-Earth suits

NASA says Expedition 75 crew members began the week of Sept. 28 scanning a jugular vein, checking exercise equipment and testing suits intended to ease their return to Earth’s gravity. The work matters because researchers are trying to understand how long stays in weightlessness affect circulation and fitness as the station prepares for a planned Crew-13 handover.

The agency’s station update describes measurements and equipment trials, not medical findings. NASA says doctors will analyze the blood-flow data for possible space-related conditions, including clots and changes to blood chemistry. Whether the suits or exercise devices produce the hoped-for health benefits remains a question for the studies.

Measuring blood flow in orbit

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir used an ultrasound device to scan astronaut Anil Menon’s jugular vein and measured his blood pressure for the Venous Flow investigation, according to NASA’s Sept. 28 station report. Flight engineer Jack Hathaway collected a blood sample from Menon and placed it in a centrifuge. Menon then measured a red blood cell count.

NASA says those measurements will help doctors assess whether the cardiovascular system delivers adequate oxygen throughout a crew member’s body in microgravity. The station report does not say that Menon has a clot or another blood condition. It says the collected data will be examined for signs of such problems.

The same study also examined lower-body negative pressure as a possible response to the shift of fluid toward the head during spaceflight. NASA says Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev tested a lower-body negative-pressure suit this week, assisted by Anna Kikina. The suit is designed to draw fluid from the head toward the feet; the station update reports a test, not an outcome.

Exercise equipment under evaluation

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot checked the kinematics hardware on the station’s Advanced Resistive Exercise Device. NASA says the research tracks the load on an astronaut’s body during a workout to help improve exercise in microgravity. Adenot also guided Menon on the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device, or E4D, in the Columbus laboratory.

The European Space Agency says E4D combines resistance training, cycling, rowing and rope pulling in a compact machine, with more than 30 strength exercises. ESA reported in July that testing had begun and was planned to continue for two years. Crews are to assess its design, operation and effectiveness against the physical decline associated with weightlessness.

ESA says station crews typically exercise for about 90 minutes a day, using equipment that includes a treadmill, cycle and resistance machine. Its E4D demonstration will examine whether one compact device can provide many of the benefits of multiple existing systems. That is the aim of the evaluation, rather than an established result for E4D.

Preparing for the crew change

Meir also joined Hathaway, Adenot and Fedyaev in testing specialized suits intended to help them readjust to gravity after nearly eight months in space, NASA reported. The agency says the suits may help maintain blood pressure to the brain after landing and reduce dizziness or light-headedness. It has not reported that the suits have prevented those symptoms for this crew.

NASA says those four crew members were preparing to return to Earth a few days after Crew-13 launches and docks. Its Sept. 28 update described an Oct. 1 launch as planned; launch, docking and the return remained future events at the time of the report. NASA identified the incoming crew as Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk and Sergey Teteryatnikov.

Crew-13 has its own planned health investigations. In a Sept. 24 overview, NASA described a collaboration with ESA called Venous Haemostasis, which will coordinate blood collections and other measurements before, during and after flight. The planned measurements include MRI scans, jugular ultrasounds and blood pressure checks. NASA says coordinating the agencies’ work could reduce how often astronauts need blood drawn.

Jason Lytle, a NASA cardiovascular researcher involved in that study, said weightlessness can disrupt normal flow in astronauts’ veins and that slow or irregular flow can increase clot risk. He said the research aims to understand why those changes occur in some astronauts but not others. NASA expects the results to inform measures for crew members at risk, but the planned Crew-13 work has yet to produce those results.