EXPERIMENT INFORMATION
Muscle Tone in Space (Myotones)
Principal Investigator
Research Area:
Muscle physiology
Species Studied
Scientific Name: Homo sapiens Species: Human
Study Type
Description
OBJECTIVES:
Investigators aim to access microgravity-induced biomechanical muscle parameters such as tone, tension, elasticity, relaxation, and creep on the relaxed muscles of the human body by means of the non-invasive MyotonPROTM device to access skeletal muscle status for better health monitoring of crewmembers during preflight training, inflight activities, and post-flight reconditioning.
Investigators aim to access microgravity-induced biomechanical muscle parameters such as tone, tension, elasticity, relaxation, and creep on the relaxed muscles of the human body by means of the non-invasive MyotonPROTM device to access skeletal muscle status for better health monitoring of crewmembers during preflight training, inflight activities, and post-flight reconditioning.
This study has the following specific aims:
- To better understand the fundamental adaptation mechanisms related to the yet ill-defined structure-function-biomechanics interrelations of the human resting myofascial system exposed to long-term continuous microgravity.
- To gain a better and more comprehensive evaluation of the crewmembers performance control and fitness for variable mission duties (inflight monitoring).
- To perform routine monitoring on crewmembers before launch and after landing.
- To monitor in relation to preflight data the magnitude of changes throughout the full cycle of deconditioning on the International Space Station (ISS) and post-flight reconditioning.
- To monitor on which level due to regular exercise the astronauts will be able to maintain and even up the parameters measured by the MyotonPROTM on Earth versus the ISS.
- To monitor the microgravity changes of different tissue and muscle types.
Keywords
Muscle relaxation
Muscles
Photo Gallery
Data Availability
Archiving in progress. Data is not yet available for this experiment.
Parameters
Gastrocnemius muscle size
Muscle creep
Muscle elasticity
Muscle tone
Tibialis anterior
Mission/Study Information
| Mission | Launch/Start Date | Landing/End Date | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expedition 56 | 06/03/2018 | 10/04/2018 | 123 days |
| Expedition 57 | 10/04/2018 | 12/20/2018 | 77 days |
| Expedition 59 | 03/14/2019 | 06/24/2019 | 102 days |
| Expedition 60 | 06/24/2019 | 10/03/2019 | 101 days |
| Expedition 61 | 10/03/2019 | 02/06/2020 | 126 days |
| Expedition 62 | 02/06/2020 | 04/17/2020 | 70 days |
| Expedition 63 | 04/17/2020 | 10/21/2020 | 187 days |
| Expedition 64 | 10/21/2020 | 04/16/2021 | 177 days |
| Expedition 65 | 04/16/2021 | In progress | |
| Expedition 66 | Future mission |
Additional Information
Co-Investigators
Managing NASA Center
Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Responsible NASA Representative
Johnson Space Center LSDA Office
Project Manager: Pamela A. Bieri
Project Manager: Pamela A. Bieri
Institutional Support
European Space Agency (ESA)
Proposal Date
Proposal Source
International
Hardware Items