When traveling in space, astronauts are exposed to many changes in their physical environment. For example, reduced gravity and radiation exposure can negatively impact their health. Because future exploration missions will be much longer and more physically demanding than previous missions, NASA must expand its efforts to ensure the health and safety of the astronauts.

NASA’s Human Research Program has many supporting projects that are working to improve astronaut health, including the Exploration Medical Capability Project. The portion of the project at the Glenn Research Center consists of several tasks, including developing the Integrated Medical Model to quantify the risks associated with exploration missions, hardware to generate IV fluid in reduced gravity, sensors to monitor astronaut health, and advanced fluid systems to provide the capability to perform medical laboratory tests with reusable devices.