At the NASA Ames Research Center in California, the next generation of space biologists are working to understand the effects of long duration space flight on model organisms, and are developing ways to protect the health of future astronauts

Cheng-Campbell, Meg

Moyer, Eric

Murray, Matthew

Scott, Ryan T.

Torres, Samantha

NASA Technical Reports Server

Count Down to  
the Future
Meg Cheng-Campbell
Ryan T. Scott
Samantha Torres
Matthew Murray
Eric Moyer
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20170009381 2019-08-30T16:26:17+00:00Z
The human body has evolved over millions 
of years within an Earth-bound environment. 
The biomechanics of our cellular tissues 
are constrained by the physical laws 
of life on Earth. It is only within a tiny 
fraction of evolutionary time that we have 
developed the ability to leave our planet’s 
protective atmosphere and experience 
the weightlessness of space. As we are 
developing our new-found potential for extra-
terrestrial exploration, the consequences of 
placing human bodies into space long-term 
have to be carefully considered. At NASA 
Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon 
Valley, a team of dedicated biologists is 
working to understand the effects of space 
flight on the human body, and is developing 
countermeasures to protect astronauts and 
colonists of the future as they embark on 
missions to other planets in our solar system.
NASA needs new scientists to be trained 
to continue this work into the future of 
space flight, and support the innovations 
in medical science that must accompany 
explorations of this kind. Dr Sanjoy Som, 
director of the Blue Marble Space Institute of 
Science, is a researcher at NASA Ames in the 
field of astrobiology – the study of the origin, 
distribution, and future of life on Earth and 
beyond. Alongside a team of other dedicated 
scientists, he has developed a unique 
training programme for early career scientists 
preparing to pursue postgraduate training. 
The programme gives students access to 
the cutting edge research environment, 
resources and expertise at NASA to develop 
projects aimed at supporting human 
life long-term in space. The programme 
also supports training in ethics and a 
consideration for the wider implications 
of their research projects. Science 
communication is also a big part of the 
training programme, helping future scientists 
and NASA to engage the public with current 
projects and ongoing research.
Living Bone
Bone is a dynamic living tissue that 
constantly adapts to the environment. 
The mechanical load on bone tissue acts 
to stimulate repair and regeneration to 
maintain a constant level of mineral content 
and mass. This process of remodelling occurs 
through bone resorption by specialised cells 
called osteoclasts, and the formation of new 
mineralised bone tissue by osteoblasts. In 
space, under reduced gravity (microgravity), 
resorption of bone is stimulated, leading to 
a loss of bone mass similar to that seen in 
osteoporosis. Scientists at the NASA Ames 
Research Center are currently working to 
unlock the mechanisms behind this process, 
in order to find ways to prevent it from 
happening. Back here on Earth, this research 
has major implications for understanding the 
degeneration of bone that occurs in disease, 
or when mechanical stimulation is lost due 
to prolonged bed rest in hospital.
Meg Cheng-Campbell, working with Dr 
Elizabeth Blaber and Dr Eduardo Almeida 
within the Bone and Signaling Laboratory, 
enjoys the challenge and satisfaction of 
fundamental biology research. The team 
have previously found that mice, exposed to 
microgravity for 15 days on the space shuttle 
Discovery or 30 days on the Bion M1 mission, 
experienced a loss of bone mass. Because 
the cells that make up bone are continuously 
replaced by new cells, the team hypothesised 
that these losses may be caused by a 
decreased capability of the bone to renew its 
own cells. This suggests that being exposed 
to gravity stimulates the production of new 
bone forming cells. In space, this loss of cell-
renewal ability is combined with an increase 
in bone loss, leading to a reduction in bone 
mass. The team’s research has implications 
for other parts of the body that rely on a 
constant supply of new cells to repair and 
regenerate. 
COUNT DOWN TO THE 
FUTURE
At the NASA Ames Research Center in California, the next generation of 
space biologists are working to understand the effects of long duration 
space flight on model organisms, and are developing ways to protect the 
health of future astronauts.
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CREDIT: NASA
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Ryan T. Scott is working with Dr Joshua 
Alwood  to investigate the molecular 
mechanisms that lead to bone loss during 
weightlessness and how space radiation 
affects bone strength. Ryan further 
investigates the effects of weightlessness 
on the female reproductive system. He has 
a special interest in the study of exercise 
science and physiology. He is working with 
Dr Alwood to discover how increasing activity 
in the limbs, such as during exercise, can 
counteract the effects of weightlessness and 
radiation when undertaken together with 
drug treatments. Indeed, in the future, it may 
be possible to take such drug treatments to 
prevent the loss of bone mass, and so the 
team are also investigating the possible side-
effects these treatments might have if taken 
over a long time.
Samantha Torres, also in the Bone and 
Signaling Laboratory, currently works with 
Dr Ruth Globus on a project to investigate 
the physiological, cellular and molecular 
responses of bone to simulated galactic 
radiation and weightlessness. This work 
has implications for ground-based health 
problems such as prolonged bedrest 
and radiotherapy. The team showed that 
exposure to similar total doses and types of 
ionising radiation as those predicted during 
long duration space exploration, results in 
the activation of molecular mechanisms 
related to inflammation, stimulates bone-
resorbing osteoclasts, and promotes bone 
resorption. The researchers are finding 
ways to protect against ionising radiation, 
such as consumption of dried plums, which 
have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory 
properties. 
It’s in the Blood
In the Vascular Analysis Laboratory, Matthew 
Murray is working with Dr Patricia Parsons-
Wingerter on the vessel generation analysis 
(VESGEN) project. Every cell in the body 
requires a constant supply of energy for 
metabolism and immune support, through 
highly branched blood vessels. Each cell is no 
more than a fifth of a millimetre away from 
the smallest blood vessels (capillaries), while 
these tiny vessels are at least forty branch 
points away from the heart. The vascular 
fingerprint for each person or animal is 
unique, and constantly adapts to changes 
in the environment by adding and removing 
capillaries. The growth of new blood vessels 
is important in embryonic development and 
also the development of pathological tissue 
in cancer. This same process also occurs 
during an inflammatory response to injury, 
and is required for proper wound healing. 
The Vascular Analysis Laboratory has 
developed a software system for rapid and 
accurate analysis of the vascular fingerprint 
of animals or humans, to allow a detailed 
investigation of how these blood vessel 
patterns can change during space flight. 
This will enable the team to observe how 
these changes might affect health or disease 
progression during long-term missions. This 
vascular signature gives an accessible and 
quickly measured read-out of the complex 
molecular and cellular signalling pathways 
that are initiated to promote remodelling 
and growth of new vessels in response to 
stress or injury. The team has already used 
similar techniques to look at the changes in 
blood vessels that occur in the retina during 
diabetes, which can lead to sight loss. 
Matthew and the team are currently 
interested in how changes in blood vessels 
in the retina change during space flight, in 
order to understand a condition known as 
Vision Impairment and Intracranial Pressure 
syndrome, which can cause vision loss after 
long exposure to reduced gravity. The team 
hope to measure the remodelling of blood 
vessels in the retina by comparing images 
before and after astronauts take a trip to 
the International Space Station. This will aid 
development of effective countermeasures 
for astronauts, but also potential future 
treatments for patients on Earth with similar 
medical conditions.
Space Sex
The number of women becoming astronauts 
was much less than the number of men in the 
first few decades of space flight, but this is 
rapidly changing. In fact, the NASA astronaut 
class of 2013 had equal numbers of men and 
women. Eric Moyer is working with Dr April 
Ronca to explore how space flight might 
affect the physiology of males and females 
differently, with the aim of improving the 
health of all astronauts travelling beyond our 
planet. They are investigating how to protect 
reproductive health, so that communities in 
space might adapt to conception, pregnancy, 
birth and development. They are also 
investigating the longer-term implications 
of how child development might be affected 
by exposure to the harsh environment and 
stresses of space flight. 
Recent research has shown that mice who 
have spent weeks in space experience a 
disruption to their reproductive health and 
a loss of fertility. But this is only part of the 
problem. Technology for mouse studies 
in space has been developed at the Ames 
Research Center, allowing Eric and Dr Ronca 
to now analyse the effects of space flight 
on mouse behaviour, which can inform all 
future studies involving mammals in space. 
Remarkably most behaviour such as eating, 
drinking and grooming was very similar 
to the mice on the ground, but mice in 
space quickly learned to propel themselves 
around the habitat, with their activity levels 
actually increasing over time in flight. The 
development of these mouse habitats in 
space allows the team to research the effects 
of space flight on mammalian behaviour – 
CREDIT: NASA
which needs to be addressed before more complex intergenerational 
experiments can be attempted.  
This is important because the team’s future experiments will 
investigate how radiation and reduced gravity conditions unique to 
space flight might affect the reproductive cycles of adults and also the 
development of offspring. They will be looking to expand past research 
investigating the effects of altered gravity, such as that seen during 
a space flight launch, on foetal development via patterns of gene 
expression and the maturity into adulthood, which has demonstrated 
a strong influence on health and disease throughout life. The goal will 
be to identify which environmental factors lead to changes in gene 
expression across the entire lifespan and how these factors may be 
transmitted to subsequent generations. For men and women to live 
beyond our planet and start forming communities, there is a lot to be 
understood about how life in space might affect the conception and 
development of offspring.  
Ready to Launch
Meanwhile in the Biomodel Performance Laboratory led by Dr Sharmila 
Bhattacharya, students Iman Hamid and Christina Cheung are busy 
preparing their payload for an upcoming launch. Dr Bhattacharya’s 
team are using fruit flies to explore how life in space alters the immune 
response to a microbial infection. They are also using software and 
video tracking to observe changes in fly behaviour. By comparing 
results from flies that have been to the International Space Station 
with flies back on Earth, they plan to look at a number of physiological 
processes important for future space travel, such as the roles that 
different genes play in protecting against reactive oxygen species and 
radiation.
The new rodent and fruit fly facilities on the International Space 
Station, combined with the biological research on the ground, allows 
this group of young scientists to gain unique hands-on research 
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experience and to develop new strategies for long range exploration 
and colonisation of our solar system. The opportunity to take part in 
these projects is preparing these future leaders to accomplish dizzying 
heights. 
CREDIT: NASA
Meet the researchers
Meg Cheng-Campbell
Margareth ‘Meg’ Cheng-Campbell is currently a 
Master’s student at Santa Clara University studying 
Bioengineering. Meg was introduced to NASA 
Ames Research Center as a Research Associate 
through the Space Life Sciences Training Program, 
where she worked with the Human Performance 
Centrifuge. Since then, Meg has worked with Dr 
Eduardo Almeida and Dr Elizabeth Blaber in the 
Bone and Signaling Laboratory. Her current work 
focuses on understanding the complex mechanisms 
underlying bone tissue maintenance and stem cell 
regeneration. 
E: margareth.a.cheng-campbell@nasa.gov
Ryan T. Scott
Ryan T. Scott is a Research Associate at NASA Ames 
Research Center within the Bone and Signaling 
Laboratory working with Dr Joshua Alwood. 
His research seeks to investigate the molecular, 
cellular, biomechanical, and physiological effects of 
spaceflight, to understand how the musculoskeletal 
system, reproduction, endocrinology and nervous 
system are all impacted together. His future 
work is focused on development and testing of 
countermeasures to enable long-term spaceflight 
missions. 
E: ryan.t.scott@nasa.gov
Samantha Torres
Samantha Torres is a graduate student at San 
Francisco State University. She is currently studying 
for a Master’s degree in Public Health with an 
emphasis on Epidemiology. She is also a Research 
Associate in the lab of Dr Ruth Globus at NASA Ames 
Research Center, where she seeks to understand the 
effects of radiation and microgravity on the skeletal 
system. Her research is focused on human biology 
in space and the effects of comparable conditions 
such as radiotherapy and musculoskeletal disuse 
here on Earth. 
E: samantha.m.torres@nasa.gov
Matthew Murray 
Matthew Murray graduated from Santa 
Clara University with a Bachelor’s degree in 
Bioengineering.  He is currently working with 
Dr Patricia Parsons-Wingerter in the Vascular 
Analysis Laboratory at the NASA Ames Research 
Center on diabetic retinopathy, bed rest, and crew 
member studies. This forms part of the vessel 
generation analysis (VESGEN) project, which aids 
in determining the cause of Vision Impairment 
and Intracranial Pressure syndrome – a condition 
causing visual impairments often experienced after 
long-term exposure to microgravity.
E: matthew.c.murray@nasa.gov
Eric Moyer
Eric Moyer is a biology researcher and lab 
manager for Dr April Ronca at the Reproduction 
and Development Laboratory at the NASA Ames 
Research Center. His research is focused on the 
molecular biology of rodent gene expression 
and the serum proteins produced within stress 
and metabolism regulation pathways following 
ground-based models of spaceflight exposure. He 
contributes to the study of animal behaviour on the 
International Space Station conducted using NASA’s 
Rodent Research Facility. 
E:  eric.l.moyer@nasa.gov
FUNDING 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration – 
NASA
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