Nutrition and Metabolism in Spaceflight

Abstract

The United States Space Station being planned for the 1990s will accommodate six or more crew members on 90-d flights in low earth orbit. Adequate nutrition will be essential for maintaining crew health, effectiveness and morale. Although much is known from prior space experience about in-flight metabolism, nutrition and associated food technology, important gaps in knowledge exist that need additional research, development and analysis to meet Space Station requirements. This paper is a synopsis of a report prepared by the Life Sciences Research Office (LSRO), FASEB, from a study of the nutritional and metabolic aspects of spaceflight. It reviews available data on the metabolic responses to spaceflight including extravehicular activity, physiological responses to microgravity that influence metabolism and energy needs, in-flight nutritional experience, space menus, food packaging, in-flight food service methodology, water supply and disposal of food wastes. The LSRO ad hoc Working Group identified critical gaps in knowledge and suggested corresponding research approaches for acquiring essential new data. The 38 research suggestions detailed in the report address in-flight metabolic needs, nutrient requirements, food systems and nutritional countermeasures.

A Simulated Microgravity Environment Causes a Sustained Defect in Epithelial Barrier Function

“…The significance of our data lies in the novel finding that the low shear simulated microgravity environment of the RWV imprints an altered pattern of tight junction assembly that is retained up to 14 days after removal from the RWV. Although the magnitude of the decrease in TER of RWV cells compared with static controls is modest, it is consistent with observations that although various aspects of gastrointestinal function such as transit time, mucus secretion and nutrient uptake are compromised in astronauts and rodents after time spent in spaceflight, in general they do not suffer from severe GI distress 80–84 . However, the presence of a modest underlying barrier defect may predispose to a more deleterious response to agents that can enhance barrier defects.…”

Bone mechanobiology, gravity and tissue engineering: effects and insights

“…Most of the suggested methods derive from revisited anti‐osteoporosis therapies, as in the case of the specific diet regime (Iwamoto et al ., ), although nutritional supplementation of high doses of calcium (>1 g/day) and vitamin D (650I U/day) showed to be not such a good approach because of the enhancement of bone resorption (Heer et al ., ) and urolithiasis (Altman and Talbot, ) in the astronauts. In contrast, vitamin K supplementation increased the expression of bone formation markers (Heer, ).…”

Regulation of the Response of Caenorhabditis elegans to Simulated Microgravity by p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Signaling

“…It has been well known that spaceflight will lead to the formation of significant risk for human beings and animals, such as alterations in movement, muscle atrophy, and metabolism 5 – 7 . Microgravity is one of the crucial contributors to these observed physiological changes 5 , 6 . Caenorhabditis elegans is a classic model animal for the study in the field of life sciences due to the properties of at least short life-cycle, short lifespan, and ease of culture 8 .…”