#Time to beat deliver us the moon movie

These echoes are turned into a moving picture, allowing researchers to watch a movie of the heart in action as blood flows through the heart. For example, we're using an echocardiogram to determine how heart muscle atrophy influences the way the heart relaxes and fills, and an MRI to quantify this atrophy precisely, and determine whether it scars or gets infiltrated by fat.'Īn echocardiogram uses high-pitched sound waves that are picked up as they reflect off different portions of the heart. 'This is the first investigation ever to use advanced echo-Doppler techniques to follow the structure and function of the heart during long periods in space and confirm findings by using advanced magnetic resonance imaging tools on the ground. 'We're incorporating the most sophisticated tools 4 ever used in such an experiment to look at the heart and its chambers and valves,' says Levine. The experiment will last for more than 2 years - long enough to gather plenty of data on 12 different astronauts before, during, and after their stints in space. The space station crew, which has recently increased to six members, will help Levine and his team find answers by serving as subjects for Integrated Cardiovascular. Image courtesy of the Johnson Space Center, Human Research Program. 'We're investigating how, how much, and how fast deterioration occurs in the heart during long duration space travel,' says Levine.īelow: A computer-generated diagram of the Integrated Cardiovascular investigation onboard the ISS. They've enlisted the support of several other cardiovascular experts 3 to conduct this research – the most comprehensive and advanced study of its kind to date. Michael Bungo of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Levine is a principal investigator for the experiment along with Dr. We want to know exactly how space-living will affect their hearts and heart function.'ĭr. In the future, astronauts will spend longer and longer in space, and even live and work on the moon and Mars. 'We suspect that this could lead to impaired heart function, which could cause low blood pressure and even fainting when astronauts get back to gravity. 'We know that astronauts lose heart mass and exercise capacity when they're in microgravity for a long time,' says Johnson Space Center's Julie Robinson, ISS program scientist. Sign up for EXPRESS SCIENCE NEWS delivery

Time to beat deliver us the moon