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Astrobiology: Latest News


2001-06-20 | SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGIES
Conference Addresses Effects of Space Travel

Can human beings endure the psychological and physical challenges of long-duration space travel? Scientists and engineers will address this question this week at an international conference, Human Systems 2001, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. "Very little is known about how well the ‘human element’ will stand up to the rigorous demands of an 18-month mission to Mars," said NASA expert Patricia Cowings. Researchers will discuss autogenic feedback training—teaching people to voluntarily control involuntary bodily functions, such as those of the heart and stomach. Autogenic feedback training may enable astronauts to reduce motion sickness and other conditions caused by weightlessness. Researchers will also examine using electroencephalograms (EEGs) to monitor mental fatigue. Understanding how Earth life reacts to conditions in space is a major goal of astrobiology.


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Full text of original item from NASA, Jun 20, 2001

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The preceding news links are provided as a public service for interested users. The views and claims expressed in external internet sites are not necessarily those of NASA.

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