Part 1: The Legacy of Space Life Sciences Research

Identify the first living creature to orbit the Earth in space, give its name, the date of the flight and the outcome of the flight.
1. What were the names of the first two orbital flights into space, what country launched them and what conclusion was drawn from them about space travel?
2. Describe the importance of early space flight experience and how it contributed to the design of modern systems.
What was the name of the spacecraft, the cosmonaut and the date of the first human orbit of the Earth?
When and on what missions was it proven that men could work in space for several months at a time?
What did the advent of the Space Shuttle era do for the space program with regards to studying human ability to work in space?
Who were the first Russian and American women to fly in space, when did their recordsetting flight take place, and in which spacecrafts were they in?

Part 2: Space Life Sciences Onboard the Space Shuttle

What is the maintained gas composition of the air in the Shuttle and Spacelab?
How is the carbon dioxide that the astronauts exhale removed from the air in the Shuttle and Spacelab?
What are the ranges of the temperature and water vapor pressure (humidity) in the Shuttle?
1. Identify some examples here on Earth that will illustrate the process of convection. Explain how convection plays a part in those examples.
2. How is the principle of convection, which an oven uses in heating food here on earth, used in space?
Providing for the personal needs of astronauts during flight is complicated by the lack of gravity.
1. Explain how engineers solved the problems of human waste collection and taking a shower aboard the shuttle.
2. Name some other issues encountered in designing a spacecraft such as the shuttle to accomodate humans in space.
What are some of the ways that astronauts sleep when in flight?
Name the five body systems that were studied during the SLS-1 and SLS-2 missions and tell why these studies need to be integrated.
Why was the one-shift schedule used on SLS-1 important to the research that was being conducted?
Which systems in your body are the communication networks for the human body?
Briefly describe the advantages and disadvantages of using an animal model in a research study.