Research Summary

In a weightless environment, astronauts bear little or no weight on their leg muscles and on the back’s muscles used for maintaining posture.  These muscles begin to weaken and reduce in size.  Loss of muscle strength during an extended mission could pose dramatic problems in the event of an emergency situation upon landing.  It is possible astronauts on long missions may lose up to 25 percent of their muscle mass unless effective solutions are employed.  The Muscle Alterations and Atrophy Team is identifying high-resistance exercise prescriptions and looking into human-powered artificial gravity as a countermeasure to muscle loss.  The Team also seeks to understand the genetic, cellular and physiological processes involved in muscle function and to develop methods to prevent or reduce muscle loss by considering nutritional and antioxidant interventions to complement exercise prescriptions.

Team Leader:
Kenneth Baldwin, Ph.D.
University of California-Irvine

Earth Benefit: Muscle Changes