This can be significant as astronauts will complete some training in Russia. Knowing the vitamin D status in crewmembers before flight gives us a chance to make sure that they leave Earth with adequate stores. We are always on the lookout for techniques that can help assess crew health 'on the spot'. Indeed, it will be interesting to develop and investigate new methods for determining crew health before, during and after the long International Space Station missions, as they will give us added insight into the effects of space flight on the human body. One of the areas that we are particularly interested in is bone health during long missions.
Bone loss represents one of the greatest challenges for future space travel.
We have completed studies of bone health as part of our nutritional assessment protocols and as the main focus of life sciences research studies on board the Mir Space Station. These latter studies have looked at the effects of long missions on indices of bone health in blood and urine samples. In addition, we have looked at the effect of space flight on calcium kinetics, that is, the movement of calcium throughout the body with special interest in bone. We may also have a chance to look at the early effects of space flight so that we can determine whether or not these effects are gradual or sudden. Our understanding of these factors will help us to determine countermeasures, or ways to prevent or reduce the loss of bone, during long missions.