We'd like to thank the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology for this Mission Brief. The international Spacelab took up where Skylab left off and offered the promise of major new scientific advances. Neurolab may well be the last of this series and the last Spacelab flight. The experiments, procedures and testing planned for Neurolab show how much progress has been made since Spacelab-1. The physiologic challenges of spaceflight remain unchanged since Spacelab-1 days.
Motion sickness remains a significant, but now treatable, problem inflight.
Crewmembers return with difficulties in maintaining balance. Standing upright after spaceflight can be difficult due both to labile blood pressure and unstable posture. Muscle mass and strength are reduced. Astronauts tend to sleep poorly. Many of these symptoms reflect major underlying changes in the nervous system.