The overall objective of the functional task test ( FTT ) is to correlate spaceflight - induced physiological adaptations with changes in performance of high priority exploration mission - critical tasks . This presentation will focus on the recovery from fall / stand test ( RFST ) , which measures the cardiovascular response to the transition from the prone posture ( simulated fall ) to standing in normal gravity , as well as heart rate ( HR ) during 11 functional tasks . As such , this test describes some aspects of spaceflight - induced cardiovascular deconditioning and the course of recovery in Space Shuttle and International Space Station ( ISS ) astronauts . The sensorimotor and neuromuscular components of the FTT are described in two separate abstracts : Functional Task Test 1 and 3 .