Mimicking a Space Mission to Mars Using Hindlimb Unloading and Partial Weight Bearing in Rats

Rodent ground-based models are widely used to understand the physiological consequences of space flight on the physiological system and have been routinely employed since 1979 and the development of hind limb unloading (HLU). However, the next steps in space exploration now include to travel to Mars where the gravity is 38% of Earth's gravity. Since no human being has experienced this level of partial gravity, a sustainable ground-based model is necessary to investigate how the body, already impaired by the time spent in microgravity, would react to this partial load. Here, we used our innovative partial weight-bearing (PWB) model to mimic a short mission and stay on Mars to assess the physiological impairments in the hind limb muscles induced by two different levels of reduced gravity applied in sequential fashion. This could provide a safe, ground-based model to study the musculoskeletal adaptations to gravitational change and to establish effective countermeasures to preserve astronauts' health and function.