Ground-based training for the stimulus rearrangement encountered during spaceflight.

Area of Science:

• Space Medicine
• Human Physiology
• Aerospace Engineering

Background:

• Space motion sickness affects 65-70% of crew members within 72 hours of orbital flight.
• Sensory conflict, arising from misaligned spatial orientation signals, is the primary cause of space motion sickness.
• Current methods lack sufficient pre-flight adaptation to microgravity's unique sensory environment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate preflight adaptation trainers (PATs) for astronauts.
• To preadapt astronauts to the sensory rearrangements experienced in microgravity.
• To alleviate or shorten the duration of space motion sickness through targeted training.

Main Methods:

• Development of four part-task preflight adaptation trainers (PATs).
• Design of trainers to evoke sensory compensation and sensory reinterpretation.
• Investigation of self-motion perception using a trainer combining body tilt and visual surround translation.

Main Results:

• A 270-degree phase angle between body tilt and visual surround motion maximized the perception of linear translation.
• Combined sensory stimuli (tilt and visual surround translation) enhance self-motion perception.
• Training in altered sensory environments shows potential for adaptation.

Conclusions:

• Preflight Adaptation Trainers (PATs) can prepare astronauts for microgravity.
• Sensory reinterpretation and compensation are key adaptation processes for maintaining spatial orientation.
• Optimized sensory stimuli within PATs can improve adaptation efficacy and potentially reduce space motion sickness.