GOLDEN, Colorado – There are ways here on Earth that you can get yourself in shape, primped and primed to travel to the nearby moon, even to roam the distant dunes of Mars – all in hopes of landing the real thing later. .
Meet Anastasia Stepanova, a PhD student in space resources at the Colorado School of Mines here in Golden and a veteran of multiple missions to Earth, which simulates the conditions a human crew might experience during a spacecraft or long-duration mission to the Moon or Mars.
When it comes to feeding her passion to someday set foot in another world, Stepanova’s experiences are unique. Stepnova has already built an enviable track record grappling with the effects of isolation and confinement on human psychology, physiology and team dynamics.
Related: A month on ‘Mars’: Preparing to visit the red planet on Earth
Dry immersion
Stepanova was the health and safety officer for several international space projects. For example, Stepanova participated in the Mars Society’s “Mars-160” analog mission to the Utah desert in 2014 and 2016, a two-part 14-day and 80-day affair in 2014 and 2016. Through a 30-day isolation experiment at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island, also operated by the Mars Society.
In 2019, Stepanova participated in the four-month “SIRIUS-19” lunar flight simulation experiment jointly organized by Russia’s renowned Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) and NASA’s Human Exploration Program. The purpose of that experiment was to find a location for a lunar outpost, a scenario that simulates the main goals of a lunar mission, including orbital and surface operations.
For good medical measure, also throw in Stepanova as the world’s first female test subject in 2020 to conduct a “dry immersion” microgravity experiment organized by the Moscow-based IBMP. New data were obtained on the adaptive responses of the female body to gravitational unloading in cardiovascular, sensorimotor, muscle, bone and other body systems.
Anti-solitary measures
“For me, it’s always important to consider what’s next and how I can be useful … that I need to try and still follow my dream,” Stepanova told Space.com. There is much work to be done, she said, to show that there is not much difference between male and female, mission specialist or analog astronauts, or “real” astronauts.
After moving from Moscow to the United States in January 2022, and now at the Colorado School of Mines – a leading institution for the study of space resources and their practical use – Stepnova is using the knowledge gained from simulated space missions to increase productivity. and the well-being of crews on the Moon and Mars. Along the way, she has been privy to countermeasures that curb the effect of isolation from the outside world, from using interior cabin colors to regulate individuals’ mood swings.
“Preparing for eight months of mission crew isolation is hard work. I want my work in the field to make their lives easier,” said Stepanova. “After four months of isolation in the Sirius program, you lose a lot of things, even smell. Everything is limited. Exercise really helps and with a huge list of tests and experiments every day. No one will believe me, that I can do it. Too much Get muscle!”
challenging factor
Looking to the future, Stepanova thinks the selection of astronauts for a Mars mission should be predicated on whether they are first placed in an Arctic or Antarctic station to spend time together. “And only after that, then send them to Mars.”
There is a long list of research items that need further study. One of those know-it-more assessments, conducted at IBMP, concerns the human body’s exposure to hypermagnetic fields.
Studies on mice exposed to reduced magnetic fields have shown cognitive and reproductive dysfunction. “It is difficult to assess how this affects the astronauts. Going to Mars and spending many years there, will the crew members start to become dumb or not understand what is happening? For me, this is an interesting and challenging factor, ” Stepanova observed.
At 37, Stepanova proudly points to her March 9 birthday — the same day cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human to orbit the Earth in 1961, was born.
Her advice for young aspiring space travelers? Work hard on your physical shape, choose a career in science or engineering, and look for opportunities to participate in experiments.
By undertaking those aspects you are trying to test yourself before applying for astronaut selection. “You understand your strengths or weaknesses and work on them,” Stepanova suggested.
Multitasking
When her goal of ascending to cosmonaut status in Russia fell short, Stepanova set herself on the path of journalism and began studying at Moscow State University. Her professor was former cosmonaut Yuri Baturin, with whom Stepanova worked for four years. “So basically, the space got to me anyway,” she said.
Indeed, that journalistic background proved to be a factor in his selection for earlier analogue work.
“I can multi-task and also write about missions, explaining complex experiments so that a general audience can understand them,” said Stepanova.
There is no gender difference
A valuable event happened recently for Stepanova.
Traveling to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, she reunited with her friend, Russian space agency Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina. Kikina returned to Earth on March 11 after 157 days in orbit and living aboard the International Space Station, and then splashed down with three other companions in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.
Kikina is the only female astronaut currently in active service at Roscosmos.
“I saw the takeoff here last October. It was part of my dream for me when I saw her fly. She waited for this flight for 10 years. I know how hard she worked,” Stepanova recalled. “If you are a professional, there is no gender gap. Nature balances us very well. If you want to explore other worlds, this kind of balance needs to be maintained, including international space cooperation. When we work together We are the most effective.”
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