EFFECTS OF SPACE TRAVEL ON HUMAN BONES REVEALED

WASHINGTON—A study of bone loss in 17 astronauts who flew on the International Space Station is providing a fuller understanding of the effects of space travel on the human body and steps that can mitigate it, crucial knowledge ahead of potential future missions.

The research amassed new data on bone loss in astronauts caused by the microgravity conditions of space and the degree to which bone mineral density can be regained on Earth.

It involved 14 male and three female astronauts, average age 47, whose missions ranged from four to seven months in space.

A year after returning to Earth, the astronauts on average exhibited 2.1 percent reduced bone mineral density at the tibia—one of the bones of the lower leg—and 1.3 percent reduced bone strength. Nine did not recover bone mineral density after the space flight, experiencing permanent loss.

Bone recovery

“We know that astronauts lose bone on long-duration spaceflight. What’s novel about this study is that we followed astronauts for one year after their space travel to understand if and how bone recovers,” said University of Calgary professor Leigh Gabel, an exercise scientist who was the lead author of the research published this week in the journal Scientific Reports.

“Astronauts experienced significant bone loss during sixmonth spaceflights—loss that we would expect to see in older adults over two decades on Earth, and they only recovered about half of that loss after one year back on Earth,” Gabel said.

The bone loss occurs because bones that typically would be weight-bearing on Earth do not carry weight in space. Space agencies are going to need to improve countermeasures—exercise regimes and nutrition—to help prevent bone loss, Gabel said.