This proposal is responsive to the NASA Behavioral Health and Performance gap (BMed5) to find individual characteristics that predict successful adaptation and performance in an isolated, confined, and extreme environment, especially for long duration missions. The project also relates to Human Research Program (HRP) Sleep Gap 4 to identify indicators of individual susceptibilities and resiliencies to sleep loss and circadian rhythm disruption, to aid with individualized countermeasure regimens, for autonomous, long duration, and/or distance exploration missions. The proposal is also responsive to BMed 1 and BMed 2, and Sleep Gap 2 and Sleep Gap 9 [Ed. note: Gap names have changed since this 2014 proposal. See https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/]. To address these gaps, this proposal will assess biomarkers as predictors of resiliency and susceptibility (individual differences) to performance stress and sleep loss using the HRP Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) and the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) high fidelity space analog facilities. We will conduct a ground-based experiment—strongly anchored in our previous laboratory-based research—on N=32 healthy men and women (ages 26-55) in the HERA facility (short-duration analog) and on N=6 healthy men and women (ages 21-65) in the HI-SEAS facility (long-duration analog) to determine the predictive validity of a set of relevant, valid, and reliable biomarkers for distinguishing those who are more resilient versus those who are more susceptible to the adverse neurobehavioral effects of the combination of high performance demands and total sleep deprivation (TSD) stressors—two conditions commonly experienced in space flight. These biomarkers include the following: cardiovascular measures (blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability, stroke volume, and cardiac output), salivary cortisol, catecholamines (dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline), an inflammatory marker (C-reactive protein; CRP), metabolomic markers (via unbiased metabolomics), and microRNAs (epigenetic markers). The project deliverable will be a countermeasure (set of diverse biomarkers) for distinguishing those who are more resilient versus those who are more susceptible to the adverse neurobehavioral effects of high-performance demands and sleep loss stressors. If valid markers of such susceptibility can be found, it will be possible to optimize and individualize crew resources and mitigate stress and other behavioral health and performance risks autonomously during long-duration space flight.

The SIRIUS (Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station) missions are the first time NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) partners with Russia’s IBMP (Institute for Biomedical Problems) Ground-based Experimental Complex, NEK (Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks) to conduct a series of analog missions. Dr. Goel's project will be part of the 2019 mission as well as the 2021 mission.

Analyses of the wrist actigraphy data from the four 14-day HERA missions of 2015 (n=16) and the four 30-day HERA missions of 2016 (n=16) indicate crewmembers were compliant with the dictated sleep-wake times at baseline and recovery and were not sleeping during the total sleep deprivation (TSD) night. As expected for these 32 crewmembers, on average, the performance variables show significant impairment with TSD (with individual differences in neurobehavioral responses). Thus, the sleep loss manipulation in HERA was highly effective.

We successfully completed the 17-day initial “shakedown” mission in November 2017 on N=6 subjects. Two miRNA samples were not collected due to blood flow issues with the blood draws, and one NTB test bout was not collected; all other pilot data were successfully collected. We successfully completed the 4-month, long-duration mission in Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks (NEK) in July 2019 on N=6 subjects, with all data collected. We successfully completed the 8-month, long-duration mission in NEK in July 2022 on N=5 subjects, with all data collected (one subject withdrew during the mission). Unfortunately, we will not be participating in the 12-month, long-duration mission in NEK as originally planned.

This proposal is responsive to the NASA Behavioral Health and Performance gap (BMed5) to find individual characteristics that predict successful adaptation and performance in an isolated, confined, and extreme environment, especially for long duration missions. The project also relates to Human Research Program (HRP) Sleep Gap 4 to identify indicators of individual susceptibilities and resiliencies to sleep loss and circadian rhythm disruption, to aid with individualized countermeasure regimens, for autonomous, long duration, and/or distance exploration missions. The proposal is also responsive to BMed 1 and BMed 2, and Sleep Gap 2 and Sleep Gap 9 [Ed. note: Gap names have changed since this 2014 proposal. See https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/]. To address these gaps, this proposal will assess biomarkers as predictors of resiliency and susceptibility (individual differences) to performance stress and sleep loss using the HRP Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) and the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) high fidelity space analog facilities. We will conduct a ground-based experiment—strongly anchored in our previous laboratory-based research—on N=32 healthy men and women (ages 26-55) in the HERA facility (short-duration analog) and on N=6 healthy men and women (ages 21-65) in the HI-SEAS facility (long-duration analog) to determine the predictive validity of a set of relevant, valid, and reliable biomarkers for distinguishing those who are more resilient versus those who are more susceptible to the adverse neurobehavioral effects of the combination of high performance demands and total sleep deprivation (TSD) stressors—two conditions commonly experienced in space flight. These biomarkers include the following: cardiovascular measures (blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability, stroke volume, and cardiac output), salivary cortisol, catecholamines (dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline), an inflammatory marker (C-reactive protein; CRP), metabolomic markers (via unbiased metabolomics), and microRNAs (epigenetic markers). The project deliverable will be a countermeasure (set of diverse biomarkers) for distinguishing those who are more resilient versus those who are more susceptible to the adverse neurobehavioral effects of high-performance demands and sleep loss stressors. If valid markers of such susceptibility can be found, it will be possible to optimize and individualize crew resources and mitigate stress and other behavioral health and performance risks autonomously during long-duration space flight.

The SIRIUS (Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station) missions are the first time NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) partners with Russia’s IBMP (Institute for Biomedical Problems) Ground-based Experimental Complex, NEK (Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks) to conduct a series of analog missions. Dr. Goel's project will be part of the 2019 mission as well as the 2021 mission.

Analyses of the wrist actigraphy data from the four 14-day HERA missions of 2015 (n=16) and the four 30-day HERA missions of 2016 (n=16) indicate crewmembers were compliant with the dictated sleep-wake times at baseline and recovery and were not sleeping during the total sleep deprivation (TSD) night. As expected for these 32 crewmembers, on average, the performance variables show significant impairment with TSD (with individual differences in neurobehavioral responses). Thus, the sleep loss manipulation in HERA was highly effective.

We successfully completed the 17-day initial “shakedown” mission in November 2017 on N=6 subjects. Two miRNA samples were not collected due to blood flow issues with the blood draws, and one NTB test bout was not collected; all other pilot data were successfully collected. We successfully completed the 4-month, long duration mission in NEK in July 2019 on N=6 subjects, with all data collected.

We recently successfully completed the 8-month, long duration mission in Russia’s Ground-based Experimental Complex, the Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks (NEK) in July 2022 on N=5 subjects, with all data collected (one subject withdrew during the mission). Unfortunately, we will not be participating in the 12-month, long duration mission in NEK as originally planned.

This proposal is responsive to the NASA Behavioral Health and Performance gap (BMed5) to find individual characteristics that predict successful adaptation and performance in an isolated, confined, and extreme environment, especially for long duration missions. The project also relates to Human Research Program (HRP) Sleep Gap 4 to identify indicators of individual susceptibilities and resiliencies to sleep loss and circadian rhythm disruption, to aid with individualized countermeasure regimens, for autonomous, long duration, and/or distance exploration missions. The proposal is also responsive to BMed 1 and BMed 2, and Sleep Gap 2 and Sleep Gap 9 [Ed. note: Gap names have changed since this 2014 proposal. See https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/ ]. To address these gaps, this proposal will assess biomarkers as predictors of resiliency and susceptibility (individual differences) to performance stress and sleep loss using the HRP Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) and the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) high fidelity space analog facilities. We will conduct a ground-based experiment—strongly anchored in our previous laboratory-based research—on N=32 healthy men and women (ages 26-55) in the HERA facility (short-duration analog) and on N=6 healthy men and women (ages 21-65) in the HI-SEAS facility (long-duration analog) to determine the predictive validity of a set of relevant, valid, and reliable biomarkers for distinguishing those who are more resilient versus those who are more susceptible to the adverse neurobehavioral effects of the combination of high performance demands and total sleep deprivation (TSD) stressors—two conditions commonly experienced in space flight. These biomarkers include the following: cardiovascular measures (blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability, stroke volume, and cardiac output), salivary cortisol, catecholamines (dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline), an inflammatory marker (C-reactive protein; CRP), metabolomic markers (via unbiased metabolomics), and microRNAs (epigenetic markers). The project deliverable will be a countermeasure (set of diverse biomarkers) for distinguishing those who are more resilient versus those who are more susceptible to the adverse neurobehavioral effects of high performance demands and sleep loss stressors. If valid markers of such susceptibility can be found, it will be possible to optimize and individualize crew resources, and mitigate stress and other behavioral health and performance risks autonomously during long-duration space flight.

The SIRIUS (Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station) missions are the first time NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) partners with Russia’s IBMP (Institute for Biomedical Problems) Ground-based Experimental Complex NEK (Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks) to conduct a series of analog missions. Dr. Goel's project will be part of the 2019 mission as well as the upcoming 2021 mission.

Analyses of the wrist actigraphy data from the four 14-day HERA missions of 2015 (n=16) and the four 30-day HERA missions of 2016 (n=16) indicate crew members were compliant with the dictated sleep-wake times at baseline and recovery and were not sleeping during the total sleep deprivation (TSD) night. As expected for these 32 crewmembers, on average, the performance variables show significant impairment with TSD (with individual differences in neurobehavioral responses). Thus, the sleep loss manipulation in HERA was highly effective.

We successfully completed the 17-day initial “shakedown” mission in November 2017 on N=6 subjects. Two miRNA samples were not collected due to blood flow issues with the blood draws, and one NTB test bout was not collected; all other pilot data were successfully collected. We successfully completed the 4-month, long duration mission in NEK in July 2019 on N=6 subjects, with all data collected. We have been actively preparing for participation in the 8-month, long duration mission in NEK that will begin in November 2021, with baseline collection beginning in September 2021 (mission start date was pushed back from November 2020 due to COVID-19) on N=6 subjects. We also will be participating in the 12-month, long duration mission in NEK tentatively planned to begin in July 2023.

This proposal is responsive to the NASA Behavioral Health and Performance gap (BMed5) to find individual characteristics that predict successful adaptation and performance in an isolated, confined, and extreme environment, especially for long duration missions. The project also relates to Human Research Program (HRP) Sleep Gap 4 to identify indicators of individual susceptibilities and resiliencies to sleep loss and circadian rhythm disruption, to aid with individualized countermeasure regimens, for autonomous, long duration, and/or distance exploration missions. The proposal is also responsive to BMed 1 and BMed 2, and Sleep Gap 2 and Sleep Gap 9. To address these gaps, this proposal will assess biomarkers as predictors of resiliency and susceptibility (individual differences) to performance stress and sleep loss using the HRP Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) and the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) high fidelity space analog facilities. We will conduct a ground-based experiment—strongly anchored in our previous laboratory-based research—on N=32 healthy men and women (ages 26-55) in the HERA facility (short-duration analog) and on N=6 healthy men and women (ages 21-65) in the HI-SEAS facility (long-duration analog) to determine the predictive validity of a set of relevant, valid, and reliable biomarkers for distinguishing those who are more resilient versus those who are more susceptible to the adverse neurobehavioral effects of the combination of high performance demands and total sleep deprivation (TSD) stressors—two conditions commonly experienced in space flight. These biomarkers include the following: cardiovascular measures (blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability, stroke volume, and cardiac output), salivary cortisol, catecholamines (dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline), an inflammatory marker (C-reactive protein; CRP), metabolomic markers (via unbiased metabolomics), and microRNAs (epigenetic markers). The project deliverable will be a countermeasure (set of diverse biomarkers) for distinguishing those who are more resilient versus those who are more susceptible to the adverse neurobehavioral effects of high performance demands and sleep loss stressors. If valid markers of such susceptibility can be found, it will be possible to optimize and individualize crew resources, and mitigate stress and other behavioral health and performance risks autonomously during long-duration space flight.

The SIRIUS (Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station) missions are the first time NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) partners with Russia’s IBMP (Institute for Biomedical Problems) Ground-based Experimental Complex NEK (Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks) to conduct a series of analog missions. Dr. Goel's project will be part of the 2019 mission as well as the upcoming 2020 mission.

Analyses of the wrist actigraphy data from the four 14-day HERA missions of 2015 (n=16) and the four 30-day HERA missions of 2016 (n=16) indicate crew members were compliant with the dictated sleep-wake times at baseline and recovery, and were not sleeping during the total sleep deprivation (TSD) night. As expected for these 32 crewmembers, on average, the performance variables show significant impairment with TSD (with individual differences in neurobehavioral responses). Thus, the sleep loss manipulation in HERA was highly effective.

We successfully completed the 17-day initial “shakedown” mission in November 2017 on N=6 subjects. Two miRNA samples were not collected due to blood flow issues with the blood draws, and one NTB test bout was not collected; all other pilot data were successfully collected. We successfully completed the 4-month, long duration mission in NEK in July 2019 on N=6 subjects, with all data collected.

We are actively preparing for participation in the 8-month, long duration mission in NEK in November 2020 (mission start date has been pushed back to June 2021 due to COVID-19) on N=6 subjects. We also will be participating in the 12-month, long duration mission in NEK planned to begin in October 2022.

This proposal is responsive to the NASA Behavioral Health and Performance gap (BMed5) to find individual characteristics that predict successful adaptation and performance in an isolated, confined, and extreme environment, especially for long duration missions. The project also relates to Human Research Program (HRP) Sleep Gap 4 to identify indicators of individual susceptibilities and resiliencies to sleep loss and circadian rhythm disruption, to aid with individualized countermeasure regimens, for autonomous, long duration, and/or distance exploration missions. The proposal is also responsive to BMed 1 and BMed 2, and Sleep Gap 2 and Sleep Gap 9. To address these gaps, this proposal will assess biomarkers as predictors of resiliency and susceptibility (individual differences) to performance stress and sleep loss using the HRP Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) and the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) high fidelity space analog facilities. We will conduct a ground-based experiment—strongly anchored in our previous laboratory-based research—on N=32 healthy men and women (ages 26-55) in the HERA facility (short-duration analog) and on N=6 healthy men and women (ages 21-65) in the HI-SEAS facility (long-duration analog) to determine the predictive validity of a set of relevant, valid, and reliable biomarkers for distinguishing those who are more resilient versus those who are more susceptible to the adverse neurobehavioral effects of the combination of high performance demands and total sleep deprivation (TSD) stressors—two conditions commonly experienced in space flight. These biomarkers include the following: cardiovascular measures (blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability, stroke volume, and cardiac output), salivary cortisol, catecholamines (dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline), an inflammatory marker (C-reactive protein; CRP), metabolomic markers (via unbiased metabolomics), and microRNAs (epigenetic markers). The project deliverable will be a countermeasure (set of diverse biomarkers) for distinguishing those who are more resilient versus those who are more susceptible to the adverse neurobehavioral effects of high performance demands and sleep loss stressors. If valid markers of such susceptibility can be found, it will be possible to optimize and individualize crew resources, and mitigate stress and other behavioral health and performance risks autonomously during long-duration space flight.

The SIRIUS (Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station) missions are the first time NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) partners with Russia’s IBMP (Institute for Biomedical Problems) Ground-based Experimental Complex NEK (Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks) to conduct a series of analog missions. Dr. Goel's project will be part of the 2019 mission as well as the upcoming 2020 mission.

NOTE this is continuation of "Biomarkers as Predictors of Resiliency and Susceptibility to Stress in Space Flight," grant NNX14AN49G, due to Principal Investigator (PI) move to Rush University from University of Pennsylvania in summer 2019, requiring issue of new grant. See that project for previous reporting.