Crew Studies How Space Affects Eyesight

Crewmates at Mealtime
Expedition 50 crewmates (from left) Andrey Borisenko, Oleg Novitskiy and Peggy Whitson at mealtime in Unity module.

The Expedition 50 crew is continuing its investigation into vision changes and eye damage some astronauts have experienced after long-term missions in space. Living in the microgravity environment causes a headward fluid shift that may be causing pressure behind astronauts’ eyes resulting in visual and physical changes.

Two cosmonauts, Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko, and European astronaut Thomas Pesquet explored a possible solution to the upward fluid pressure. Borisenko donned the Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) suit which pulls fluids down towards the feet. Ryzhikov and Pesquet then used an ultrasound scan and performed eye checks on Borisenko to determine the effectiveness of the LBNP suit.

On the station maintenance front, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson installed vacuum access ports in the Harmony module. Commander Shane Kimbrough connected gas and water umbilical hoses in the Columbus lab module. He also updated supplies for the Human Research Facility that enables scientists to learn how astronauts adapt to living in space.

One thought on “Crew Studies How Space Affects Eyesight”

  1. Dear Sirs ,
    Astronauts are a humans and they need time for rest and refresh their energies , hopefully you put that in their working schedule as well , in order to permit them doing their job properly and safely , but we didn’t recognize that during any previous spacewalks , please notify that if you don’t mind .
    Sincerely .
    Armen Ohan .

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