The Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) is a virtual,
applied research
Applied science is the use of the scientific method and knowledge obtained via conclusions from the method to attain practical goals. It includes a broad range of disciplines such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted ...
consortium
A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...
that pursues and funds
translational research
Translational research (also called translation research, translational science, or, when the context is clear, simply translation) is research aimed at translating (converting) results in basic research into results that directly benefit humans. ...
and technologies to keep
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
s healthy during space exploration,
with the added benefit of potential applications on Earth.
TRISH is specifically focused on human health in preparation for
deep space exploration
Deep space exploration (or deep-space exploration) is the branch of astronomy, astronautics and space technology that is involved with exploring the distant regions of outer space. However, there is little consensus on the meaning of "distant" regi ...
efforts, including
National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA)
Artemis missions to the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, and future
human missions to Mars
The idea of sending humans to Mars has been the subject of aerospace engineering and scientific studies since the late 1940s as part of the broader exploration of Mars. Some have also considered exploring the Martian moons of Phobos and Deim ...
.
TRISH also supports research to collect and study
biometric data gathered on
commercial spaceflight
Private spaceflight is spaceflight or the development of spaceflight technology that is conducted and paid for by an entity other than a government agency.
In the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Unio ...
missions to better understand the
effect of spaceflight on the human body
Venturing into the environment of space can have negative effects on the human body. Significant adverse effects of long-term weightlessness include muscle atrophy and deterioration of the skeleton (spaceflight osteopenia). Other significant e ...
.
The consortium is led by
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate Sc ...
, and includes
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
, and
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
,
with funding awarded to scientists and organizations around the United States. TRISH works directly with NASA’s
Human Research Program (HRP) to establish and coordinate research efforts that align with
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
’s goal of safely furthering human exploration while mitigating risks to human health.
History
TRISH was founded in 2016,
and
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate Sc ...
was selected as the lead institution in an agreement with a maximum potential value of $246 million for a six-year performance period. TRISH succeeded the
National Space Biomedical Research Institute
The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) was a NASA-funded consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight and developing solutions to reduce those risks. The NSBRI was founded in 1997 thr ...
(NSBRI), a similar research institute also led by
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate Sc ...
.
In 2021, NASA opted to renew TRISH, granting additional funding of up to $134.6 million between 2022 and 2028.
When NASA reviewed TRISH in December 2020, it found that “TRISH had developed and transitioned 34 completed astronaut health and protection projects to NASA and had connected 415 first-time NASA researchers with opportunities to develop space health solutions.”
TRISH supports NASA’s
Human Research Program (HRP), founded in 2005, as outlined in TRISH’s strategic plan. The goals of the HRP are to provide knowledge and technology to mitigate risks to human health and performance and develop tools to enable safe and productive
human space exploration
Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...
.
Effects of space on the human body
In January 2023,
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
reported an interactive feature on the known
effects of space travel to the human body, and noted TRISH’s work. In the article, TRISH Chief Medical Officer Emmanuel Urquieta stated “Space is just not very hospitable to the human body,” explaining that humans evolved on Earth with abundant gravity and low radiation, whereas space is characterized by minimal
gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
and higher
radiation exposure
Radiation is a moving form of energy, classified into ionizing and non-ionizing type. Ionizing radiation is further categorized into electromagnetic radiation (without matter) and particulate radiation (with matter). Electromagnetic radiation con ...
.
[ ]
This environment can lead astronauts to experience
space adaptation syndrome,
muscle atrophy
Muscle atrophy is the loss of skeletal muscle mass. It can be caused by immobility, aging, malnutrition, medications, or a wide range of injuries or diseases that impact the musculoskeletal or nervous system. Muscle atrophy leads to muscle weakness ...
, decreased
blood volume
Blood volume (volemia) is the volume of blood (blood cells and plasma) in the circulatory system of any individual.
Humans
A typical adult has a blood volume of approximately 5 liters, with females and males having approximately the same blood per ...
, altered
immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
and
DNA damage
DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA da ...
from
radiation exposure
Radiation is a moving form of energy, classified into ionizing and non-ionizing type. Ionizing radiation is further categorized into electromagnetic radiation (without matter) and particulate radiation (with matter). Electromagnetic radiation con ...
, loss of bone, sensory changes,
psychological stress
In psychology, stress is a feeling of emotional strain and pressure. Stress is a type of psychological pain. Small amounts of stress may be beneficial, as it can improve athletic performance, motivation and reaction to the environment. Exces ...
, and
inflammation
Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...
, among other potential complications. Interventions to prevent these outcomes include routine exercise while in space, as well as
pharmaceutical
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...
and dietary supplements.
Additionally, changes in blood flow and digestion rate are likely to affect how the body processes and tolerates medications, an area requiring further study.
Trips to the Moon and Mars will require astronauts to spend more time in space than ever before, potentially exacerbating known deleterious effects of space travel to the human body. In April 2022,
NPR’s Brendan Byrne described one of TRISH’s goals as “to understand how and why the body changes while in space and prepar
future astronauts for those health effects. That's important to understand if space agencies like NASA want to send humans to places like the Moon or Mars. Those trips could be longer than
Vande Hei salmost yearlong mission. And the environments on the lunar surface and the red planet will be harsh, with limited medical resources.”
Leadership
TRISH’s leadership includes executive director Dorit B. Donoviel, Ph.D., deputy director and chief innovation officer James Hury, M.B.A., chief scientific officer Jennifer Fogarty, Ph.D., and chief medical officer Emmanuel Urquieta, M.D., M.S.
TRISH’s board of directors includes chair Jeffrey P. Sutton, M.D., Ph.D., along with members
Barbara Wold, Ph.D., and
Elazer Edelman M.D., Ph.D.
Scientific advisory board
TRISH’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)
and Diversity Advisory Board (DAB)
are composed of scientific experts from various disciplines as well as several retired NASA astronauts. The SAB and DAB provide strategic guidance to the Institute.
* Lisa Suennen, M.A.
* Imran Alibhai, Ph.D.
* Susan Alpert, M.D., Ph.D.
*
Catherine Coleman
Catherine Grace "Cady" Coleman (born December 14, 1960) is an American chemist, an engineer, a former United States Air Force colonel, and a retired NASA astronaut. She is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, and departed the International ...
, Ph.D.
*
Asha Collins, Ph.D.
* Catherine Davis-Takacs, Ph.D.
* Walter Greenleaf, Ph.D.
* Armen Kherlopian, Ph.D.
* Manish Kothari, Ph.D.
*
Daniel H. Lowenstein, M.D.
* Ted Smith, Ph.D.
* Annette L. Sobel, M.D., M.S.
*
Nicole Stott
Nicole Marie Passonno Stott (born November 19, 1962) is an American engineer and a retired NASA astronaut. She served as a Flight Engineer on ISS Expedition 20 and Expedition 21 and was a Mission Specialist on STS-128 and STS-133. After 27 ye ...
, M.S.
* Matthew Wagoner, Ph.D.
* Brian Zambrowicz, Ph.D.
Diversity advisory board
*
Asha Collins, Ph.D.
* Cynthia Chapple
* Belen Hurle, Ph.D.
* Ann-Gel Palermo
* Joseph T. Bonivel Jr., Ph.D.
Consortium members
*
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate Sc ...
*
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
*
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
Research areas
TRISH researchers pursue scientific research in several fields, including:
* Cellular and Molecular Biology
* Behavioral Health
* Environment, Food and Medication
* Medical Technology
* Radiation
Involvement with
private spaceflight
Private spaceflight is spaceflight or the development of spaceflight technology that is conducted and paid for by an entity other than a government agency.
In the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Unio ...
missions
As part of its EXPAND (Enhancing eXploration Platforms and Analog Definition) Program, TRISH has partnered with several commercial space providers on private spaceflight missions to gather spaceflight participant health data before, during, and after space travel. These may include tests on motor function, eye health, motion sickness, and
cognitive
Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
wellbeing, among others.
TRISH-funded researchers have collected
biomedical data from spaceflight participants aboard the
Inspiration4
Inspiration4 (stylized as Inspirati④n) was a 2021 human spaceflight operated by SpaceX on behalf of Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. The mission launched the Crew Dragon ''Resilience'' on 16 September 2021 at 00:02:56 UTC from Kennedy Sp ...
mission, the
Axiom Mission 1
Axiom Mission 1 (or Ax-1) was a privately funded and operated crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission was operated by Axiom Space out of Axiom's Mission Control Center MCC-A in Houston, Texas. The flight launched ...
, and
Space Adventures’ MZ Mission. TRISH researchers will also collect biomedical data from astronauts on the upcoming
Polaris Dawn
Polaris Dawn is a planned private human spaceflight mission, operated by SpaceX on behalf of Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman, scheduled to launch no earlier than March 2023. The flight will be using the Crew Dragon capsule, and is the fir ...
and
Ax-2 missions.
Biomedical data gathered from private spaceflight participants adds to the diversity and volume of data available for space health researchers. TRISH maintains a centralized research database, the EXPAND Program, which hosts pre-, in-, and post-flight health data from multiple commercial space flights.
Outreach
TRISH leadership regularly appears at conferences and workshops, including
SXSW
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
, HRP’s annual Investigator’s Workshop, and conferences and meetings hosted by the
Committee on Space Research (COSPAR),
Aerospace Medical Association
The Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) is the largest professional organization in the fields of aviation, space, and environmental medicine. The AsMA membership includes aerospace and hyperbaric medical specialists, scientists, flight nurses, p ...
(AsMA),
International Astronautical Congress
Every year, the International Astronautical Federation with the support of the International Academy of Astronautics and the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), holds the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) which is hosted by ...
, and others.
Funding for researchers and companies
TRISH offers funding for innovative research and technology projects through several mechanisms. Funding opportunities include the Biomedical Research Advances for Space Health (BRASH) solicitation, Industry solicitation, Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, and Catalyst Grant Program. TRISH’s open solicitations are housed on the Institute’s Grant Research Integrated Dashboard (GRID), an online portal, or the NASA NSPIRES portal.
Previous solicitation topics have requested proposals on topics such as endogenous repair,
metabolic manipulation,
microphysiological systems, such as Tissue on a Chip, and technologies in support of autonomous health care.
External links
Translational Research Institute for Space HealthThe Human Body in SpaceOpen Funding Opportunities With TRISHTRISH Strategic Plan
References
{{reflist
Consortia
Space exploration