Premium
‘White Mars’ – nearly two decades of biomedical research at the Antarctic Concordia station
Author(s) -
Van Ombergen Angelique,
Rossiter Andrea,
NgoAnh Thu Jennifer
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
experimental physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1469-445X
pISSN - 0958-0670
DOI - 10.1113/ep088352
Subject(s) - spaceflight , international space station , agency (philosophy) , crew , set (abstract data type) , space exploration , space (punctuation) , psychology , neuroscience , aeronautics , engineering , computer science , sociology , social science , aerospace engineering , programming language , operating system
New FindingsWhat is the topic of this review? Biomedical research at the Antarctic Concordia Station.What advances does it highlight? Overview of findings in psychology, neuroscience, sleep, cardiovascular physiology and immune system, relevant in isolated, confined and extreme environments and spaceflight.Abstract Extended stays in isolated, confined and extreme (ICE) environments like Antarctica are associated with a whole set of psychological and physiological challenges for the crew. As such, winter‐over stays at Antarctica provide an important opportunity to acquire knowledge into the physiological and psychological changes that ICE environments inevitably bring. The European Space Agency (ESA) is particularly interested in conducting research in such an environment, as it is a unique opportunity to translate these results to space crews experiencing very similar issues. In the past two decades, the ESA has supported a total of 36 biomedical research projects at the Concordia station in collaboration with the French and Italian polar institutes. More specifically, studies in the areas of psychology, neuroscience, sleep physiology, cardiovascular physiology and immunology were performed. The outcomes of these studies are directly relevant for people working in ICE environments, but also help to better understand the biomedical challenges of those environments. Consequently, they can help to better prepare for human space exploration and to identify countermeasures to minimize the adverse effects of space environments on astronaut health. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the biomedical studies that have taken place in the past two decades at the Antarctic Concordia station and to summarize the results and their implication for human spaceflight.