Research Operations and Integration Flight Session – Always Sweat the Small Stuff

Human research routinely involves elaborate operations with substantial hardware setup, such as functional MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds, exercise sessions, and cardiac evaluations. These conspicuous operations garner most of our attention and, understandably, resources, but the unsung heroes of spaceflight human research often get by with little fanfare. The collection of human samples and surveys is often just as much of a challenge in terms of both planning and logistics. The samples and surveys are often collected or completed by the crew autonomously, with little to no oversight from science support staff, which puts them the most at risk for data loss. The Research Operations and Integration team will host an interactive session with audience participation to demonstrate the importance of the written communications and instructions that are provided to the astronauts. During this hands-on session, ROI will walk through the challenges faced to ensure astronaut subjects can successfully collect all the various samples (e.g., saliva, fecal, urine, and blood) that the human research community needs. The format will be part lecture and part game show intended to provide both an enlightening and fun session. As we often instruct the crew: “Don’t forget to arrive fasted and bring a list of all the medications you’ve taken in the past week.”