International Space Station Expedition 11 Science Operations Status Report for the Week Ending May 20, 2005

International Space Station Expedition 11 Science Operations Status Report
for the Week Ending May 20, 2005

05.20.05

Steve Roy
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256.544.0034)
Status Report: 05-073


Expedition 11 NASA Science Officer John Phillips conducted the first session
of the Foot/Ground Reaction Forces during Spaceflight, or FOOT experiment.
FOOT investigates the differences between use of the body's lower
extremities on Earth and in space, as well as changes in the musculoskeletal
system during spaceflight. Without appropriate countermeasures, astronauts
traveling in space can lose as much bone mineral in the lower part of the
body in one month as a typical post-menopausal woman loses in an entire
year. Muscle strength also can be lost rapidly during spaceflight.

Phillips wore a pair of customized Lycra cycling tights called the Lower
Extremity Monitoring Suit, or LEMS. The instrumented suit measures Phillips'
joint angles, muscle activity and forces on the feet during a typical day on
the Space Station. Four of these FOOT sessions are planned for this
Expedition, in addition to the measurements taken before and after the
mission.

FOOT has the potential to shed new light on the reasons for bone and muscle
loss during spaceflight and on the design of exercise countermeasures. This
experiment also has significance for understanding, preventing and treating
osteoporosis on Earth. Expedition 11 marks the third Expedition that FOOT
has been performed in flight. FOOT was previously done on Expeditions 6 and
8.

Focused human physiological and biological Space Station research on
astronaut health and the development of countermeasures to protect crews
from the space environment will allow for long duration missions to explore
beyond low Earth orbit. NASA's payload operations team at the Marshall
Center coordinates U.S. science activities on Space Station.

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Jacques :-)

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