nasa´s Human Research program (HRP) is a study conducted in space and it involves two people´s guts. This space biological study is called, “Microbiomics,” and as its name suggests, it involves the study of microbes. HRP utilizes omics to research into Scott and Mark Kelly´s microbiomes. The studies are being conducted in both, space and on earth, at the same time, with one twin already is space and the other on earth.
It´s main objective is to understand the changes occurring in a person living in space for long periods of time. This research will serve as preparation for NASA´s near mission to Mars.
Microbiomics investigation
The study is being performed on two people, who are identical twins-Scott and Mark Kelly. While one of them is in space in the International Station, the other is being supervised on earth. The study involves surveying the twin´s dietary differences and the way in which they affect the human gut in both, in space and on earth. The investigation on the twin´s microbiomes will help scientists understand how diet relates to diseases, including diabetes, obesity and heart disease.
Omics
This is a field in biology that involves the collection of various measurements and biomolecules to obtain a complete picture of Health. It includes searching into the DNA, RNA, proteins, metabolites and the environment around an individual. The new approaches to medicine that NASA will conduct in space will allow to detect health problems, such as an infection more accurate through a portable sequencer of DNA.
Human microbiome
While sequencing of bacteria, viruses and fungi has been performed in the past, it has not been until recently that the sequencing of entire microbiomes in people has been accomplished. With the evolution of new technologies, it´s expected to meticulously be able to characterize a broader collection of microbes.
The effects of the human microbiome in space will provide new insights into other effects in the human body, including sleep disorders, cognition, obesityand diabetes, along many other ailments.
While microbbiome research on earth has revealed a close relationship between people´s diet habits and a number of diseases, the research conducted by NASA in space and on earth will enable a reduced risk to human health and higher performance for astronauts in space missions and the 2030 journey to Mars.