Quantitative analysis of motion control in long term microgravity

Acta Astronaut. 1998 Aug-Sep;43(3-6):131-51. doi: 10.1016/s0094-5765(98)00150-7.

Abstract

In the frame of the 179-days EUROMIR '95 space mission, two in-flight experiments have foreseen quantitative three-dimensional human movement analysis in microgravity. For this aim, a space qualified opto-electronic motion analyser based on passive markers has been installed onboard the Russian Space Station MIR and 8 in flight sessions have been performed. Techhology and method for the collection of kinematics data are described, evaluating the accuracy in three-dimensional marker localisation. Results confirm the suitability of opto-electronic technology for quantitative human motion analysis on orbital modules and raise a set of "lessons learned", leading to the improvement of motion analyser performance with a contemporary swiftness of the on-board operations. Among the experimental program of T4, results of three voluntary posture perturbation protocols are described. The analysis suggests that a short term reinterpretation of proprioceptive information and re-calibration of sensorimotor mechanisms seem to end within the first weeks of flight, while a continuous long term adaptation process allows the refinement of motor performance, in the frame of never abandoned terrestrial strategies.

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Physiological
  • Aerospace Medicine
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Ergonomics
  • Humans
  • Movement / physiology*
  • Posture / physiology
  • Proprioception / physiology
  • Space Flight*
  • Weightlessness*