Affiliation:
1. Weill Cornell Medicine
2. University of Southern California
3. SpaceX
4. Advanced Pattern Analysis & Countermeasures Group
5. Oxford Nanopore Technology
6. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Drukier Institue for Children's Health, Meyer Cancer Center
7. Texas A&M HSC/COM
8. Colorado State University
9. Advanced Pattern Analysis & Human Performance Group
10. King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center
11. Will Cornell Medical College
Abstract
Abstract
The SpaceX Inspiration4 mission provided a unique opportunity to study the impact of spaceflight on the human body. Biospecimen samples were collected from the crew at different stages of the mission, including before (L-92, L-44, L-3 days), during (FD1, FD2, FD3), and after (R + 1, R + 45, R + 82, R + 194 days) spaceflight, creating a longitudinal sample set. The collection process included samples such as venous blood, capillary dried blood spot cards, saliva, urine, stool, body swabs, capsule swabs, SpaceX Dragon capsule HEPA filter, and skin biopsies, which were processed to obtain aliquots of serum, plasma, extracellular vesicles, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. All samples were then processed in clinical and research laboratories for optimal isolation and testing of DNA, RNA, proteins, metabolites, and other biomolecules. This paper describes the complete set of collected biospecimens, their processing steps, and long-term biobanking methods, which enable future molecular assays and testing. As such, this study details a robust framework for obtaining and preserving high-quality human, microbial, and environmental samples for aerospace medicine in the Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) initiative, which can also aid future experiments in human spaceflight and space biology.
Publisher
Research Square Platform LLC