Space Flight Calcium: Implications for Astronaut Health, Spacecraft Operations, and Earth

Nutrients

Scott M. Smith³  Torin McCoy³  Daniel Gazda⁴  Jennifer L. L. Morgan¹  Martina Heer² 

[1] Oak Ridge Associated Universities/NASA Post-Doctoral Fellow, NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA; E-Mail:;Profil, 41460 Neuss, Germany; E-Mail:;Human Health and Performance Directorate, NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA; E-Mail:;Wyle Science, Technology & Engineering Group, Houston, TX 77058, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: bed rest;    bone;    calcium;    collagen crosslinks;    dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry;    space flight;   

DOI  :  10.3390/nu4122047

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The space flight environment is known to induce bone loss and, subsequently, calcium loss. The longer the mission, generally the more bone and calcium are lost. This review provides a history of bone and calcium studies related to space flight and highlights issues related to calcium excretion that the space program must consider so that urine can be recycled. It also discusses a novel technique using natural stable isotopes of calcium that will be helpful in the future to determine calcium and bone balance during space flight.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.