title: Some medical aspects of an 8-month's space flight.
abstract: In 1984 a 237-day space flight was performed on board the orbital complex Salyut-7-Soyuz-T with the crew members Leonid D. Kizim (Commander), Vladimnir A. Solovyov (Flight-Engineer), and Oleg Yu. Atkov (Cosmonaut Researcher).  The major medical task was to continue the study of the acute stage of adaptation to weightlessness, phenomenology and mechanisms of changes in hemodynamics, metabolism and other functions.  During flight, echocardiographic and biochemical measurements, vestibular and sensory studies were conducted extensively.  In 1988-1989, the fourth prime crew performed its flight on the Mir orbital station.  The crew consisted of:  A.A. Volkov (Commander, Cr), S.K. Krikalyov (Flight-Engineer, FE) who were launched together with J.L. Cretien on November 26, 1988 as well as V.V. Polyakov (physician, cosmonaut-researcher, CP) who was in orbit until August 29, 1988 as a member of the third and fourth expeditions.  Cr and FE remained in orbit for 151 days and CP for 421 days.  Now we have 4 people experiencing 8 months space flight.  The countermeasures included regular exercises on a treadmill and bicycle ergometer, use of G-suits and lower body negative pressure (LBNP) training at the final stage.  The cosmonauts exercised for a hour twice a day for 3 days on end and then had an "active rest" day.  On the recovery day the cosmonauts were recommended to take water-salt supplements according to the following protocol: 2.7 g NaCl in 300 ml liquid during lunch and dinner plus 1.8 g NaCl in 150 ml liquid immediately before they began preparing for the descent (after they donned their space suits).  During re-entry the cosmonauts had an anti-G suit on (without bladders).
authors.affiliation: All-Union Cardiology Research Center, Moscow, USSR.
authors.lastname: Atkov OYu
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D018480:Astronauts; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008150:Lower Body Negative Pressure; D008297:Male; D013026:Space Flight; D014586:USSR; D014893:Weightlessness; D018544:Weightlessness Countermeasures