Ottawa University

Published purpose

Astronauts return from space with anemia but the mechanisms causing anemia are not known. During longer space missions to the Gateway, Moon or Mars, astronauts must stay safe from severe anemia. This project aims to address outstanding questions on the mechanism of space anemia. Distinctively, this project will access astronauts taking part in both private as well as space administration missions. Using cryopreserved whole blood samples collected from three international space missions, this project will investigate the subpopulation of hemolyzed red blood cells, hemoglobin gene-switching, specific red blood cell anomalies, and the dose-dependent effects of radiation on space anemia, all using state-of-the-art methods often applied for the first time to space samples.