Bones in space by Mawson Lakes School In partnership with the University of South Australia, Southcott Hydraulics and Control Systems, ReasearchSat, Therapia and University College London.

Coming back to earth from iss The Russian Soyuz TMA-011M space capsule lands about 150 km (90 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan, in Kazakhstan, on May 14, 2014

Russian space agency rescue team help US astronaut Rick Mastracchio shortly after landing, about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan, in Kazakhstan, on May 14, 2014

Russian space agency rescue team members carry Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata shortly after landing, about 150 km south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan, in Kazakhstan, on May 14, 2014

Muscles have atrophied and Bones have weakened due to lack of gravity Some of The reasons why astronauts need to be carried when returning from a space mission are that: Muscles have atrophied and Bones have weakened due to lack of gravity The brain and inner ear have yet to adjust to a new set of signals back on Earth

.   The bones of humans on the International Space Station are subject to micro gravity. As a result they can become brittle due to osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a disease that increases the chance of a broken bone. Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens the bone and vertebrae. Since the vertebrae gets weakened it causes the bone structure to collapse, as a result, it forces the body into a slump. Osteoporosis also decays the cancellous part of the bone which leads to broken or fractured bones. Osteoporosis mainly affect women because they tend to have thinner bones than men.

Osteoporosis Osteoporosis mainly affects women because they tend to have thinner bones than men. About 15% of Caucasians in their 50s will get diagnosed with osteoporosis as a disability and 70% of those over 80 are affected as well. There is no cure for osteoporosis but you can treat it or prevent it by having a healthy diet and a weight bearing exercise like brisk walking, jogging and hiking. Please note that swimming and bike riding is not a weight bearing exercise.

Healthy bone Osteoporosis

Bone mass decreases by 1-2% per month in a weightless environment Bone mass decreases by 1-2% per month in a weightless environment. Astronauts need to exercise for 2 hours per day and take calcium supplements to reduce their bone loss.

Currently exercise options are limited Currently exercise options are limited. How can we improve productivity on the space station?

By understanding bones in space we may be able to construct equipment and spacesuits that help astronauts increase bone mass not lose it. This could be done by investigating bones under tension and compression.

According to Wolff’s law “if loading on a particular bone increases, the bone will remodel itself over time to become stronger to resist that sort of loading” We want to try this experiment in a micro gravity situation and on Earth using duplicate materials.

Our experiment will measure any changes which may or may not occur when 2 types of bones are placed in compression and tension. These will be measured against a control bone in a neutral situation.

We already know that bones are flexible in certain situations We already know that bones are flexible in certain situations. We have experimented with chicken bones placed in a vinegar solution.

Chicken Bones were placed in a vinegar solution for eight weeks.

Bone under tension

Bone under compression

Bending Bones

This is how we would like to do our experiment using bones and strain gauges on the ISS.

Strain Gauges and Data Collection A strain gauge is a device invented by Edward E. Simmons Jr which measures strain on an object.  the most common type of strain gauge consists of an insulating flexible backing which supports a metallic foil pattern. The gauge is attached to the object using a suitable adhesive. As the object gets deformed, the foil gets deformed as well causing it’s electrical resistance to change as well.

Strain Gauges and data…continued The resistance change is usually measured by a Wheatstone bridge. A Wheatstone bridge is an electrical circuit used to measure an unknown electrical resistance. The change of electrical resistance is related to the strain by the quantity known as the gauge factor. Gauge factor (GF) or strain factor of a strain gauge is the ratio of relative change in electrical resistance, to the mechanical strain.

Top layer- pig bones Bottom layer- bird bones

Duplicate box located at Mawson Lakes school

140mm 100mm 70mm

Problems Temperature affects the strain of materials. The temperature will need to remain constant. Ionising Radiation is a major problem as it may speed up the loss of bone mass especially in the bird bone. Bones may decay before they reach ISS. May need to cover the bones in ‘Jello’

Data sent back to Earth could give us a new perspective on how bones react in microgravity over time. It could also help develop new configurations in spacesuits which keep astronaut bodies healthy in space.

Recent spacesuit design by ESA Recent spacesuit design by Elon Musk

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