It takes less than one year in zero-gravity for astronauts to lose the same amount of bone (10%) that it would take a person living on Earth 10 years to lose. In addition, muscle loss of 10 to 20 % has been observed on short missions and, if no countermeasures were applied, this could go up to 50% on long duration missions.
The team is addressing:
The development of combined exercise devices and protocols that provide aerobic, strength, endurance and balance training
Pharmaceutical and nutritional supplements that can ameliorate or prevent bone and muscle loss
Monitoring of daily load to the lower extremities in order to predict how much exercise is required to maintain bone health
The combined effects of radiation and weightlessness on musculoskeletal tissues
