Spaceflight Standard Measures is a multidisciplinary study that systematically monitors risks to astronaut health and performance

Spaceflight Standard Measures is an integrated research study designed to characterize how spaceflight affects the health and performance of astronauts. Standardizing the research methods allows for robust monitoring of individuals and allows comparison between crewmembers of different missions of various durations. This manuscript reviews the objectives of the Spaceflight Standard Measures project, and details how each disciplinary component is used to monitor spaceflight-induced human risks. It also covers the timeline of data collection, the methods used to analyze the data, and the process for requesting access to the data. With the impending return to lunar operations and exploration of deep space, an urgent need exists for high-quality, multidisciplinary investigations to inform programmatic and operational decisions. The Spaceflight Standard Measures model provides a standardized, flexible research approach, fostering collaboration across agencies to create a strong evidence base that can be used to safely advance human spaceflight into multiplanetary exploration.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  npj Microgravity

• Publication date

  2025-11-12

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Engineering, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1038/s41526-025-00532-6PMID 41224762PMCID 12612093
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Arterial Structure and Function in the Years after Long-Duration Spaceflight.

  2025cited by this paper
• Potential benefits and human systems integration of parastronauts with bilateral vestibulopathy for a space mission

  2025cited by this paper
• Cardiovascular Responses to Standing with and without Lower Body Compression Garments after Long-Duration Spaceflight.

  2025cited by this paper
• Effects of intermittent seating upright, lower body negative pressure, and exercise on functional tasks performance after head-down tilt bed rest

  2024cited by this paper
• Tracking of spaceflight-induced bone remodeling reveals a limited time frame for recovery of resorption sites in humans

  2024cited by this paper
• Saliva Diagnostics in Spaceflight Virology Studies—A Review

  2024cited by this paper
• Cognitive performance in ISS astronauts on 6-month low earth orbit missions

  2024cited by this paper
• The Emergence of Saliva as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Tool for Viral Infections

  2024cited by this paper
• Functional activities essential for space exploration performed in partial gravity during parabolic flight

  2024cited by this paper
• Development of a ground-based sensorimotor disorientation analog to replicate astronaut postflight experience

  2024cited by this paper
• Effects of total sleep deprivation on performance in a manual spacecraft docking task

  2024cited by this paper
• Causal diagramming for assessing human system risk in spaceflight

  2024cited by this paper
• Changes to human sleep architecture during long‐duration spaceflight

  2024cited by this paper
• NASA’s Top Human System Research and Technology Needs for Mars

  2024cited by this paper
• Development of a NASA roadmap for planetary protection to prepare for the first human missions to Mars.

  2023cited by this paper
• Optic disc edema during strict 6° head-down tilt bed rest is related to one-carbon metabolism pathway genetics and optic cup volume

  2023cited by this paper
• Cognitive and balance functions of astronauts after spaceflight are comparable to those of individuals with bilateral vestibulopathy

  2023cited by this paper
• Updates to the NASA human system risk management process for space exploration

  2023cited by this paper
• The biomedical challenge associated with the Artemis space program

  2023cited by this paper
• NASA Space Flight Human-System Standard: enabling human spaceflight missions by supporting astronaut health, safety, and performance

  2023cited by this paper
• Effects of exercise countermeasures on multisystem function in long duration spaceflight astronauts

  2023cited by this paper
• Acceptability of the Cognition Test Battery in Astronaut and Astronaut-Surrogate Populations.

  2022cited by this paper
• Tandem Walk in Simulated Martian Gravity and Visual Environment

  2022cited by this paper
• Estimating medical risk in human spaceflight

  2022cited by this paper
• Understanding the Complexities and Changes of the Astronaut Microbiome for Successful Long-Duration Space Missions

  2022cited by this paper
• Albumin, Oral Contraceptives, and Venous Thromboembolism Risk in Astronauts.

  2022cited by this paper
• Private Spaceflight: A New Landscape for Dealing with Medical Risk.

  2022cited by this paper
• Bone Metabolism During Strict Head-Down Tilt Bed Rest and CO2 Exposure

  2022cited by this paper
• International standard measures during the AGBRESA bed rest study

  2022cited by this paper
• Bone metabolism during strict head-down tilt bed rest and exposure to elevated levels of ambient CO2

  2022cited by this paper
• Mission-critical tasks for assessing risks from vestibular and sensorimotor adaptation during space exploration

  2022cited by this paper
• Physiological Alterations in Relation to Space Flight: The Role of Nutrition

  2022cited by this paper
• Assessing the effects of artificial gravity in an analog of long-duration spaceflight: The protocol and implementation of the AGBRESA bed rest study

  2022cited by this paper
• International standard measures during the VaPER bed rest study

  2021cited by this paper
• Altered cerebral perfusion in response to chronic mild hypercapnia and head-down tilt Bed rest as an analog for Spaceflight

  2021cited by this paper
• Developing Proprioceptive Countermeasures to Mitigate Postural and Locomotor Control Deficits After Long-Duration Spaceflight

  2021cited by this paper
• Investigation of Spaceflight Induced Changes to Astronaut Microbiomes

  2021cited by this paper
• Framing Bacterial Genomics for Public Health (Care)

  2021cited by this paper
• Effects of Spaceflight on Musculoskeletal Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, Considerations for Interplanetary Travel

  2021cited by this paper
• Optic disc edema and chorioretinal folds develop during strict 6° head‐down tilt bed rest with or without artificial gravity

  2021cited by this paper
• Brains in space: the importance of understanding the impact of long-duration spaceflight on spatial cognition and its neural circuitry

  2021cited by this paper
• Fundamental Biological Features of Spaceflight: Advancing the Field to Enable Deep-Space Exploration.

  2020cited by this paper
• Nutrition and Human Space Flight: Evidence From 4–6 Month Missions to the International Space Station

  2020cited by this paper
• Cognition test battery: Adjusting for practice and stimulus set effects for varying administration intervals in high performing individuals

  2020cited by this paper
• Unchanged cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity and hypercapnic ventilatory response during strict head‐down tilt bed rest in a mild hypercapnic environment

  2020cited by this paper
• Selected discoveries from human research in space that are relevant to human health on Earth

  2020cited by this paper
• Spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS) and the neuro-ophthalmologic effects of microgravity: a review and an update

  2020cited by this paper
• Long-duration spaceflight adversely affects post-landing operator proficiency

  2019cited by this paper
• Space Medicine in the Era of Civilian Spaceflight

  2019cited by this paper
• Head Down Tilt Bed Rest Plus Elevated CO2 as a Spaceflight Analog: Effects on Cognitive and Sensorimotor Performance

  2019cited by this paper
• Association of Genetics and B Vitamin Status With the Magnitude of Optic Disc Edema During 30-Day Strict Head-Down Tilt Bed Rest.

  2019cited by this paper
• Resistive exercise in astronauts on prolonged spaceflights provides partial protection against spaceflight-induced bone loss.

  2019cited by this paper
• Optic Disc Edema after 30 Days of Strict Head-down Tilt Bed Rest.

  2019cited by this paper
• Effects of microgravity and other space stressors in immunosuppression and viral reactivation with potential nervous system involvement

  2019cited by this paper
• Immune System Dysregulation During Spaceflight: Potential Countermeasures for Deep Space Exploration Missions

  2018cited by this paper
• Commercial spaceflight: Progress and challenges in expanding human access to space

  2017cited by this paper
• Validation of the Cognition Test Battery for Spaceflight in a Sample of Highly Educated Adults.

  2017cited by this paper
• Lumbar Spine Paraspinal Muscle and Intervertebral Disc Height Changes in Astronauts After Long-Duration Spaceflight on the International Space Station

  2016cited by this paper
• Nanopore DNA Sequencing and Genome Assembly on the International Space Station

  2016cited by this paper
• Circadian misalignment affects sleep and medication use before and during spaceflight

  2016cited by this paper
• Alterations in adaptive immunity persist during long-duration spaceflight

  2015cited by this paper
• Space Radiation: The Number One Risk to Astronaut Health beyond Low Earth Orbit

  2014cited by this paper
• Measuring thirty facets of the Five Factor Model with a 120-item public domain inventory: Development of the IPIP-NEO-120

  2014cited by this paper
• Effects of Sex and Gender on Adaptation to Space: Cardiovascular Alterations

  2014cited by this paper
• The nutritional status of astronauts is altered after long-term space flight aboard the International Space Station.

  2005cited by this paper
• Personality characteristics and trait clusters in final stage astronaut selection.

  2004cited by this paper

• Space exploration and lifestyle medicine: a narrative review of its implications for astronaut health and remote Earth-based environments

  2026cites this paper