Bioastronautics Focus Area

Bioastronautics encompasses biological, behavioral and medical aspects governing humans and other living organisms in a space flight environment; and includes design of payloads, spacecraft habitats, and life support systems. In short, this focus area spans the study and support of life in space.

Courses offered address complementary aspects of space life sciences research and spacecraft habitat design. The curriculum is closely aligned with NASA's Constellation Program, as part of the Agency's Vision for Space Exploration, and has strong ties to the BioServe Space Technologies Center in the Aerospace Department. The life science-oriented subject matter is intended to provide a systematic overview of basic human physiology, with an emphasis on how living organisms adapt to space flight and the countermeasures needed to maintain crew health as a consequence of these adaptations. These life support fundamentals then form the basis for defining spacecraft habitat design requirements. Finally, a Systems Engineering approach is used to couple these human-driven requirements with the top-level mission objectives in order to determine and rationalize an optimal design solution. Although this focus area is primarily tailored for individuals pursuing MS and PhD studies that are directly relevant to Bioastronautics, it can also serve to augment the knowledge of students engaged in more traditional aerospace topics who may have an interest in human space flight applications of their particular field of study.

Current research projects cover a wide array of subject matter including biomedical countermeasures against bone and muscle loss in space, microbial responses to weightlessness and related biotech applications, development of advanced spacesuit technologies, and analysis of the next generation Lunar Lander vehicle. This focus area is geared toward preparing graduates for exciting and timely career opportunities within NASA's Exploration Program, as well as in the up-and-coming personal space flight sector.

Bio Faculty:
Alex Hoehn, Associate Professor Adjunct
David M. Klaus, Assistant Professor, Associate Director of Bioserve
Louis Stodieck, Research Professor, Director of Bioserve
Virginia Ferguson, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering