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On Saturday, June 8, 2024, the "Galactic 07" flight took place in New Mexico. Virgin Galactic’s spaceship was converted into a suborbital science lab, with VSS Unity carrying three private astronauts including Tuva Cihangir Atasever, a Turkish Space Agency (TUA) astronaut, and an Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) Backup Mission Specialist.
Learn more about the "Galactic 07" payloads here.
On Saturday’s flight, Atasever flew with three human-tended experiments, including custom headgear with brain activity monitoring sensors to collect physiological data related to human spaceflight; a dosimeter; and two commercially available insulin pens to examine the ability to administer accurate insulin doses in microgravity. He also participated in four investigations carried out by Turkish researchers on the ground to understand physiological changes during suborbital spaceflight.
We, here at the Media Lab, were happy to work alongside our colleagues in contributing to the headgear component of one of the payloads, NINscan BEACON-R (Behavioral, Affective, Cognitive and Neurophysiological Responses to Spaceflight, PIs - Dr. Vladimir Ivkovic and Ms. JoAnna Pollonais):
A custom developed brain and physiological monitoring system originally developed for NASA and used in extreme environments, including parabolic flight. NINscan headgear secures brain activity-monitoring sensors to Tuva’s head and has electrode pads and leads for monitoring heart activity, allowing researchers to complete the first-ever continuous monitoring of blood and cerebrospinal fluid flow in all phases of spaceflight. This ‘first’ is essential for understanding the mechanics behind spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS)—a major biomedical risk to astronauts involving changes in brain pressure and vision—and studying emotional and physiological responses associated with the ‘Overview Effect’, as well as spaceflight-induced changes in stress and immune function that will be assessed via blood and salivary biomarkers. Collaborators Dr. Gary Strangman, Dr. Aleksandra Stankovic, and Dr. Quan Zhang from CSMR/MGH/HMS, Dr. Guillaume Spielmann and Ms. Heather Quiriarte at LSU, Dr. Nataliya Kosmyna from the MIT Media Lab, Lab, Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, Dr. Karen Quigley and Dr. Jordan Theriault at Northeastern University, and Dr. Nazim Ata from the Health Sciences University of Türkiye supported BEACON-R to provide insight on mitigating spaceflight biomedical risks and managing neurological and psychiatric disorders in clinical practice on Earth.
We, at the Media Lab, contributed to the headgear piece of this payload, namely designing and manufacturing the black headband piece, that you can see on Tuva’s head, and which he wore for the full duration of the flight.
Space protocols account for all possible outcomes that can happen to the spacecraft and astronauts while they are conducting the mission. This makes the list of requirements quite unique and implementation depends on a lot of different circumstances.
We have iterated different versions, materials, sizes, form-factors together with the team of scientists, engineers, astronauts, and other stakeholders to make sure that the headband will perform its mission as planned.
The size of the band had to fit the sensor panel that was built in with very specific and precise measurements to ensure the data collected during the space flight will be relevant and would allow us and all the collaborators analyze the recorded signals in comparison to the recordings made on Earth.
Size considerations also depend on the particular size of the head of the astronaut who will end up taking the training and the mission. So in our design we accounted for this factor by offering different lengths of the band, but also providing a Velcro solution to make it adjustable, not only by the team member, but by astronaut themselves.
Flight considerations in this particular product had to account for the wires (thick cord, covered in red fabric), that connects the sensor panel to the compute module the astronaut wears just under their knee in front.
So we have iterated on designing left-side and right-side holders for the cables, and ended up with a Velcro solution to minimize the amount of metal used in the head piece construction.
Early metal wire mounts had to be later replaced with another set of Velcro that was cemented under the band and on top front part, to ensure tight fit of the sensors with the cable mount.
The front and back pieces ended up being layers of Velcro and calf leather, to ensure we can provide maximum comfort to the astronaut, given the weight of the probe, and all the peripherals with the cable and compute module.
Our design allowed the astronaut to wear their prescription glasses comfortably.
Our headband was designed to allow for installation of different electrodes and sensors, not only in the front, but also in the temple areas.
Before the space flight, the headband and probe were tested in zero-g flight to ensure everything is in order and all parts of the product work well together, and enable the astronaut to perform their mission.
We were excited to collaborate with such an amazing team:
Dr. Vladimir Ivkovic, Ms. JoAnna Pollonais, Dr. Gary Strangman, Dr. Aleksandra Stankovic, and Dr. Quan Zhang from CSMR/MGH/HMS, Dr. Guillaume Spielmann and Ms. Heather Quiriarte at LSU, Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, Dr. Karen Quigley and Dr. Jordan Theriault at Northeastern University, and Dr. Nazim Ata from the Health Sciences University of Türkiye.
We would also like to thank Virgin Galactic, Axiom Space and Turkish Space Agency (TUA).
We look forward to moving humans closer to space, one step at a time.