The primary goal of the Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory is to determine the nutritional requirements for extended-duration space flight. Integral to that are the goals to maintain astronaut health and to develop, evaluate, and validate nutritional countermeasures to prevent or minimize the negative effects of long-duration space flight on the human. The Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory activities are split between operations and research.
The primary operational activity is the support of the Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile, which is completed before and after International Space Station flights. Dietary intake and body mass are also monitored during these long-duration (four to six months) missions. In addition to general intake issues, there are several nutrients that are also of concern. Vitamin D levels decline during flight, related to the lack of ultraviolet light exposure. This is very important for bone and calcium metabolism. Folate, another vitamin, also appears to decline during flight, which may be related to the content of the food, the stability of the food on orbit (related to both time and radiation exposure), or changes in the body's need for folate.
Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory research efforts have included space flight and ground-analog studies with human subjects, as well as animal and cellular models. One of the current projects includes the investigation of calcium metabolism during bed rest (simulated microgravity). Other projects include the investigation of effects of exercise or nutritional countermeasures on bone metabolism during bed rest. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile is also part of the routine testing being performed in ongoing bed-rest studies. The Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory also has numerous ongoing collaborative projects with universities across the U.S. and around the world, including a National Institutes of Health-funded project to determine how nutritional status is related to elderly self-neglect.
Nutrition was critical for early explorers on Earth, and will be even more important for astronaut explorers. The benefits of using nutrition and dietary patterns as a countermeasure to prevent negative conditions associated with space flight include the low risks for side effects, low costs, and minimal crew time required during flight. Research in other areas (e.g., cardiovascular, muscle, bone, immunology, radiation) has highlighted nutrition as integral to their success, and indicated where additional efforts are required. These efforts will enable safe human exploration of space.