Реферат: Prolonged exposure to microgravity induces profound physiological deconditioning that may impair crew performance during planetary surface operations immediately after landing. However, quantitative data on the severity and recovery dynamics of specific functional impairments remain limited. A joint Russian-American program addressed these gaps through the "Field Test" experiment, comprising 11 sensorimotor and cardiovascular assessments administered to 42 International Space Station crew members following long-duration missions (mean duration 159.8±19.5 days). Tests employed natural movements essential for post-landing operations – seat-to-stand and prone-to-stand transitions, walking, obstacle navigation, and tandem gait - performed at the landing site in medical tent and subsequently at Star City or Johnson Space Center. Results demonstrated significant functional decrements on landing day, including reduced orthostatic tolerance, impaired voluntary movement accuracy, and pronounced motion sickness. Notably, 20% of participants could not initiate testing, 40% failed to complete the battery due to motion sickness, and only 40% successfully performed all the tests. Recovery extended beyond the initial post-flight period; while partial improvement occurred within two weeks, tandem walking accuracy remained compromised on post-flight day 12, indicating persistent locomotor control deficits. A focused substudy investigated end-point nystagmus as a marker of vestibular dysfunction in 22 crew members. Using video-oculography during maximal horizontal and vertical gaze deviations, end-point nystagmus incidence increased markedly from preflight baseline (5-11%, predominantly rightward) to landing day (72% rightward, 56% leftward, 56% upward). Partial normalization occurred on days 1-4, but substantial recovery required 10-13 days post-landing. These findings extend prior work (Reschke, Good and Clement, 2017) by providing the first systematic directional analysis of post-flight nystagmus. Taking together, these data quantify the severity and time course of sensory-motor recovery after long-term spaceflight, revealing that systems dependent on gravity - particularly postural control and gait - exhibit prolonged adaptation periods. The high incidence of motion sickness and vestibular disturbances during critical post-landing operations underscores the need for countermeasures and predictive models of functional recovery. This investigation establishes an empirical foundation for developing evidence-based post-landing activity protocols and designing future planetary exploration missions.

Библиографическая ссылка: Tomilovskaya E. , Rukavishnikov I. , Kitov V. , Bekreneva M. , Kofman I. , Reschke M.
DYNAMICS OF SENSORY-MOTOR RECOVERY AFTER LONG TERM SPACE FLIGHT: THE FIELD TEST EXPERIMENT RESULTS
24th IAA Humans in Space Symposium, Montecatini, Italy, 20-24 April 2026 20-24 Apr 2026