Neurolab is On It's Way! Now, It's Time for "Sleep"

Well the Neurolab mission is finally underway. I have been very busy the past few months working on the Astronaut Lung Function Experiment (ALFE) and the other hardware that comprise the overall experiment on "sleep." The sleep experiment is designed to study and improve the astronauts' sleep patterns in zero gravity. The experiment is really comprised of two investigations. The first one studies the effect of melatonin on sleep. Melatonin is a hormone that triggers sleepiness in the body. On orbit, the astronauts will be given a dose of melatonin and their body will be monitored to determine if their sleep patterns are altered. The second investigation is on respiration. That's where the ALFE hardware comes in.

The astronauts breathe into the mouthpiece of ALFE which delivers a mixture of different gasses. An advanced gas analyzer can then determine the amount of gasses absorbed and exhausted by the body. It is felt that a change in respiration and altered levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood can be one factor leading to sleeplessness. The exciting thing about the sleep experiment is that the results can be used back on Earth. Maybe one day we will be able to get a better night's sleep in fewer hours or lessen the effects of jet-lag!

The launch of the Neurolab payload was very exciting to me because of all the hard work I put into it. Unfortunately, I had to watch it from my home in Orlando (I was on the night shift prior to launch) so it looked like a tiny speck in the sky from 50 miles away. Lucky for me it was on TV also! From what I have heard, the experiment is performing like a champ on-orbit!

There is rumor that there may be a Neurolab 2 mission later this year. If that is indeed true, I will look forward to again working with all the scientists, engineers, and astronauts who made the sleep experiment a great success.