Activity Monitoring during Parabolic Flight

One of the key questions that remains unanswered as we prepare to send humans to other planetary surfaces is the degree to which living and exercising in these reduced gravity environments will provide an osteo-protective stimulus to prevent the loss of bone mineral density (BMD) that has been observed in microgravity. As a primary endpoint of the NSBRI-funded Monitoring Bone Health by Daily Load Stimulus during Lunar Missions project, a small, wireless activity monitoring system has been developed to monitor the mechanical stimulus delivered to the lower extremity during complete days of activity during space missions in a pre-emptive approach to bone health maintenance. The activity monitoring system consists of two units housing tri-axial accelerometers, tri-axial rate gyros, and a Bluetooth radio for wireless communications.
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