The Governors of the University of Calgary
THE DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF LONG DURATION SPACEFLIGHT ON HUMAN WAYFINDING: THE BEHAVIOURAL AND NEURAL MECHANISMS — In space, without the cues provided by Earth's gravity, astronauts' bodies and brains adapt to various changes. One of those changes affects the astronauts' wayfinding skills, which can affect their performance during their first two to three weeks on the ISS, and may affect spatial orientation while performing complex tasks, like robotics. The study will look at the impact of a long period in a microgravity environment on the behavioural and neurological mechanisms of wayfinding in astronauts. It will also explore how long the astronauts' cognitive and neurological changes would persist following their return on Earth.