[113]

How Biological Clocks Work in Space: Space Flight Experiments SCORPI-T and SCORPI.  M. Schmдh1, A. El-Din Sallam2 and E.R. Horn1. 1Gravitational Physiology, University, Ulm, Germany, and 2Department of Zoology, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.

   The coordination of physiological mechanisms depends on the synchronization by external Zeitgebers such as the daily light-dark rhythm and on internal clocks. Desynchronisation of these rhythmic events can cause severe physiological, behavioral and psychological disturbances. Some disturbances observed in crew members might arise from desynchronization caused by the spatial environment and the altered physical periodicity. Currently, we prepare the space experiment SCORPI with scorpions to find out whether vegetative and sensorimotor functions underlie different sensitivities to altered physical Zeitgeber rhythms in space. SCORPI was selected for flight on the International Space Station ISS and will be mounted in the European facility BIOLAB. The fully automatized equipment allows recordings of the visual sensitivity (electroretinogram), the muscular activity (electromyogram), the arousal of the brain (spontaneous cerebral electrical activity) and the heart beat frequency (electrocardiogram). The time schedule includes a pre-flight observation period of one month, followed by a recording period of 3 months on ISS under microgravity and simulated 1g-conditions, and post-flight observations lasting 1 to 2 months in each selected scorpionaut. The physiological data will be recorded from the immobilized animals continuously for periods of synchronized and free-running activity. Scorpions were chosen because they survive starvation for several months. SCORPI has the precursor flight SCORPI-T on the Russian biosatellite FOTON-M2 in May/June 2005 lasting 2 weeks. The goal of SCORPI-T is to study critical aspects of the experiment SCORPI such as effects of animal locomotion on the implantation of the electrodes, or the importance of stress to the animals by the microgravity environment. We present observations from SCORPI breadboard tests and features of the SCORPI-T flight.

Supported by the German Space Agency: grant 50WB0323 to Horn