And if there are any new party crashers... UTMB stands for the University of Texas Medical Branch. I flew from Austin to Houston, was driven down to the island... and I am once again in a comfy room-all-to-my-cozy-little-lonesome on the 6th floor, home of the GCRC, or the Galveston Clinical Research Center. (You could suffer death-by-acroynyms around here.)
Wyle Labs Inc. is the subcontractor that screens all program applicants and recruits new volunteers for space program research, and once we check in, happy gangs of scientists at Johnson Space Center (JSC) come and go all Bones McCoy on us.
Speaking of Bones... sadly, the Lunar Study schedule means I will miss the premiere of the new Star Trek film. I'm just sort of killing time today, and tomorrow is my official "Day One" ... then the program goes for 21 days. So, hopefully it will still be in theatres when I am released! My new calendar... clicket to embiggen:
Last year, I signed on for the 115-day program for space flight simulation, which studied effects of micro-gravity on the human body (such as that experienced on the space station or shuttles in transit). This time, I will be simulating the specific gravity of the Moon. (I know most people don't capitalize Earth's satellite... which I never understood. Other sats have proper names, and in my opinion our amazing Moon shouldn't be an exception.)
But I digress.
Compared to the testing rigamarole I went through in 2008, this should be a walk in the park! In theory. I'm trying not to be smug or assume I know everything, because the bed rest portion will be in a special contraption -- very different from last year's head-down tilt. More pictures and descriptions to come day-to-day as I experience the new protocols!
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