AIRLOCK AND LOAD : Meir and Christina Koch ( right ) prepare inside the airlock for their historic all-female spacewalk . ( Inset ) Last light before entering Italy ’ s Sa Grutta caves , part of a two-week multicultural training course for astronauts .
These experiences ultimately earned Meir a spot as one of the eight members of NASA ’ s 21st astronaut class in 2013 . For the next two years , she was trained in the program ’ s five major areas : using the space suit in the neutral buoyancy lab ; robotics training to use the Station ’ s mechanical arm ; learning ISS systems in case onboard repairs are needed ; learning the Russian language ( all crew members must speak Russian and English ); and space flight readiness training aboard a T-38 , a two-seat supersonic jet trainer .
Additionally , Meir trained in scenarios on Earth that amplify the fortitude required to perform a space mission . For instance , you wouldn ’ t think a technical caving mission in Sardinia , Italy , would relate to space flight , but the strength it requires certainly does . “ Sometimes we would be crawling through a hole , like a snake through these tiny holes , and then all of a sudden , you come out into this cathedral-like room with a 100-meter granite wall and start doing your experiments . It was just really extraordinary .”
You might not assume that research on penguins would translate to space , either , but one of the primary objectives of her current mission is to record how she and her fellow astronauts handle extreme conditions — the long-term physiological effects of microgravity on the human body . Where she once studied how animals function in frigid Antarctic temperatures , this time Meir and her fellow crew members are the test subjects . “ I ’ ll be the one poked and prodded in the name of advancing science ,” she jokes . Meir and her colleagues are now conducting hundreds of experiments , research that will be crucial if NASA is to achieve its goal of landing the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024 . Known as the Artemis program , it will serve as the next step toward a long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon and eventually sending humans to Mars . But the health and safety of astronauts is of utmost importance . “ Not only do we need to bring astronauts home safely from the space station , but we need to get them to destinations that are even further , and then bring them home safely again ,” says Meir .
Among the physiological data astronauts will be monitoring onboard the ISS is cardiovascular health . Recent evidence has shown that the walls of the carotid artery — the blood vessels in the neck that supply blood to the brain , neck and face — get thicker in space . So much so that a
40 TRITON | WINTER 2020