MAE 4560

Bioastronautics and Human Performance

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2017-2018.

The goal of this course is to introduce students to human spaceflight, and current physiological and psychological aspects affecting human performance during space missions using a quantitative approach and engineering methods. Topics include engineering principles of human spaceflight technologies such as extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or life support systems (LSS), and quantitative modeling of several physiological systems and their changes in partial gravity environments, including bone loss, muscle atrophy, biomechanical changes, sensory-motor deconditioning, and cardiovascular adaptation. In addition, a number of aerospace human factors, including psychological issues, fatigue, lack of training, and overreliance on automation, will also be addressed.

When Offered Spring.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: ENGRD 2020, MAE 2030, and MAE 3260, or permission of instructor.

• Understand the basic fundamentals and requirements of human spaceflight missions and technologies, including aerospace human factor considerations, major human risks, and countermeasures.
• Use analytical techniques and state of the art tools to model human physiological systems and understand their changes in space using a mathematical approach.
• Be able to use basic statistics and design of experiments focused on human research.

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