ICAres-2

LunAres Research Station is organizing a unique research project in 2023-2024, including 3 analog missions investigating the topic of hyper-ability and accessibility in space. The 3 analog missions will include 3 crew members with disabilities, creating unique research conditions for human spaceflight studies. Additionally, participants of ICAres-2 will be invited to participate in the extreme-environmental survival training. The training will include survival training in the air (white tactics), water (blue tactics), land (green tactics) and first-aid medical training (search and rescue). The training will be also part of the medical and psychological research and crew-building exercise.
With mission durations extended to long-term human presence in space, it is not a question of if, but when, accidents will occur. In case of missions further from Earth – the medical issue cannot be evacuated immediately. Any injuries suffered on Mars will have to be coped with on-site. The analog studies allow for accessible and affordable, preliminary and complex research in a controlled and safe environment, to study possible accident scenarios and their effect on the crew’s health. Integrating astronauts with (permanent and well-adapted to) disabilities into today’s spaceflight programs will help save a non-disabled astronaut with (temporary) injuries tomorrow. LunAres Research Station would like to create this unique opportunity and invite researchers and experts to investigate and explore the issue.
Source: a recent open letter in the Science Magazine aiming to start discussions around “ESA Parastronauts Feasibility Study - Disability in space: Aim high”. A paper was co-written by LunAres Medical Research Lead - MD Aleksander Waśniowski.