A brief overview of some of the advances courses in this program is given below:

PEP 7318 Physiological Adaptation to Space Flight - 1 (3hr)

• Gravity as a modulator of physiological adaptation in the systems covered below
• Cellular level responses and systems level responses
• The microgravity environment and disruption of mechano-signaling
• Specific adaptations of physiological systems to microgravity (short and long-term
  adaptations)
  • Muscle
  • Bone
  • Neuronal system
• Implications for exploration class missions
• Recent Concepts/Challenges

PEP 7319 Physiological Adaptation to Space Flight - 2 (3hr)

• Gravity as a modulator of physiological adaptation in the systems covered below
• Fluid Physics, thermodynamics, cellular level responses, systems level responses
• Specific adaptations of physiological systems to microgravity (short and long-term
  adaptations)
  • Immune function
  • Nutritional Support
  • Pharmacology
  • Radiation
• Implications for exploration class missions
• Recent Concepts/Challenges

PEP 7322 The Space Flight Habitat (3hr)

• Microgravity as a driving force in design
• Space craft design as it relates to human interactions
• Habitat design (space craft, Lunar and Martian)/Space Architecture
• Equipment design as it relates to human use in microgravity
• Extended mission habitat design and challenges
• Psychosocial issues and the space flight habitat
• Ground based analogues, countermeasures

Thesis hours will take the form of a capstone research experience conducted in conjunction with the HHP faculty advisor and/or NASA-Johnson Space Center content expert. This capstone experience can take the form of a traditional thesis research project relevant to human physiology in the space environment, basic or applied technology development enabling extended human habitation of space presented in a thesis format or a program management project in the space exploration field modeled on the thesis experience employed in the Department of Information and Logistics Technology.