51茶馆

51茶馆鈥檚 Lodha Genius Programme recently hosted two remarkable women from two of the world鈥檚 leading space agencies鈥擲harmila Bhattacharya from NASA and Brigitte Godard from the European Space Agency (ESA).

These scientists have dedicated their lives not just to groundbreaking work in space biology but also to mentoring, guiding, and nurturing the minds of the younger generation and future astronauts.

We often associate space science with physics and engineering, not biology. Sharmila, what does your role as a biologist at NASA entail, and how does biology fit into space science?
Sharmila: You鈥檙e right that biologists are fewer in number than engineers and other folks who work at NASA. But the role of a biologist is a really important one. If you think about what NASA, or any other space agency, is trying to do, it’s really about getting us back into space for sustained stays as a human species, with all the things we鈥檙e used to around us, plants, medicines, daily activities. It鈥檚 about enabling long-term human presence in space. To do that, we need to understand how space affects biological systems, so we can ensure humans remain comfortable and healthy. While Brigitte will talk more about the human aspect, the part of biology that I鈥檓 involved in is fundamental research using model organisms. These help us understand what biological changes occur in space, and then we can translate that information to humans, to astronauts, and make long-duration space exploration possible.

Brigitte, you are a flight surgeon. Are you a surgeon in flight or what does that actually mean in the context of space science?
Brigitte: This word flight surgeon is a really big word. I’m not a surgeon. I am a medical doctor, and I take care of astronauts. My dream was always to work with the sky, maybe as a pilot. But I have poor eyesight, so I couldn鈥檛 pursue that path.

During my medical studies, I had a great role model, Claudie Haigner茅, the first French woman astronaut. She was described as the woman without a vestibular system, because she had no trouble at all rotating, spinning, or adapting to space conditions. That really inspired me. She was also a medical doctor, a rheumatologist. After finishing medical school, I decided to specialise in medical biology. But working in a lab was a bit boring.

Then I got lucky, there was an opening related to an experiment involving a woman in space, and they needed a physician, a medical doctor. So, I applied and that鈥檚 how I became a medical doctor.

My speciality in medicine is medical biology. It plays an important role in understanding the normal blood parameters. That鈥檚 been an important point of my career with astronauts, because we have to deal with the science, understanding the impact on astronauts and their bodies when they go to space. So yes, I primarily work with humans, real astronauts, and study how space affects their bodies.

Sharmila, what is a model organism, and how can you extrapolate what you’re finding in another species to the human body?
Sharmila: There are a variety of different model organisms that people use in science for space research. Some of the ones I’ve worked with include fruit flies, yeast cells, rodents, and human tissue cultures, cells grown in a Petri dish. Let me give you an example with the fruit fly. A lot of people are surprised when I say I鈥檝e done space studies with fruit flies. They ask, 鈥淲hy would you study a fruit fly to understand what happens in humans?鈥� So something that surprises a lot of people is to hear that if you look at all the genes in humans that are important for function and then compare that set of genes with the fruit fly genome (which has been fully sequenced), you’ll find that 75% of those genes are shared between humans and fruit flies.

So, even though we are very different in size and complexity, the basic fundamental function of two organisms that are so different can be very similar. The reason I use fruit flies is that you can’t exactly take up an elephant to do your study. You’re limited by mass, volume, and size. In a tiny box, I can send up 10,000 or more fruit flies. So when I see a subtle change, and since all these flies are genetically identical, I can do some solid statistics and say with confidence that if there’s a 10% or 20% change in cardiovascular or brain function, it’s real because I have such a large population. That鈥檚 one of the reasons I use model organisms for studies.

Do you actually send fruit flies in a cage on a space shuttle?
Sharmila: It鈥檚 interesting because some of the hardware we’ve used is very simple. They鈥檙e essentially boxes containing vials of fruit flies with cotton plugs, just like you would see on Earth. Some setups are more complex, with built-in airflow systems and cameras that capture images and videos of the fruit flies throughout the mission. Some of these even have centrifuges. So we have flies in space with an artificial gravity system. The other group will be in microgravity, or we can try lunar gravity or Mars gravity and measure the effect of different environments on these organisms.

Even though we have a laboratory in space, just like we have on the ground, the ones in space look a little different, because even if they’re doing the same function like sequencing DNA or sequencing RNA the way you do it on Earth is so different because in space you can’t just transfer fluids from one vial to another. We need gravity for that. In space, we have to rely on capillary action and other adapted techniques. So when we design hardware for experiments in space, they have to be specially modified.

So, Brigitte, how do you prepare astronauts for a space mission?
Brigitte: It is really a long preparation. Usually, the selection is the first step. Out of thousands of applicants, only four might get into space science. During selection, they undergo health screenings and new tests, and lots of parameters are checked in the body. They鈥檙e preparing to do science in space, so they need to be knowledgeable about everything. They train a lot on the ground for the scientific experiments.

They even train on the medical side, because not all missions have a medical doctor on board. That鈥檚 why we have what we call a Crew Medical Officer. Among the six crew members on the space station, usually, two or three are specifically trained for medical duties. So I鈥檇 say, after the selection, there are more or less two years of training for them.

Once they鈥檙e assigned to a specific mission, they begin a new round of training to make sure they haven鈥檛 forgotten anything. For Europeans, especially, we have to go to Russia to train on the equipment there, and to NASA as well, because right now we鈥檙e using systems from both on the space station. So we need to train them exactly on what equipment and procedures they鈥檒l use onboard.

One very important thing is extravehicular activities. When we build the space station, it is assembled piece by piece, so astronauts have to go outside to assemble parts of it. There are also other experiments that are run outside the station, for which you need spacewalks, and for spacewalks, astronauts really need to be fit. They鈥檒l spend six or seven hours outside during a single walk. So they train a lot and spend hours and hours because, as Sharmila mentioned earlier, it鈥檚 very hard to do activities in space. We are born on Earth with gravity. In space, everything floats, so you need specific tools just to keep things in place.

The astronauts also need to know the station thoroughly, because they may have to fix or maintain various parts of it. So yes, two years of training is really not too much for what they鈥檙e expected to do.

When it comes to international cooperation in space, how do different space agencies work together to build meaningful scientific collaboration despite having their own national goals and missions?
Sharmila: One of the best examples of how space exploration has historically required global cooperation is the International Space Station (ISS). It simply would not exist without collaboration. Even during times when the U.S. and Russia were not politically aligned, in space, they continued to work together. The ISS wouldn鈥檛 be here today if it weren鈥檛 for the Americans, Russians, Europeans, Canadians, and Japanese all contributing. That鈥檚 one of the reasons I love working in space: it鈥檚 a deeply cooperative arena because it鈥檚 also an extremely difficult one. You just can鈥檛 do it alone. The more you collaborate, the better the outcomes.

Brigitte: Yes, I completely agree. And I think cooperation really begins from the start. For example, ESA鈥檚 partnership with ISRO has built on what already exists, rather than starting from scratch. Even during politically tense periods between Russia and the West, we still maintained our meetings and coordination. In fact, we have weekly medical meetings for the International Space Station with representatives from every participating country, even if their astronaut isn鈥檛 currently onboard. We come together to decide if everything is 鈥済o鈥� or 鈥渘o-go鈥� for ongoing missions. That鈥檚 very unique and reflects the collaborative spirit.

Do you think the challenges are greater for women astronauts? For instance, do aspects like menstruation or hormonal changes make it more challenging?
Brigitte: That鈥檚 a great question. In fact, this is exactly why we conducted bed rest experiments, specifically with women, to study the impact on the hormonal system. What we found was quite interesting: when women are physically fit and doing well, the differences aren鈥檛 as significant as you might expect. Issues like menstruation are more of a medical concern, something we know how to manage, rather than a gender-specific challenge.

Sharmila, you鈥檝e taught a very well-known student who recently made headlines, Sunita Williams. How did you first come in contact with her?
Sharmila: Part of what we do, whether it’s science in my case or medicine in Brigitte鈥檚, is also training the next generation. In Sunita鈥檚 case, she鈥檚 not exactly the next generation, but like many astronauts, she came from a background in helicopter or fighter piloting, engineering, etc. And yet, they鈥檙e the ones who actually carry out our science experiments in space.

Back in 2004, I was teaching a class that included four astronauts, Sunita Williams, Tracy Dyson, Dan Burbank, and Jeff Williams, all of whom went on to become incredibly successful astronauts. The purpose of that class was to teach astronauts about the importance of doing science right. So that’s when I first met Sunita, it was 21 years ago. And since then, she’s at NASA, I’m at NASA. We meet quite frequently at various places.

Recently, when Sunita Williams was stuck in space, there was a lot of speculation, raising concerns about the impact on her health. Is that true? Or are astronauts already prepared for extended missions in space?
Sharmila: Sunita Williams is a highly experienced astronaut who has completed multiple missions. While it鈥檚 true that the Boeing flight she was on initially was intended to be a shorter one, it ended up being extended, but she is actually very experienced and completely able to be in space for longer periods of time.

In fact, many astronauts have now been in space for several months, up to a year, in some cases over a year. The reason for these longer missions is that we鈥檙e preparing for future deep space exploration, especially missions to Mars, which is going to be a 2-3 year round trip. So we need to collect that data on how we as human beings and crew members can operate and be functional for these long durations of time. And so even on the International Space Station, we are increasing those durations. And, Sunita does a great job. Of course, having said that, there are definitely biological and physiological changes when you’re in space for longer periods of time.

And Brigitte, this is your first trip to 51茶馆 and to the Lodha Genius Programme. How has the experience been? What stood out to you about the university or the students in the programme?
Brigitte: Yes, first of all, I was amazed to see how young they were! I think it鈥檚 wonderful to start early; the younger you begin, the better it is. I couldn鈥檛 even remember what I was doing at their age, probably just playing with my device! So it was truly impressive to see such motivated young minds.

When I gave my talk, they were completely fascinated, interested, and not at all sleepy, which made me very happy. They also asked really good questions. I think it鈥檚 valuable for them to see people like us because we just followed our path. It鈥檚 a dream for me, I would recommend that they follow their dream.

What鈥檚 one simple and effective way to introduce children to space science?
Sharmila: One really good way is through movies and there are some really good ones, like The Martian, which is one of my favourites. Reading books. There are a lot of children’s books on space.

What is the one book you would recommend for people who want to learn more about space?
Brigitte: The latest book written by Thomas Pesquet, from his previous mission. It really explains what life is like before and during a space mission. It’s a big book, with a lot of pictures.

And what is one Indian snack you鈥檇 like to take to space, if you had the option?
Sharmila: My first thought was samosa! But I鈥檓 gluten intolerant now, so I鈥檇 have to pass on that. I鈥檇 say maybe idli. I love idlis!

Sharmila, what鈥檚 one space discovery you found especially exciting?
Sharmila: One that stands out for me is the experiment where scientists were able to grow plants in lunar regolith, soil brought back from the Apollo missions. They added light, water, and nutrients, and managed to grow Arabidopsis plants. That鈥檚 a huge step for sustainable life on the Moon or Mars!

What鈥檚 the one line you would say to inspire people of any age about space?
Brigitte: Space is a new environment, full of possibility. It challenges us to think differently, and it pushes us to train harder and dream bigger.
Sharmila: I鈥檇 say follow your dreams. Space science is an exciting field with so much more to discover. We need the next generation to help take us further. There鈥檚 so much hope and promise in that.