https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nXPUlx357hy-D2lqN-yqcLLW5jetxu5CDJ2zqKlZZg8/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/186oh62F0gzjLmiyXx7tWNz0vqXqAtfwV?usp=sharing

Spacetime Survival: Mars began as a little thought experiment we had as a team a month or two ago in the blistering heat of the Biratngar Summer, when we decided to think about how different life on earth was to that on a place like Mars.

Very different it turns out. Our project puts the player through exactly the same process of awe and dazzlement that we went through as we researched the foundations of the game. Is humanity ready to become a space faring species. What are the challenges that we must overcome to finally be able to set up a base on Mars. These were the questions we set out to answer and they are the questions that'll hopefully be answered as the player traverses through space, taking care of their crew and themselves. It works to show the player the obvious and insidious effects that long term space travel can have, and also their ways of mitigation.

Apart from being fun, which is an incredibly ambitious goal in itself, we decided from the get go that the game had to have some real life application. Thus, while solving the issues that arise on board the Gundruk - 5 spacecraft to Mars, the player has to think about scenarios that may very well happen in real life. The reason behind this is that almost every event and object included in the space flight portion of the game has its basis in the literature provided by NASA Genelab and other open data sources.

A fresh perspective on age old problems can often be the deciding factor in helping to get them solved. We believe that our generation and those younger than us should be thinking about the issues related to spaceflight as through it, they can allow the field to grow so that they have a strong foundation to launch humanity throughout the cosmos. It is also remarkable to note that while researching methods to allow astronauts to survive in space, we have found numerous ways to decrease suffering and inefficiency on earth too. This in itself is a strong reason behind the existence of our project. An investment in space research is always bound to give back in abundance. This game is an investment in our colleagues of today and tommorow. We wish for fun and greater engagement in the science of space.

This project would not have been possible without the data provided by NASA GeneLab and other open data sources. For game development, our team members used Unity, and did the bulk of their programming in VS code. All of our model creation and animation happened through Blender and Mixamo. Group productivity and communication happened through Notion, Telegram and Discord.

The skills and knowledge that we have gained over the course of these few weeks are going to be useful for many years to come. We hope you have as much fun playing this game as we did making it.

NASA GeneLab was a major source of data:

This was mainly used to decide which health mishaps would be most common during long term space flight.

Brain: GLDS - 288

• Ref: GLDS - 288 (Genelab)
• Conclusion
• Deep Vein Thrombosis: A blood clot formed in the veins that lie deep within muscles. They are more likely to form when muscles are not used (like in the microgravity environment of a spacecraft) and also in space itself, where blood clots more. (Ref: GLDS - 288)
• Gamify:
• There is a precedent for someone in the international space station having a venous blood clot. (https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/03/health/astronaut-blood-clot-scn-wellness/index.html)
• They discovered it with a regular ultrasound guided from people on the earth based mission center. It was treated with anticoagulants for a long period (90 days). We can add a minigame to fulfill the treatment to the patient. Regular scans can also be a common daily task in game.
• Then we can educate them about Pulmonary Embolism, a life threatening condition that would have happened if the clot were not treated.

Immune System: GLDS - 288

• Conclusion
• There is a reduction of infection fighting proteins in space. Also, there is a reduction in RBC's. In general we can say that the body's immune system is compromised during and after spaceflight. This is compounded by the fact that the rate of mutation and resistance in space is higher than on earth.
• Gamify: Beat the infection before the crew member gets Septicemia.
• Septicemia: Bacterial presence in blood. It causes septic shock, a systemic drop in blood pressure due to global vasodilation. This prevents vital organs from receiving enough blood.

Immune System: GLDS - 211

• Research
• Transcriptomic analysis of spleens from mice subjected to chronic low-dose radiation, hindlimb unloading or a combination of both
• There has been no publication based on this study.
• Conclusion
• The effect of irradiation on the immune system cannot be conclusively talked about.

Bone: GLDS - 345:

• Research
• There is a reduction in immune cell development for organisms in orbit.
• There is a 41% reduction of B cells in the spleen
• This could lead to increased susceptibility for viral diseases.
• There has been research that shows that dormant viruses can reactivate in space because of weakened immune systems. Ref: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-investigates-how-dormant-viruses-behave-during-spaceflight
• What would happen if someone has a Upper Respiratory tract Infection in space?
• "It's hard to implement quarantine in small spaces," Clark said, "but a crewmember with an URI would be isolated in their sleep quarter while symptomatic, and wear a mask for containment, have cultures done to identify the organism for appropriate treatment."
• Terminology > Minimum Inhibitory Concentration: In microbiology, the minimum inhibitory concentration is the lowest concentration of a chemical, usually a drug, which prevents visible growth of a bacterium or bacteria.
• Conclusion
• Regarding bone health, regular calcium and vitamin D supplementation along with regular exercise is the best way to mitigate bone loss.

Arrythmia's in space:

Reference articles:

https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/evidence/other/Arrhythmia.pdf

https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/Evidence/medicalConditions/De_Novo_Cardiac_Arrhythmia.pdf

https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/163533main_ISS_Med_CL.pdf (ISS Medical Manual)

• Research
• Cardiac arrythmia's have occurred in space. For long term space travel a system to detect and treat cardiac arrythmia's is essential. This means that an ECG machine and an AED (Automatic Electric Defibrillator) are essential. The cause of these arrythmia's have been hypothesized to be due to stress, microgravity, lower body negative pressure, heart mass reduction and fluid shifts. Although nothing has been ascertained as of yet. There has to be a doctor on board for long term exploration missions.
• Conclusion
• Arrythmia: Irregular heartbeat/rhythm which can cause little to no cardiac output, leading to cardiac arrest. (As the first victim of a lack of blood supply is quite nobly the heart itself)
• There have been many noted incidents of cardiac arrythmias on the ISS. The cause for this has been hypothesized to be attributed to many causes but nothing has been ascertained yet.
• Gamify: A crewmember has chest pain, dizziness, tachycardia, nausea and shortness of breath. You hook up an ECG machine and you see that there is an extremely dangerous arrythmia. Perform CPR (something like guitar hero for the chest compressions and the mouth to mouth), as your friend brings you the defribrillator). Defibrillate the crewmember.

40 days ago today, we saw the article regarding THE SPACE APPS CHALLENGE 2021 and while reading the article we came across the term ‘Hackathon’ which surely ignited a spark of curiosity among us. As a group of mostly fresh learners of programing, computer science, space and medicine, we were intrigued by the challenges provided in the website. We decided to participate in the challenge: Trail to Mars, this being a broad concept which included game development, health risks related research and 3D objects creation and animation which was mostly new for us. We tried to enhance our skills over the period of 40 days in all the but we were not so very successful for our final product. Surely, we learned many things, we tried as per as our skills which surely will be of use in the future as well. Thank you, Team Space Apps, NASA. Looking forward for more of similar events

https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/evidence/other/Arrhythmia.pdf

https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/Evidence/medicalConditions/De_Novo_Cardiac_Arrhythmia.pdf

https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/163533main_ISS_Med_CL.pdf (ISS Medical Manual)

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-investigates-how-dormant-viruses-behave-during-spaceflight

GeneLab:

Bone: GLDS - 345:

Immune System: GLDS - 211

Immune System: GLDS - 288

Brain: GLDS - 288

#game #mars #Gundruk

This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.