Smith, middle, monitors data in the Mission Control Center,
Johnson Space Center,
Scott Smith is the lead for JSC's Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory.
- Astronauts living in space must be as concerned about their nutrition
as Earth-bound humans. Perhaps even more so, as the human body tends
to lose both calcium and muscle in microgravity.
astronauts stay healthy in space is the job of hundreds of people
at NASA. One of those people is Dr. Scott M. Smith, the lead for
the Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
"In a nutshell,
our job is to determine the nutritional requirements for extended-duration
space flight ... how many calories astronauts need in a day, how
much calcium, iron, sodium, vitamins, minerals, etc.," Scott said.
"We do this
in two ways. First, we check the levels of nutrients in the blood
and urine of space station crews, both before and after their missions,
and also monitor their diet during flight. Second, we conduct specific
experiments to understand how space flight affects nutrition. For
example, how much of a given nutrient, like calcium, do astronauts
need? Also, we study how nutrition can affect the adaptation to
space flight -- for instance, can we give astronauts extra calcium
to stop bone loss?"
Scott has been
at NASA for 11 years, after getting his Ph.D. in nutrition from
Penn State and spending two years in North Dakota completing a Post
Doctoral Fellowship. "I was looking for a real job and saw
an ad in one of the nutrition scientific journals and thought 'wouldn't
that be cool, working for NASA!' I figured they wouldn't take me,
but that I would send off my resume anyway. A few weeks later I
was flown down for an interview and several weeks later I was packing
for a move to Houston!"
Smith, left, participates in the testing of International Space
Station science hardware aboard NASA's KC-135 aircraft.|
"The most memorable
time for me in the past 11 years was the experience of working the
STS-107 mission," Scott said."We
had an experiment onboard and had worked with the crew for two and
a half years in training and preflight data collection. If I had
to pick one moment from this experience that stands out, it was
early on January 16, just past dawn on the East Coast. I even remember
at the time saying that it was the most incredible moment I had
ever had at NASA.
on STS-107, called Calcium Kinetics, was one of four 'Physiology
and Biochemistry-4' group of experiments, also known as the PhAB-4.
The morning of launch, several members of our team were fortunate
enough to be at the crew walkout -- the scene you always see on
TV just before the crew rides out to the launch pad. We were holding
up a huge banner that read 'THANKS FAB-7 FROM PhAB-4.' As the crew
walked out of the building, for a moment that seemed to last forever,
the crew stopped, pointed, and waved to us as they boarded the Astrovan.
It was a moment I know I will cherish forever."
"NASA is indeed
a team effort," Scott continued. "In the hours, days and weeks after
the Columbia tragedy, this term was often, and appropriately, rephrased
as the 'NASA Family.' As with any large family or organizational
structure there are different levels, groups and subgroups. Even
within the Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory team, I always describe
us as an eclectic group of individuals, each bringing special skills
to the group, thereby enabling us to accomplish the work that we
do. I am very lucky to get to work with such an incredible group
of folks, and to think about the impact we have on the crews flying
today, and even potentially on the exploration missions of tomorrow."
For those who
would like to work for the space program, Smith has the following
advice. "From a science, and specifically life science/physiology,
perspective, you need to get as strong a background in your field
as possible. Knowing space and/or space physiology isn't really
required -- it is more important for you to know your field. Beyond
that, study hard in all areas -- science, math, communication (written
and oral) -- knowing a lot about one area, and nothing about the
others, can cause you trouble."
For more information
about the nutrition-related research being done by NASA, please
visit the Web at: http://haco.jsc.nasa.gov/biomedical/nutrition/