Monitoring heart rates on the ISS crewmembers while sleeping to determine potential physiological reason for sleep disturbance

CASPER will monitor the heart rates of the ISS crewmembers while they sleep in order to determine if there is any physiological reason for sleep disturbances. To supplement this data, the crewmembers will complete questionnaires before and after their sleep period. The objective of the CASPER (Cardiac Adapted Sleep Parameter Electrocardiogram Recorder) experiment is to test and evaluate a method of monitoring sleep disturbance and sleep stability in weightlessness. CASPER combines objective physiological data and subjective inputs. Physiological data is obtained through a specially adapted vest, worn by the astronaut, with embedded sensors and cabling that connects ECG (Electrocardiogram) electrodes, for measuring heart rate, to a PDA for storing the heart rate data. Subjective inputs are obtained via a questionnaire, which runs on the same PDA. Data collected on this mission can help to establish and distinguish the reasons and patterns of astronaut sleep disruption and facilitate the development of relevant countermeasures to monitor and ensure astronaut sleep stability during long term space flight.