URBANA, ILLINOIS — In his five months on the space station Mir in 1997, Jerry Linenger endured a fire, a faulty oxygen generator, and a failed cooling system that leaked antifreeze fumes and temporarily converted the cabin climate to rain forest redux. But he still managed to monitor himself adequately enough to document a new risk of long-term manned space flight, a type of prolonged jetlag that could impair the performance of astronauts over long missions.
The study, reported in November/December
Diurnal rhythms in humans affect sleep-wake cycles, body temperature, alertness and the performance of a variety of tasks. These are controlled by...