NASA Exercise Prebreathe Study

July 10, 2026 updated by: Duke University

Exercise Prebreathe Study in Healthy Adult Volunteers to Evaluate Risk of Decompression Sickness During Simulated Spacewalk Conditions

This study evaluates oxygen prebreathe protocols and exercise conditions to reduce risk of decompression sickness during simulated extravehicular activity. Healthy adult volunteers will undergo oxygen prebreathe followed by hypobaric chamber exposure with monitoring for symptoms and ultrasound detection of bubbles.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Non-smoking volunteers aged 30-60 years
  • Able to meet VO2 peak requirements (>35 ml/kg/min males, >30 ml/kg/min females)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnancy
  • Lung disease, heart disease, hypertension, or diabetes
  • Musculoskeletal pain conditions
  • Requirement for regular medications such as analgesics

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Single Arm
Participants undergo oxygen prebreathe followed by hypobaric chamber exposure with exercise and monitoring.
Procedure: Oxygen Prebreathe and Hypobaric Exposure
Prebreathe 100% oxygen followed by simulated spacewalk conditions in hypobaric chamber with exercise protocols.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of participants with Decompression Sickness
Time Frame: Up to 6 months
Decompression sickness will be recorded during Extravehicular Activity (EVA) simulation at 6.2 psia following a one-hour oxygen prebreathe while resting, performing light exercise or heavier exercise.
Up to 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Duke University

Collaborators

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Richard Moon, Duke University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

July 13, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 27, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 27, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 10, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 10, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Pro00120426
  • 80NSSC26P0252

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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