art002e026067 (April 7, 2026) - NASA astronaut Christina Koch focused on the task at hand as she works with storage straps inside the Orion spacecraft. For the ARCHeR study, participating crew members will wear movement and sleep monitors, called actigraphy devices, before, during, and after the mission, like the one seen here. The monitors will enable crew members and flight controllers in mission control to study real-time health and behavioral information for crew safety, and help scientists study how crew members’ sleep and activity patterns affect overall health and performance. Other data related to cognition, behavior, and team dynamics will also be gathered before and after the mission.

The actigraphy device that select Artemis II astronauts will wear on their wrists during their mission around the Moon. The device will measure the crew members’ motion, sleep patterns, and exposure to light as part of the ARCHeR (Artemis Research for Crew Health and Readiness) study. What we learn will help us understand how astronauts can ultimately survive and thrive on longer duration missions farther from Earth. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas