Space Medicine 101, Part 2

Summary

Space is a hostile environment. Microgravity, radiation, temperature extremes, vacuums, isolation, and forces related to takeoff and landing are just a few of the hazards faced by astronauts and other space voyagers. Humans have been capable of leaving planet earth for just 60 years. Since that time, we have learned a lot about how to keep humans safe and healthy in space. However, our knowledge remains primitive. To become multiplanetary, physicians, scientists, engineers, and other disciplines will need to take space medicine to the next level. This will be the greatest preventative medicine challenge ever undertaken.

Morbidity and Mortality

Space can kill you in 1000 different ways. Explosions, lethal radiation doses, and environmental control failures can all result in fatality. Those who spend long amounts of time in space can have long term vision issues, higher rates of cancer, and back problems. Longer space flight missions, and those outside of the earth’s magnetosphere will pose much higher risks to human in space.

Story

Getting things into space is getting cheaper. Adjusted for inflation (to year 2000), the price to put 1 kg into low earth orbit was about $85,000 in 1981. In 2019 that number had fallen to $951/kg or 1% of the cost from 40 years prior. Prices continue to get cheaper and space continues to become more accessible.

Key Points

1. Microgravity has a number of adverse effects including motion sickness, muscle and bone loss, and cardiovascular changes.

2. Ionizing radiation is a huge problem is space that we have no idea how to solve

3. The psychological and human factor components can never be understated, even when picking the best humans available.

4. Humans need to become multiplanetary in order to assure the long-term survival of our species. We also need to bring the rest of life on earth with us. Space medicine is booming as a result of the booming space industry.

References

-       Green et al. Handbood of Aviation and Space Medicine. 2019

-       Hodkinson PD, Anderton RA, Posselt BN, Fong KJ. An overview of space medicine. Br J Anaesth. 2017 

-       Wikipedia- Karman Line, Armstrong limit, Space Medicine, Ionizing Radiation, Geocorona, etc.

-       https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-station-astronaut-record-holders

-       https://www.futuretimeline.net/data-trends/6.htm

-       Belavy et al. Disc herniations in astronauts: What causes them, and what does it tell us about herniation on earth?. Eur Spine J 25, 144–154 (2016)

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