Guest Edited Collection: Gravitational biology and space medicine

Grimm, Daniela

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-51231-8

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Strictly related to human exploration are space health and medicine (Hodkinson et al, 2017), to enable humans to withstand the space environment for long periods, and the creation of artificial habitats in space and on other planets to support a reasonable quality of human life. The challenge here consists in the creation of a whole artificial environment to support people's well-being and physical and mental health, with means protecting against the negative effects of the space environment (Grimm, 2019). Whether we are considering a manmade vessel for long distance space travel or a space platform for large-scale human inhabitation or a planetary colony, some challenges overlap.…”

Section: Protection Of Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Challenges and Opportunities for Space Technologies

Aglietti

2020

Front. Space Technol.

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With the launch of Sputnik in 1957 and the subsequent beginning of the space age, the progression of Space Technologies has, on the one hand, led to the development of hundreds of applications (Pelton et al., 2017) that use satellite data, including devices for everyday use, from satellite televisions to the Satnav in our cars. On the other, it has underpinned scientific progress in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences as well as in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Just to recall some of the highest public profile contributions from the field, satellite measurements showed the extent of the ozone layer depletion in the atmosphere and the existence of exoplanets and black holes have been confirmed, among many other scientific advances. The rapid progress made in Space Technology led to extraordinary accomplishments for the whole human race, such as the Moon landing. At the same time, these space missions have provided powerful iconic imagery for humanity, and photos like the Blue Marble (Wuebbles, 2012) have become universally recognized symbols of our planet and its extraordinary environment and finite resources. Although the spectacular progress in Space Technologies slowed down toward the end of the past century, together with that of the whole Aerospace sector, very important achievements continued to be made. These include the development of the International Space Station and the robotic exploration of other planets and celestial bodies, including landing on a comet! Through the years, space has often been identified as the new frontier, fueling the imagination of writers and film directors, who created visions (more or less plausible) of a future enabled by fantastic developments in Space Technologies. However, consistent with what history has shown us, is the fact that, after an initial phase of "exploration" of a new environment and consolidation of the relevant technologies, what follows is an explosion of businesses to exploit the new opportunities offered by the new environment. This is where we are today. Sometimes called Space 4.0, we are in a period that has seen a shift of paradigms, with changes of motivations, actors, and, indeed, technologies (PWC Report, 2019).

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Section: Protection Of Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Challenges and Opportunities for Space Technologies

Aglietti

2020

Front. Space Technol.

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“…Spaceflight might also affect the onset and progression of allergies and autoimmunity, with reported increases in cases of allergy-like symptoms, rashes, and hypersensitivity [ 113 ]. These suggest dysregulation of immune and inflammatory response but the mechanisms behind this remains unclear and some authors even propose a potential link with changes in astronauts’ microbiomes [ 113 , 127 ]. Human space exposure, and all the arising changes, facilitate pathogenic infections.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Exposure to spaceflight has an apparent effect on the astronauts’ microbiomes, with changes in overall diversity and shifts in ratios between different taxa, impacting host–pathogen interactions [ 5 , 9 , 127 ]. These microbiome changes may be due to a direct impact of exposure to microgravity (and other environmental changes occurring during spaceflight) on microbes, or the indirect result of spaceflight affecting the hosts and their physiologies, including via increased stress and changes in diet [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, the exact impact of spaceflight on specific human organs and physiological systems is hard to assess and often needs to rely on the use of ground-based experiments and/or the use of model organisms [ 113 ]. Based on such approaches, cellular responses are now clearer, yet intracellular regulatory mechanisms remain mostly obscure [ 127 ]. Furthermore, given that spaceflight induces many stressors and environmental changes that affect parts of an interconnected system, the individual effect of each one is not always clear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The record for continuous confinement in space is currently held by the cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who spent 437 consecutive days on Mir, while the astronaut Peggy Whitson has spent 665 cumulative days over several missions [ 128 , 129 ]. A better understanding of the effects of spaceflight on humans is essential, to elucidate the paths of disruption, identify possible countermeasures to reduce such detrimental effects, and is vital before embarking on deeper space exploration [ 127 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microbial Pathogenicity in Space

Simões

Antunes

2021

Pathogens

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After a less dynamic period, space exploration is now booming. There has been a sharp increase in the number of current missions and also of those being planned for the near future. Microorganisms will be an inevitable component of these missions, mostly because they hitchhike, either attached to space technology, like spaceships or spacesuits, to organic matter and even to us (human microbiome), or to other life forms we carry on our missions. Basically, we never travel alone. Therefore, we need to have a clear understanding of how dangerous our “travel buddies” can be; given that, during space missions, our access to medical assistance and medical drugs will be very limited. Do we explore space together with pathogenic microorganisms? Do our hitchhikers adapt to the space conditions, as well as we do? Do they become pathogenic during that adaptation process? The current review intends to better clarify these questions in order to facilitate future activities in space. More technological advances are needed to guarantee the success of all missions and assure the reduction of any possible health and environmental risks for the astronauts and for the locations being explored.

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