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16 articles tagged · 1 topic · 7 clinical · 1 equipment · 7 research
Clinical articles (7)
Bone loss countermeasures
How much bone astronauts lose, what prevents it (resistance exercise, nutrition, and in research, bisphosphonates), how NASA monitors BMD with DXA, T-scores and FRAX, and what a primary care clinician should do after a long flight.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F A E
SMF-C-0014 · protocol · draftDCS & EVA
Why spacewalks carry decompression risk, how prebreathe protocols prevent it, how DCS is recognized and treated without a hyperbaric chamber, and other EVA hazards (CO2, water in the helmet, hand injuries) — with links to dive and altitude medicine.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · E A F
SMF-C-0006 · countermeasure · draftExercise countermeasures
What spaceflight does to aerobic capacity and muscle, NASA's fitness standards in plain numbers, how in-flight exercise works, and how to prescribe reconditioning after return.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F A E
SMF-C-0010 · topic · draftEmergencies & evacuation
What medical care is actually available on a spacecraft, who provides it, how evacuation works from orbit, and why the model changes completely for lunar and Mars missions.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F E C
SMF-C-0013 · topic · draftKidney stones
Why spaceflight raises stone-forming risk (bone calcium loss, low urine volume), what prevents it, how a stone would be recognized in flight, and what to watch for in the year after return.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F C E
SMF-C-0015 · guide · draftPostflight recovery & surveillance
A timeline of what to expect after landing — day 0 to day 45 and beyond — what NASA measures and when, which problems can persist for months or years, and how lifelong occupational surveillance works.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F E
SMF-C-0000 · guide · draftClinician quick-start
A one-page orientation for GPs, emergency physicians, nurses and flight/aviation doctors: what to ask, what to check, the red flags, and where to find the details — before and after spaceflight.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · E F
Equipment guides (1)
Research pages (7)
Bone loss & fracture
Bones lose density without gravity's load. Exercise and drugs reduce the loss, but recovery after flight can be incomplete.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F E
RSK-12 · NASA risk · draftMuscle & aerobic fitness
Even with about 10 hours of exercise a week, astronauts lose fitness in flight, and some don't meet NASA's standards. Exploration spacecraft will have less room for exercise equipment.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F E
STU-03 · landmark study · draftISS long-duration cohorts
Most of what clinicians know about 6-month spaceflight comes from cohorts of 4 to 46 ISS astronauts. Key studies, what they found, and their limits.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F
STU-04 · landmark study · draftBed-rest studies
Lying in bed tilted 6° head-down for weeks reproduces many effects of weightlessness. It is the workhorse for testing countermeasures, with important blind spots.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · A
RSK-15 · NASA risk · draftLaunch & landing loads
Launch, landing and abort forces can injure crew, especially deconditioned crew. Today's injury standards are borrowed from car and military testing.
◆◆◇◇ Low · F E
RSK-20 · NASA risk · draftDecompression sickness
No case of decompression sickness has been reported in flight, but frequent surface spacewalks in partial gravity could change that.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F A E
RSK-21 · NASA risk · draftSpacewalk (EVA) injury & performance
Suits cause training injuries, and planetary spacewalks will be more frequent and more physical than ISS spacewalks. How to prevent suit injuries is not well understood.
◆◆◇◇ Low · F E