Careers & Training in Aerospace and Space Medicine

What aerospace medicine is

The American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) describes aerospace medicine as the clinical care, research and operational support of the health, safety and performance of air and space vehicle crewmembers, passengers and support personnel. These people often work in remote, isolated, extreme or enclosed environments [1]. Aerospace medicine is one of ABPM’s three primary specialties, alongside occupational and environmental medicine and public health and general preventive medicine [2].

A flight surgeon is a job role: a physician who looks after aircrew or spaceflight crews. Board certification in aerospace medicine is a separate credential, described below.

Step 1: Medical school and a clinical internship

All five accredited U.S. aerospace medicine programs require a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree and an internship year with direct patient care [3]. ABPM’s residency pathway also requires one year of supervised postgraduate clinical training that includes at least ten months of direct patient care [1].

Step 2: An aerospace medicine residency

There are five residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in the United States: three military and two civilian [4].

The military programs prepare residents to support their own service branches. UTMB’s clinical rotations largely support commercial airline medical departments, government agencies and NASA centers [3]. UTMB’s combined programs take applicants through the National Resident Matching Program and do not require prior residency training [6]. The Air Force’s application window typically runs 1–30 August, with interviews in October [4].

Many aerospace physicians also train in a second specialty, such as internal medicine, family medicine, emergency medicine, ophthalmology or otolaryngology [3]. There are also training programs in other countries [3].

Step 3: Board certification (ABPM)

ABPM has certified physicians in this field since 1953, when it was called aviation medicine [7]. As of 2026-10-14, ABPM lists four pathways [1][2]:

Everyone also needs an unrestricted medical license, a qualifying medical degree, and at least 15 hours of graduate-level coursework in biostatistics, epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, health services administration and environmental health sciences [1]. ABPM lists 10 March 2027 as the opening of its 2027 application period [1].

A related credential: FAA aviation medical examiner (AME)

An aviation medical examiner (AME) is a physician designated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to perform airman medical examinations [8]. It is a designation, not a specialty. To apply [9][10]:

• You must be an MD or DO and apply through the FAA’s online Designee Management System. The FAA contacts applicants only if it needs another AME near the clinic address, and you must update your application at least once a year.
• If selected, you complete two online courses (Medical Certification Standards and Procedures Training, and Clinical Aerospace Physiology Review for AMEs) and then the Basic AME Seminar in Oklahoma City.
• Refresher training is required every 36 months, and seminar attendance at least every six years.

This matters for commercial spaceflight: under FAA rules, crewmembers with a safety-critical role must hold an FAA second-class airman medical certificate issued within 12 months of launch [11].

Professional societies

• Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA). Founded in 1929 under Louis H. Bauer, MD, with a first meeting in Detroit; it now has more than 2,200 members from over 70 countries [7]. Members include aerospace medicine specialists, flight nurses, physiologists, psychologists, human factors experts, physician assistants and researchers [12]. AsMA publishes the monthly peer-reviewed journal Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, formerly Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, which began in 1930 [13].
• Space Medicine Association (SMA). Founded in 1951 as the Space Medicine Branch, the first constituent organization of AsMA, to advance space medicine and the biological sciences [14]. It lists the next AsMA Annual Scientific Meeting as 23–27 May 2027 in Dallas [14].

For nurses, allied health professionals, scientists and students

You do not need to be a physician to work in aerospace medicine. AsMA’s membership includes flight nurses, physiologists, psychologists, physician assistants, human factors experts and researchers [12]. A good start is to read widely: try the student learning path or the researcher path.

Not yet verified

We could not confirm the following from an official source on 2026-10-14. They are left out of the tables above:

• Current Navy and Army program application dates and prerequisites (the program websites were not reachable from our checker) pending verification.
• Space-medicine fellowships outside the five ACGME programs, and the status of programs listed in older guides pending verification.
• How NASA and commercial operators hire flight surgeons, and what credentials they require pending verification.