Handbook of Bioastronautics

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxvii

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2. Introduction and Definition

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Bioastronautics: Definition and Scope

      • Laurence R. Young

      Pages 3-5

   3. Clinical Benefits of Bioastronautics

      • Jeffrey P. Sutton

      Pages 7-19

3. The Space Environment

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 21-21

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   2. The Space Environment: An Overview

      • Jonathan B. Clark

      Pages 23-57

   3. Space Debris Hazards to Human Spaceflight

      • David Finkleman

      Pages 59-66

4. Life Support Systems

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 67-67

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   2. Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) Systems

      • L. Vega

      Pages 69-82

   3. Extravehicular Activity (EVA)

      • Brad Holschuh, Dava Newman

      Pages 83-90

5. Physiological Effects of Spaceflight

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 91-91

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   2. Physiological Effects of Spaceflight – Weightlessness: An Overview

      • Peter Norsk

      Pages 93-105

   3. Space and Aging

      • Joan Vernikos

      Pages 107-115

   4. Bone Loss

      • Susan A. Bloomfield

      Pages 117-128

   5. Cardiovascular Deconditioning and Exercise

      • Michael B. Stenger, Steven S. Laurie, Stuart M. C. Lee, Steven H. Platts

      Pages 129-153

   6. Immunology

      • Judith-Irina Buchheim, Brian Crucian, Alexander Choukér

      Pages 155-164

   7. Muscle Evolution and Fiber Types

      • Vincent J. Caiozzo, Kenneth M. Baldwin

      Pages 165-180

   8. Muscle Wasting in Space and Countermeasures

      • Vincent J. Caiozzo, Kenneth M. Baldwin

      Pages 181-196

   9. Sensorimotor Adaptation, Including SMS

      • Rachael D. Seidler, Ajitkumar P. Mulavara

      Pages 197-203

   10. Space Biology (Cells to Amphibians)

       • Richard Boyle, Millie Hughes-Fulford

       Pages 205-217

This comprehensive handbook serves the needs of biomedical researchers, space mission planners and engineers, aerospace medicine physicians, graduate students, and professors interested in obtaining an up-to-date and readable introduction to bioastronautics, the science of humans in space. Following the excitement and progress of the birth of the space age in the fifties and sixties, with the successes in human space flight – culminating with the Moon landings – the field of bioastronautics retreated into the more workmanlike arena of successively longer stays in low Earth orbit. At this time, major new initiatives are ahead both in human and robotic space exploration. The International Space Station, along with the developing Chinese space station and lunar program, will permit the development and testing of the means of astronaut protection for long duration missions – eventually to Mars and its moons, as well as visits to asteroids, other NEOs, and the Lagrange points. New life support systems and innovative approaches to radiation protection beyond Earth’s magnetic field will all be developed and tested.  Meanwhile, the search for extraterrestrial life, past or even present, is accelerating – with the spectacular finds of Martian water and the discovery of potentially habitable extra-solar planets. A new generation of scientists is ready to attack a new set of problems, and is in need of an efficient, accurate and searchable means of discovering the essentials of the field. This reference work also covers the challenges, past achievements, and potential solutions inherent to the safe exploration of distant space and the search for life off our planet. The entries summarize the tertiary literature and include sufficient data and illustrations to introduce each topic, while avoiding the length and detail of scientific review articles.

• Aerospace Human Factors
• Astrobiology
• Clinical Application of Bioastronautics
• Life Support Systems
• Physiological Effects of Weightlessness
• Radiation Biology
• Space Biomedical Research
• Space Medicine
• Space Physiology
• Space Science Medicine

• Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Apollo Program, Cambridge, USA

  Laurence R. Young

• Center for Space Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA

  Jeffrey P. Sutton

Laurence R. Young Laurence R. (Larry) Young is the Apollo Program professor emeritus of aeronautics and astronautics, and professor of health sciences and technology (HST) at MIT. He was the founding director (1997–2001) of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) and is the head of science education for the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH). Dr. Young is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the International Academy of Astronautics and is a fellow of the IEEE and the AIMBE. He is a fellow and former president and Alza lecturer of the Biomedical Engineering Society. He graduated from Amherst College and MIT, where he also earned an S.M. and Sc.D. He joined the MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics faculty in 1962. There, with Prof. Y.T. Li, he founded the Man-Vehicle Laboratory (MVL), now the Human Systems Laboratory (HSL). Dr. Young was the principal investigator for numerous research programs on eye movements and human spatial orientation – both on the ground and in space. He founded the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) Ph.D. program in bioastronautics. In 1991, Professor Young was selected by NASA for the crew of the Shuttle’s Spacelab Life Sciences 2 mission and served as an alternate payload specialist. Back at MIT he was appointed the first Apollo professor. Professor Young did research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and College de France in Paris as well as at Stanford and Université de Provence in Marseille. 

He served on numerous advisory committees and received awards from NASA, the Air Force, and the xv National Research Council. As a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, he chaired its Airlift Panel and received the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service. He is a member of the Bárány Society for vestibular research and was selected by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for its Dryden Lectureship in Research, its Jeffries Award, and its de Florez Award for Flight Simulation. NASA recognized his achievements with a Space Act Award for his development of an expert system for astronauts. The Aerospace Human Factors Association awarded him its Paul Hansen award. He was awarded the Koetser Foundation Prize in Zurich, the NSBRI Pioneer Award, and the Aerospace Medical Association’s Award for Lifetime Contributions. In his non-space pursuits, he was an ardent ski racer and contributed to reduction in ski injuries through standardization and testing of equipment

Jeffrey P. Sutton holds the Friedkin Chair for Research in Sensory System Integration and Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is Professor of Medicine and Space Medicine, and Founding Director of the Center for Space Medicine. Dr. Sutton is also Chairman of the Board of the NASA-supported Translational Research Institute for Space Health. From 2001–2017, he served as President and Institute Director of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) and was Chief Executive Officer from 2011–2017.

Dr. Sutton received his education and training at the University of Toronto and Harvard University, and holds M.D., M.Sc. and Ph.D. (theoretical physics) degrees. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association. His career spans research, education, clinical care and administration. He has made significant scientific and technical contributions in the fields of smart medical systems, computational neuroscience, functional neuroimaging and space medicine. He has also developed award-winning national education programs in space life sciences and translational research.


Following his professional training, Dr. Sutton joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School in 1991 and subsequently became an affiliate faculty member in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He was Founding Director of the Neural Systems Group at the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1995–2002. Subsequently, and under his leadership, NSBRI and the Center for Space Medicine have contributed cutting-edge space biomedical discoveries and advances nationally and enhanced collaborations internationally.


Among his accolades, Dr. Sutton is the recipient of the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, NIH Scientist Development Award, NSBRI Pioneer Award and Diploma in Space Medicine and Biology from the Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences. The Scientific Achievement Award of the Space Medicine Association is named in his honor.

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