Interplanetary health care

Abstract

Exploration Class Missions (ECMs) will expose astronauts to several unique and hazardous elements. The isolation and great distances mean evacuation will not be an option and the crew and the flight surgeon will need to be prepared to deal with myriad medical situations ranging from motion sickness to death. Compounding the problem of responding to diverse medical situations will be the limited medical capabilities onboard, the cramped living and working quarters and of course the challenges of performing medical procedures in the microgravity environment. Given the limitations of deep space health care it will be more important than ever to implement effective medical mitigation strategies and new flight surgeon training methods. Here in Chapter 2, ECM medical capabilities and strategies and the future role of the flight surgeon are discussed.