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Space Biology

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

  • 194 Accesses

Synonyms

Space Life Sciences

Definition

The space environment is characterized by an intense radiation field of solar and galactic origin and by high vacuum, extreme temperatures, and – induced by orbital space flight – reduced gravity (microgravity) conditions. Thus, the interdisciplinary field of space biology includes all basic disciplines in Life Sciences by investigating the impact of space environmental factors on all organizational levels (from subcellular to organismal) of living matter.

History

The beginnings of the discipline “space biology” may be set with the start of orbital flights that means ballistic flights (1948–1957) and early orbital missions (1957–1961) with animals, followed in 1961 by human flights. This opened a new experimental field by enabling the investigation of the influence of the space environment (mainly microgravity and radiation) on living systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Linder Höhe, 51147, Cologne, Germany

    Ruth Hemmersbach

Authors
  1. Ruth Hemmersbach
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ruth Hemmersbach .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hemmersbach, R. (2014). Space Biology. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1468-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1468-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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