In cooperation with the company SpaceTech Analytics and FemTech Analytics, the Aging Analytics Agency has released a new assessment titled ‘Space Medicine and Human Longevity in Space’.
The Aging Analytics Agency is the longevity-focused analytical subsidiary of the Deep Knowledge Group and SpaceTech Analytics is a strategic analytics agency focused on markets in the Space Exploration, Spaceflight, Space Medicine, and Satellite Tech industries.
The field of space medicine can be defined as: “The practice of all aspects of preventative medicine including screening, health care delivery, and maintaining human performance in the extreme environment of space and preserving the long-term health of space travellers”.
The analytical case study was put together to summarise key observations in the SpaceTech ecosystem (this itself is a rapidly evolving industry). The report assembles information about key industry trends. The issues covered are important if humanity is to engage in long-term space missions, such as sending people to Mars.
As astronauts begin to explore the deep space environment, the health risks for astronauts during, both long-term and short-term space flights need to be addressed. Such inquires have been ongoing since NASA designed the ‘Longitudinal Study of Astronaut Health’ in 1992, to investigate health risks associated with space flights.
Medical problems associated with short-term space flights are better investigated upfront and countermeasures are successfully established. The report provides the latest research into this area.
It is of particular concern that weightlessness, as experienced by astronauts in zero gravity, influences muscle loss, bone loss, renal dysfunction, cardiovascular system, immune system, as well different neurological disorders and, behavioural health
The report builds on these research areas and the assessment also contains information about the topical directions in Space Medicine. These include overall astronaut health risks as well as specific issues relating to women’s health in space.
Further areas of inquiry include age-related biomarkers (what happens to the human body as it ages in space?). There are also some approaches of risk mitigation and an assessment as to the main trends in this area that help to improve astronauts’ health and make their rehabilitation after a space flight more effective.
The report also contains a comprehensive database of more than 70 space medicine-related private companies. Many companies are using space to explore medicine development, including regenerative medicine and 3D organ printing.
