Pre- and Post-Flight Medical Care
Continuous Care of Crew
Pre- and Postflight medical operations form the foundation of crewmember health and mission success. Prior to launch, crew surgeons focus on optimizing crew health, mitigating known medical risk, and prepare the crew for the physiological demands of spaceflight. These pre-flight medical operations include comprehensive medical assessments, planning of countermeasures, and readiness evaluation. Following landing, medical teams focus on monitoring the crew’s re-adaptation to gravity, evaluate the extent of deconditioning, and manage any mission-related changes. Pre- and Postflight medical operations protect the crew by ensuring the crew arrive to orbit healthy and return safely.
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In-flight Medical Care
In-Flight medical care is a vital aspect of human spaceflight as it is important for crew safety, mission success, and post-flight crew recovery. Astronauts operate in a harsh and isolated environment that induces many physiological and psychological effects where immediate access to terrestrial medical treatment is not possible. Effective in-flight medical care ensures that any health concerns may be managed, further supporting the long-term health of the crew.
NASA Links
Medical Care Technical Briefs
Click here for a complete list of technical briefs related to human health and medical care.
Read more below about crew medical care in-flight for specific topics.
Literature and Scientific Publications
- Principles of Clinical Medicine for Space Flight – https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4939-9889-0
- Thriving in Space: Ensuring the Future of Biological and Physical Sciences Research: A Decadal Survey for 2023-2032 – https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26750/thriving-in-space-ensuring-the-future-of-biological-and-physical
Regulatory References
Guidance links below are for review of applicable regulations or support information.
Treat Act Info
- https://www.nasa.gov/hhp/treat-astronauts-act/
- https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/5541
DoD Medical Standards for Military Service: Appointment, Enlistment, or Induction
Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners
Manual of Civil Aviation Medicine
United States Air Force Aerospace Medicine Waiver Guide Compendium
Aeromedical Reference and Waiver Guide
Army Standards of Medical Fitness
Related Podcasts
Space Medicine
Dr. Shawna Pandya is an aeromedical transport physician, a neurosurgery and emergency medic, leader of the an aquanaut with NASA's NEEMO analog missions, director of the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences' (IIAS) Space Medicine Group, and will be Canada's first female commercial astronaut. She's also a black belt martial artist in Taekwon-Do, an analog astronaut, and an explorer. During our interview, we discussed the path that brought her to medicine, space, and what the future holds for humans living and working off-world.
Related Videos
NASA’s Human Research Program Video Collection
Click here to visit their YouTube channel for more videos.
Celebrating 30 Years in Aerospace Medicine
In honor of the University of Texas Medical Branch’s (UTMB) 30th anniversary in aerospace medicine, doctors Natacha Chough and Ronak Shah will dive into the past, present and future effects of space exploration on the human body. Using the International Space Station (ISS) as a test bed for future Artemis missions, discover how the health and safety of astronauts is maintained through training, flight and reentry. Join us for our first in-person presentation of 2023, as we celebrate 30 years in aerospace medicine in our January Thought Leader Series, presented by UTMB Health.
Space Medicine Medical Operations
This is an overview of the Space and Clinical Operations Division whose mission is to optimize the health, fitness and well-being of flight crews, their dependents and employees of the Johnson Space Center and White Sands Space Harbor.
NASA’s Human Systems Academy Video Collection
Click here to visit their YouTube channel for more videos.
The Human Systems Academy (HSA) is a branch of the Human Health and Performance (HH&P) Directorate at the Johnson Space Center. The HSA offers, to the Directorate and Center personnel, a lecture series which contributes to the development of technical expertise and core competencies critical to human space exploration.
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