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I realize that there's a lot of speculation involved here, but current actual mission profiles have PT programs and general wellness specifications.

It seems like the qualifications would be a combination of the qualifications for a medium-length ISS mission combined with general Earth-bound strength and endurance requirements. Are there some NASA or other space agency policy papers or policies on this?

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  • $\begingroup$ A lot of this is unknown, particularly the effects of low gravity and microgravity for long periods of time. The longest time someone's been in space is just over a year and effects of Martian or lunar gravity haven't been tested on a longer timescale (more than a handful of days on apollo missions). Although very very unlikely, it could be that living in a 0.3g environment for over 2 years is 100% lethal for humans for some reason 😉. We just don't know for sure. $\endgroup$
    – Dragongeek
    Feb 26, 2018 at 19:51
  • $\begingroup$ While it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility, it seems unlikely that if living in zero-g isn't fatal, then living in .3g probably isn't, though we can probably expect some version of the effects of zero-g. But I can't believe that I'm the first person to broach this question - there's got to be a paper on this somewhere. $\endgroup$ Feb 26, 2018 at 19:54
  • $\begingroup$ I expect the requirements wouldn't be any different from those for current-day astronauts bound for ISS. Generally good physical condition is already required because travel to and from the station will incur 4g (if everything goes well) to 8g (if reentry goes badly) forces for brief periods. The record for space station occupancy is 14 months (Polyakov on Mir), and early Mars missions are likely to be 9 month zero-g flights each way with a 3 month stay at 0.38g, which seems not hugely different from a health standpoint. $\endgroup$ Feb 26, 2018 at 23:05
  • $\begingroup$ @RussellBorogove If you want to track down some sources for that and compose that into an answer, that's probably the best we can put together at this point. $\endgroup$ Feb 26, 2018 at 23:10
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    $\begingroup$ Well, my informed speculations are often dead wrong, and I don’t have time for research right now. :) $\endgroup$ Feb 26, 2018 at 23:25

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