Questions tagged [medical]
Questions regarding medical aspects of space exploration, like effects of missions on human body during launch, flight and reentry.
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What would happen to a human in ordinary winter clothes who is tied to the Falcon 9 first stage during its ascent? [closed]
If there was an average-health-human tied to the Falcon 9's first stage during an ascent of the rocket into space, what would happen to them over the course of the flight in case they wore ordinary ...
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What limits are put on mission profiles by maximum tolerated G-force?
NASA standards https://standards.nasa.gov/documents/viewdoc/3315785/3315785 includes this graph of maximum allowable G-force and duration:
With some creative license, this curve could be extrapolated ...
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Are there any considerations to build up would-be colonial newborns' immune systems when space outposts are designed to be as sterile as possible?
Following the Hygiene hypothesis, newborns in sterile environments would develop a weaker immune system and be more likely to develop allergies.
To some extent the immune system can be made to be ...
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Does NASA police urine production by astronauts?
Acute abdominal pain is a medical emergency which requires diagnostic facilities not available on board spacecraft. It could require emergency return from LEO or mission abort in cislunar missions. ...
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Space astro/cosmo-naut rejection due to fine veins
Related to the question, Are all modern astronauts at least passable phlebotomists?
Some people have clearly defined veins which allow for easy insertion of needles or cannulas, however, some people ...
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First space phlebotomy? When was the first human veinous blood sample taken in space?
phlebotomists are (nearly always) highly skilled people who safely and relatively painlessly poke our veins with big needles, take blood samples, then ask us to "press here". The process is ...
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Are all modern astronauts at least passable phlebotomists?
phlebotomists are (nearly always) highly skilled people who safely and relatively painlessly poke our veins with big needles, take blood samples, then ask us to "press here". The process is ...
- 149k
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Accomodations for blood transfusion
Are there accomodations for blood transfusion (could/may be rare cases) on crewed space missions? That is, facilities for storing blood bottles for transfusion matching the blood group of astronauts. ...
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COTS portable X-ray machines in crewed spaceflight; would they work without significant modification?
Are commercial, off-the shelf (COTS) portable X ray machines likely to work in manned spacecraft, or are there technical reasons why they would need to be significantly modified?
Do you feel is it ...
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Does extended microgravity increase the rate of kidney stones in astronauts? Do these lead to medical complains/discomfort while still in space?
This answer to What are the main impacts on the body of an astronaut exposed to long term zero gravity? mentions that the increase in bone loss due to extended periods of time in microgravity can not ...
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Has an astronaut had a blood sample taken while in space?
Has any astronaut had a sample of their blood taken while in space? This may be as part of a scientific experiment, or for their own health. If yes, was the sample analyzed while in space, or was it ...
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What would happen to an astronaut on the surface of Mars if a Carrington-event-like superflare hit the red planet?
If a coronal mass ejection with the intensity of the Carrington event1 or more hit Mars, what would happen to an astronaut on its surface who is too far from their base to return to in time? Assuming ...
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Which astronauts or cosmonauts were injured by a hard landing?
Sigmund Jähn, the first German in orbit, was injured during a hard landing of the Soyuz 29 capsule on September 3rd, 1978. He got permanent damages of his vertebral column.
Are there other astronauts ...
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On which celestial bodies could you use the Apollo moon suits too?
If you wore the Apollo lunar suit on celestial bodies other than the Moon, on which bodies would you survive (until oxygen run out)? You obviously couldn't wear them on any (recognized) planet because ...
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Would a higher air pressure on the ISS or elsewhere make it easier to "swim" in microgravity?
What if the atmospheric pressure onboard the ISS was 5 atm, 5 times the pressure on Earth and currently on the ISS, while maintaining the breathable oxygen level, e.g. if the additional atmosphere ...
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What is it like for ISS astronauts to re-adjust to the Earth's gravity?
ISS expeditions last up to half a year, as long as a flight to or from Mars would last. Here I answered to a question dealing with the adaptation of Martian visitors from microgravity to Martian 0.38 ...
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How, specifically, are ISS audio comm loops "privatized"? For example, in private medical conferences?
The paper International Space Station Medical Operations mentions
Private medical conferences (PMCs) are conducted regularly and upon
crew request with the ISS crew via private audio and video
...
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Are there any plans for an astronaut's two-year stay on the ISS? If no, why not?
A manned Mars mission would last about two Earth years. However no astronaut was continuously in outer space for that long, the record are Valery Polyakov's 437 days on Mir. If SpaceX wants to send ...
user35272
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How much gravity could someone handle who lived his/her entire life in microgravity? [closed]
Let's say someone who was conceived and born in microgravity and spent his/her entire life on a space station in weightlessness until age 20 decides to land on a celestial body. How much surface ...
user35272
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What effects would the longer days on Mars have on humans?
Afaik, humans never tried to live according to shorter or longer days so the Martian astronauts might be the first humans from Earth that have to follow a different cycle. The Martian day (Sol) is ...
user35272
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What effects did the different air pressure and air composition in certain spacecraft have on astronauts?
The Mercury and Gemini spacecraft, and in space the Apollo spacecraft, didn't pressurize their cockpits to 1 atm with Earth-like atmospheric composition; instead, they used pure oxygen at much lower ...
user35272
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How low would gravity have to be for the balance system to fail?
This is a very critical question that is necessary to get answered for flights to distant celestial bodies. The inner ear liquid makes you perceive which way you're pulled onto a celestial body. This ...
user35272
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Would all crew leave the ISS if one had a medical emergency?
If someone on the ISS had a medical emergency that required them to immediately return to earth (such as a severe stroke - something where they could not give them ideal care on the ISS and required ...
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Is retired astronaut Scott Kelly now the same height as his brother?
In WIRED's new video Astrophysicist Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty | WIRED "Astrophysicist Janna Levin, PhD, is asked to explain the concept of gravity to 5 different people; a child, ...
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What biomedical data indicated Apollo astronauts were sleeping?
What particular biomedical data did NASA use to determine if an Apollo astronaut was awake or asleep?
From the APOLLO 11 MISSION COMMENTARY, page 72/1
"Our Flight Surgeon reported a short while ago ...
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Space adaptation syndrome compared to BPPV (vertigo)
Has there ever been any discussion comparing the typical SAS experience and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (when tiny calcium particles clump up in canals of the inner ear). Having recently ...
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Was this Gemini "giant eye chart" ever performed?
This article from the May 14, 1965 issue of the Manned Spacecraft Center Roundup describes an "eye chart" experiment on an upcoming Gemini flight. Did this experiment end up happening in any manner?
...
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Has an IV even been performed or attempted in space?
As many of you likely know, IV's are an important part of modern medicine. As more and more people go into space for longer periods, I would imagine it may become necessary for an IV to be ...
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Is the new RGB solid state LED lighting on the ISS ever used to produce colors other than white?
This answer to Why are these astronauts green? explains the new (now about 2 years old) solid state (LED) lighting modules being added to ISS interior lighting, replacing the fluorescent lights (see ...
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Do space suits measure "methane" levels or other biological gases?
A comment below Was “I have the farts, again” broadcast from the Moon to the whole world? links to this humorous video clip of the 1997 comedy movie RocketMan about astronauts on Mars. Personnel on ...
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How do astronauts get eye drops into their eyes?
This answer mentions that some astronauts use eye drops to relieve irritation caused by dust and lint in the air. How do they do get the drops in their eyes in microgravity?
When I put drops in my ...
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Is the vestibular system ever useful in spaceflight?
The Vintage Space video Eleven Deaf Men Helped NASA Leave Earth describes a number of different NASA experiments done on human subjects who had damaged vestibular systems due to childhood illness.
...
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Did astronaut candidates have a lung capacity test, as portrayed in the movie The Right Stuff?
One memorable scene in the movie The Right Stuff portrays a lung capacity test. The astronaut candidates blow into a tube with water and a ping-pong ball. They must blow just hard enough to keep the ...
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Can there be color blind astronauts?
This answer begins with:
It appears to have actually been a pole, not a cord.
Handrails and handholds, colored blue for quick identification, were
located throughout Skylab.
...
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What psychiatric and psychological tests do people need to pass to become astronauts?
I am writing a short film about an astronaut during re-entry to earth. Part of the conflict I wrote is that the astronaut could not pass the mental tests required. Could anyone tell me any tests ...
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How fast do they spin astronauts these days? Maximum routine g-training for astronauts in the 21st century?
Comments got me thinking about NASA's 20 g centrifuge. Gemini astronauts pushed to 7 or perhaps 8 g's as discussed in this answer but these days with nicely throttleable engines astronauts going to ...
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Can centrifugal force actually overcome the health problems of microgravity?
Microgravity has a negative health effect which exercises cannot completely remedy. Rotation of spacecraft and the resulting centrifugal force have been suggested as a source of pseudo-gravity. But ...
user28089
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How soon can beginning of visual impairment due to intracranial pressure be observed?
The spaceflight-induced visual impairment was a serious problem for astronauts remaining for a long time in microgravity.
In the early periods after discovery of the condition, the obvious symptoms - ...
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Can the vacuum of space be used to sterilize equipment?
Supposing that washing dishes and sterilizing medical equipment could be expensive to do in space, would a viable option be to expose dishes, scalpels, silverwear etc to the vacuum of space? Would the ...
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Which medications do you bring to Mars?
In the Apollo missions, any conditions that wouldn't kill in a few days could be treated upon return. In current missions to the ISS, an emergency abort can have medically-threatened crew members back ...
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Will we all be in voluntary ketosis on Mars?
The EurekAlert! NASA mission tests ketogenic diet undersea, simulating life on Mars University of South Florida researcher will be in nutritional ketosis during NEEMO 22 mission packs a lot of ...
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What happens to a body, that has been exposed to vacuum, once brought back onboard?
You are on a ship in the cold vacuum of space. You find a body of an astronaut exposed to vacuum (for this instance just assume human, but you never know).
The body was essentially freeze dried and ...
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Why do they have a Snellen eye chart on the ISS?
During a recent NASA broadcast, I noticed something in the background:
It looks like a Snellen chart to me, but why would they have that on board? If that's not it, what is it then?
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What are the regulations governing (against) beards in space?
The ISS and currently used spacecraft have toxic stuff (ammonia, propellants) that makes donning gas masks a life-saver in emergency. Beards may interfere with the seal.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, ...
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Rabbits in Space
It seems that first rabbit was launched into space around 1959. There are differences in sources (Wikipedia, Korabl-Sputnik 2, does not mention rabbits) but it appears several rabbits have been ...
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Are there ICD-10 codes for space?
Today (October 1, 2015) the diagnosis codes known as ICD-10 went live in the US. I was wondering if there are any that are specific to spacecraft, space stations, or hypo- or hyper-gravity?
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How important is the size of an astronaut?
It seems to me that weight and size would be important in choosing spacefarers for many reasons; I came across this Wikipedia article where the Chinese astronauts (taikonauts) have to be between 50 ...
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Maximum survivable atmospheric pressure
Given a similar mix of gases to those in our Earth's atmosphere, what is the upper limit of survivable atmospheric pressure for a human?
Could a human survive higher pressures with a gas mix unlike ...
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What do female astronauts do on their menstrual cycle?
I know that there is medication to prevent the menstrual cycle, but what side-effects does this entail?
Does regularly supressing the menstrual cycle pose any health risks to female astronauts?
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Would human "superpowers" in low gravity fade away through reduced muscle mass?
If suddenly put in a low gravity as on the Moon or on Mars, humans should feel very strong, easily breaking some olympic records for example. Apollo astronauts have said that they did not get tired ...
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