Within decades, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of average civilians will travel, live and work in space. With spacesuits, they bring illnesses, chronic health problems, and disabilities.
This changes the cosmic story. Because, until recently, only career astronauts traveled in space. But now that new space businesses are being launched, travelers and workers are mostly civilians.
This movement of civilians into space has already begun. For the past few years, ticketed or privately funded passengers have traveled into suborbital space 50 to 60 miles above Earth, courtesy of Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic’s “New Space” companies. In September 2021, billionaire Jared Isaacman rented Elon Musk’s his Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft and took him and his three other civilians on board for his three-day trip around Earth. . Even without scientific evidence on the health risks of such travel, Isaacman and Musk are pushing the boundaries even further. North Star Dawn It will carry a four-man civilian crew into the highest Earth orbit ever flown. This flight involves her one of the most dangerous endeavors in space, a spacewalk. In addition, NASA has awarded her three space companies grants to build commercial orbital platforms that will be operational by the end of this decade. These space stations will be occupied by civilians as tourists and employees.
We must do more to protect the civilians who travel, live and work in space.
A NASA report on astronauts before, during, and after long-term space travel and habitation clarifies: bone loss. That is despite their excellent health, physical and mental fitness, and years of training. As astronauts, they are fully aware of these risks and are willing to undertake them. As former astronaut and current Senator Mark Kelly once said, “Being an astronaut is a risky job.” You shouldn’t risk it.
In 2022, the CDC reported that 6 in 10 people in the U.S. population have a chronic disease, and 4 in 10 have two or more chronic diseases. 1 in 4 people have a disability. These health conditions add a new and difficult dimension to the human space hazard. What we learned from NASA is that the health profile of astronauts and civilians is markedly different.
To stay ahead of the issue, in 2021, a groundbreaking scientific conference has been organized by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) with the approval of the National Space Council. A workshop of 100 experts, co-chaired by me, with the aim of developing the first-ever Human Research Program for Civilians in Space Commercialization Protecting Civilians in Space identified high-priority human research projects for
Unfortunately, some of the commercial space companies behind health research programs currently appear uninterested. What is the reason for the turnaround? We can only guess, but many answers have been suggested. First, the space industry wants to retain a 2004 decision by Congress that imposed a moratorium on new safety rules for human spaceflight in the event of death, serious injury, or a close call. This “learning period”, extended several times, gives the industry considerable leeway to experiment with humans. Second, these space companies are competing with each other, rushing to make breakthroughs in their own business without slowing safety research. Third, some of these corporate leaders dispute warnings about civilian vulnerabilities in space. They claim the hazards have mild or short-term health effects. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk inspiration 4 Spaceflight is a “intense rollercoaster ride” and anyone who can tolerate it “should have no problem flying with Dragon,” he added, adding that it was Musk’s spacecraft. Some prefer to send the average civilian on a space flight, study it during and after the flight, and consider ways to protect civilians on future flights. approach is not recommended. It takes us back to the days of the Wright Brothers (who experienced multiple crashes and the death of their first passenger) where discovery is made at the risk of disaster.
Only in the event of a catastrophic event in which civilians become seriously ill, injured, or die can we awaken to the proposition that humans in space must move without harm. Only then will we realize that conducting an impartial, objective, large-scale program of scientific human research on all known risks of space travel is the best approach.
But given the realities of today’s space race, there is a compromise. Space companies are thriving under a moratorium, but before sending civilians into space, each person must undergo a thorough physical, mental and performance examination and readiness training to match NASA’s requirements. should only be allowed. Career astronaut. Each company must publish a pre-flight health and performance testing and training program. Additionally, the space industry must publicly support its originally approved human research programs. Taking these steps will allow us to send civilians into space in a responsible and safe manner in the coming months and years. It benefits the industry, secures public confidence, and helps protect civilians in space.
Even without industry support, health research is needed now to protect future civilians in space under the Federal Aviation Administration’s Space Transportation Administration (AST). AST has the experience, mission, expertise and organizational structure to do extraordinary work.
Now is the time to act by urging the Biden administration and Congress to fund human research programs for civilians in space before it’s too late.
This is an opinion and analysis article and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily Scientific American.
