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Medical Aspects of Extravehicular Activity

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Abstract

Extravehicular activity (EVA), commonly referred to as spacewalks, is an exciting and necessary capability of human space flight. EVA is defined as work performed outside of the pressurized habitable environment of the space vehicle. EVA requires a self-contained living environment provided by a complex pressurized spacesuit. The impact of the spacesuit on the human and the human working in the vacuum of space creates a unique realm in the field of aerospace medicine.

EVA has been utilized since the beginning of human space flight to perform orbital, translunar, and lunar surface exploration and work. The first EVA was performed from Voskhod 2 by Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov on March 18, 1965, and lasted 24 minutes. The first US EVA was performed by Gemini 4 astronaut Ed White on June 3, 1965, with a duration of 36 minutes. The USA and Russia have subsequently employed EVA throughout their respective space programs, including use on the International Space Station (ISS). EVA has been used for retrieving and servicing satellites, repairing the Hubble Space Telescope, installing replacement elements and parts of many different space platforms, testing techniques for future spacecraft construction, evaluating safety maneuvers for crewmember rescue, building and maintaining the ISS, and intricating repair of critical vehicle structures such as solar arrays. The Chinese space program has also reached a milestone by performing EVA. Although EVA poses a significant safety risk to the crewmember, it is cost-effective and highly adaptable when compared to the advanced robotics necessary to perform these critical tasks. Combining EVA crew and robotics has proven to be particularly effective using the Shuttle and Space Station Robotic Manipulator Systems.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Johnny Conkin, PhD; Robert Trevino, PE; Jason Norcross, MS; and Ed Tarboush, MD, PhD, for their thoughtful reviews and constructive comments while editing this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Space Medicine Operations, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Joseph Dervay

  2. NBL Medical, Crew Health and Safety Flight Surgeon, UTMB/KBR/NASA-JSC, Houston, TX, USA

    Robert W. Sanders

  3. Department of Preventive Medicine & Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Moriah S. Thompson

  4. Department of Family Medicine, Hawai‘i Pacific Health Kaua‘i Medical Clinic in Koloa, Koloa, HI, USA

    Tracy Jo Snow

  5. Astonaut Training, NASA, Houston, TX, USA

    Tracy Jo Snow

Authors
  1. Joseph Dervay
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  2. Robert W. Sanders
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  3. Moriah S. Thompson
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  4. Tracy Jo Snow
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joseph Dervay .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Michael R. Barratt

  2. Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Ellen S. Baker

  3. Deceased, Formerly Chief, Medical Sciences Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Sam L. Pool

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Dervay, J., Sanders, R.W., Thompson, M.S., Snow, T.J. (2019). Medical Aspects of Extravehicular Activity. In: Barratt, M., Baker, E., Pool, S. (eds) Principles of Clinical Medicine for Space Flight. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9889-0_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9889-0_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-9887-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-9889-0

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