Handbook of Bioastronautics

1. Acute Risks of Space Radiation

   • Xiao Wen Mao, Michael J. Pecaut, Daila S. Gridley

2. An Astronaut’s Perspective on Life Science Research in the Shuttle Era

   • Rhea Seddon

3. Asteroids: Near Earth Objects That Provide Opportunities for Human Space Exploration

   • Tracy L. Johnson, Dorit B. Donoviel

4. Astrobiology: An Overview

   • Louisa J. Preston, Lynn J. Rothschild

5. Astronaut Perspectives: An Overview

   • Jeffrey A. Hoffman

6. Astronaut Selection – Medical Standards

   • Smith L. Johnston, Rebecca S. Blue

7. Behavioral Challenges of Space Exploration

   • Jack W. Stuster

8. Behavioral Health and Performance: An Overview

   • David F. Dinges

9. Bioastronautics: Definition and Scope

   • Laurence R. Young

10. Bioethics in Space Exploration

    • Charles Sawin

11. Bone Loss

    • Susan A. Bloomfield

12. Cardiovascular Deconditioning and Exercise

    • Michael B. Stenger, Steven S. Laurie, Stuart M. C. Lee, Steven H. Platts

13. Careers and Education: An Overview

    • Marlene Y. MacLeish

14. Clinical Benefits of Bioastronautics

    • Jeffrey P. Sutton

15. Cognitive Performance in Space

    • G. Strangman, R. C. Gur, M. Basner

16. Crewmember Interactions in Space

    • Nick Kanas

17. Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) Systems

    • L. Vega

18. EVA

    • Brad Holschuh, Dava Newman

19. Flying to Mars Is Hard

    • Jennifer Rochlis, Stanley Love

20. Future Human Exploration Challenges: An Overview

    • Mark J. Shelhamer, Graham B. I. Scott

This comprehensive handbook will serve the needs of biomedical researchers, space mission planners and engineers,  aerospace medicine physicians, graduate students, and professors interested in obtaining an up-to-date and readable introduction to bioastronautics, the science of humans in space. Following the excitement and progress of the birth of the space age in the fifties and sixties, with the successes in human space flight – culminating with the Moon landings – the field of bioastronautics retreated into the more workmanlike arena of successively longer stays in low Earth orbit. At this time, major new initiatives are ahead both in human and robotic space exploration. The International Space Station, along with the developing Chinese space station and lunar program, will permit the development and testing of the means of astronaut protection for long duration missions – eventually to Mars and its moons, as well as visits to asteroids, other NEOs, and theLagrange points. New life support systems and innovative approaches to radiation protection beyond Earth’s magnetic field will all be developed and tested.  Meanwhile, the search for extraterrestrial life, past or even present, is accelerating – with the spectacular finds of Martian water and the discovery of potentially habitable extra-solar planets. A new generation of scientists is ready to attack a new set of problems, and is in need of an efficient, accurate and searchable means of discovering the essentials of the field. This reference work also covers the challenges, past achievements, and potential solutions inherent to the safe exploration of distant space and the search for life off our planet. The entries summarize the tertiary literature and include sufficient data and illustrations to introduce each topic, while avoiding the length and detail of scientific review articles.

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA

  Laurence R. Young

• Center for Space Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA

  Jeffrey P. Sutton

Laurence R. Young is the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was the founding Director (1997-2001) of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute. He directs Harvard's HST Ph.D. program in Bioastronautics. Dr. Young was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine of the NAS and is a full member of the International Academy of Astronautics. He received an B.A.. from Amherst College in 1957; a Certificate in Applied Mathematics from the Sorbonne, Paris, as a French Government Fellow in 1958; S.B. and S.M. degrees in Electrical Engineering and the Sc.D. degree in Instrumentation from MIT, from 1957-1962.

Dr. Young has been active on many professional and government committees, including the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board for which he chaired the Airlift Panel and received the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, the Space Medicine and Biology Committee of the National Academy of Sciences, NASA's Life Science Advisory Committee and the NIH Training Committee on Biomedical Engineering. He serves on several NASA Advisory panels relating to life sciences and the Space Station. He currently serves on the Institute of Medicine Standing Committee on Aerospace Medicine and the Medicine of Extreme Environments (CAMMEE). He is also a member of the Bárány Society for vestibular research, the Human Factors Society, and the Aerospace Medical Association. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, The Biomedical Engineering Society, The American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and the Explorers Club.

Professor Young's contributions to the aerospace medical field have been in instrumentation (eye movement measurement) and basic and applied research in the field of vestibular function. Dr. Young is also recognized for his leadership in the aerospace human factors including applications of manual control theory, and especially for his research on adaptive manual control. His work on the vestibular system has led to his role as principal investigator for experiments on vestibular adaptation to weightlessness conducted aboard five Spacelab missions for which he received NASA's Public Service Group Achievement Award. Author of more than 200 journal articles, Prof. Young serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Encyclopedia of Neuroscience.

Jeffrey P. Sutton holds the Friedkin Chair for Research in Sensory System Integration and Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is Professor of Medicine and Space Medicine, and Founding Director of the Center for Space Medicine. Dr. Sutton is also Chairman of the Board of the NASA-supported Translational Research Institute for Space Health. From 2001–2017, he served as President and Institute Director of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) and was Chief Executive Officer from 2011–2017.

Dr. Sutton received his education and training at the University of Toronto and Harvard University, and holds M.D., M.Sc. and Ph.D. (theoretical physics) degrees. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association. His career spans research, education, clinical care and administration. He has made significant scientific and technical contributions in the fields of smart medical systems, computational neuroscience, functional neuroimaging and space medicine. He has also developed award-winning national education programs in space life sciences and translational research.


Following his professional training, Dr. Sutton joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School in 1991 and subsequently became an affiliate faculty member in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He was Founding Director of the Neural Systems Group at the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1995–2002. Subsequently, and under his leadership, NSBRI and the Center for Space Medicine have contributed cutting-edge space biomedical discoveries and advances nationally and enhanced collaborations internationally.


Among his accolades, Dr. Sutton is the recipient of the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, NIH Scientist Development Award, NSBRI Pioneer Award and Diploma in Space Medicine and Biology from the Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences. The Scientific Achievement Award ofthe Space Medicine Association is named in his honor.

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