Space Medicine
The Emerging Discipline
Space medicine is the branch of medicine that studies the physiological and psychological effects of the space environment on the human body. It encompasses the health challenges of microgravity, radiation exposure, isolation, and the physiological changes caused by living in a spacecraft environment. As spaceflight durations increase, the medical complexity grows — ranging from muscle and bone loss to cardiovascular and immune system changes.
- Key research areas under the AIIMS-ISRO MoU: human physiology in microgravity, cardiovascular and autonomic regulation, musculoskeletal health, microbiome and immunology, genomics and biomarkers, and behavioural health
- Microgravity effects: Fluid shifts toward the head, loss of bone mineral density (~1–2% per month), muscle atrophy, and altered circadian rhythms
- Radiation: Astronauts in LEO are exposed to increased cosmic radiation compared to ground level
- India's prior collaboration: ISRO had previously signed an MoU with SCTIMST (Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology) on space medicine research
● Tracked since March 09, 2026 · last seen March 12, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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