Fundamental Biological Features of Spaceflight: Advancing the Field to Enable Deep-Space Exploration

Overview

Journal Cell

Publisher Cell Press

Specialty Cell Biology

Date 2020 Nov 26

PMID 33242416

Citations 139

Authors

Ebrahim Afshinnekoo

Ryan T Scott

Matthew J MacKay

Eloise Pariset

Egle Cekanaviciute

Richard Barker

Simon Gilroy

Duane Hassane

Scott M Smith

Sara R Zwart

Mayra Nelman-Gonzalez

Brian E Crucian

Sergey A Ponomarev

Oleg I Orlov

Dai Shiba

Masafumi Muratani

Masayuki Yamamoto

Stephanie E Richards

Parag A Vaishampayan

Cem Meydan

Jonathan Foox

Jacqueline Myrrhe

Eric Istasse

Nitin Singh

Kasthuri Venkateswaran

Jessica A Keune

Hami E Ray

Mathias Basner

Jack Miller

Martha Hotz Vitaterna

Deanne M Taylor

Douglas Wallace

Kathleen Rubins

Susan M Bailey

Peter Grabham

Sylvain V Costes

Christopher E Mason

Afshin Beheshti

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Research on astronaut health and model organisms have revealed six features of spaceflight biology that guide our current understanding of fundamental molecular changes that occur during space travel. The features include oxidative stress, DNA damage, mitochondrial dysregulation, epigenetic changes (including gene regulation), telomere length alterations, and microbiome shifts. Here we review the known hazards of human spaceflight, how spaceflight affects living systems through these six fundamental features, and the associated health risks of space exploration. We also discuss the essential issues related to the health and safety of astronauts involved in future missions, especially planned long-duration and Martian missions.

Citing Articles

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