Space Medicine In Project Mercury

Project Mercury was the first American laboratory in which man was able to test his physiological capabilities to withstand the hostile forces of the extraterrestrial environment for longer than a few second.Indeed, from the viewpoint of environmental medicine as an apllied science, Project Mercury marked the swift transition from what had come to be known as aviation medicine to what is now recognized as space medicine. The present study aims to provide a building block for a future life-science history recounting man's conquest of nature beyond the planet Earth. The author sets forth a chronological account of a unique medical support program.

Catchpole tells the fascinating story behind the development of the first American manned space program and its associated infrastructure. He provides accounts of the space launch vehicles, astronauts and their training, tracking systems and individual flights.

The achievement of future manned space flight no longer appears to be subject to serious question. Solution of a broad variety of problems involved in the attainment of manned space flight requires extensive scientific activity and progress--but the time is approaching when the scale of accomplishments will be in balance with the scale of requirements. Because the achievement of space flight also requires that man survive and function productively, one of the most important areas of space research resides in the life sciences, more frequently referred to by the term "space medicine."

Committee Serial No. 12. Reviews space medicine research operations and objectives of NASA, Army, Navy, and Air Force.