Stress Challenges And Immunity In Space

Stress of either psychological or physical nature can activate and/or paralyse humans’ innate and adaptive immunity. However, adequate immunity is crucial to the maintenance of health on earth and in space. During space flight, human physiology and health are challenged by complex environmental stressors which might be at their most pronounced during lunar or interplanetary missions. While previous publications have addressed the physiological changes that occur during space flight, this book goes further, by adopting an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the complex interaction of living conditions in space, the immune system, and astronauts’ health. It is explained how such analysis of the consequences of stress for the immune system may help in preventing, diagnosing, and counteracting immune-related alterations in health on earth as well as in space

This book explains how stress – either psychological or physical – can activate and/or paralyse human innate or adaptive immunity. Adequate immunity is crucial for maintaining health, both on Earth and in space. During space flight, human physiology is specifically challenged by complex environmental stressors, which are most pronounced during lunar or interplanetary missions. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the book identifies the impact of these stressors – the space exposome – on immunity as a result of (dys-)functions of specific cells, organs and organ networks. These conditions (e.g. gravitation changes, radiation, isolation/confinement) affect immunity, but at the same time provide insights that may help to prevent, diagnose and address immune-related health alterations. Written by experts from academia, space agencies and industry, the book is a valuable resource for professionals, researchers and students in the field of medicine, biology and technology. The chapters “The Impact of Everyday Stressors on the Immune System and Health”, “Stress and Radiation Responsiveness” and “Assessment of Radiosensitivity and Biomonitoring of Exposure to Space adiation” are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Our anatomy and physiology have been completely shaped by Earth's gravity. All body systems function in synergy with this unseen force. Yet, as we journey further and longer into space, our bodies must conform to a new reality, wherein gravity is absent or reduced, cosmic radiation threatens and our social and familial connections become distant. Into Space: A Journey of How Humans Adapt and Live in Microgravity gives an overview of some of the physiological, anatomical and cellular changes that occur in space and their effects on different body systems, such as the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal, and touches on cultural and psychosocial aspects of leaving behind family and the safety of Earth. It further addresses the complexity of manned space flights, showing how interdisciplinary this subject is and discussing the challenges that space physiologists, physicians and scientists must face as humans seek to conquer the final frontier.

Health is maintained by the coordinated operation of all the biological systems that make up the individual. The Introduction to Psychoneuroimmunology, Second Edition, presents an overview of what has been discovered by scientists regarding how bodily systems respond to environmental challenges and intercommunicate to sustain health. The book touches on the main findings from the current literature without being overly technical and complex. The result is a comprehensive overview of psychoneuroimmunology, which avoids oversimplification, but does not overwhelm the reader. Single authored for consistency of breadth and depth, with no redundancy of coverage between chapters Covers endocrine-immune modulation, neuro-immune modulation, and the enhancing or inhibiting processes of one or more systems on the others Expanded use of figures, tables, and text boxes

Safe Passage: Astronaut Care for Exploration Missions sets forth a vision for space medicine as it applies to deep space voyage. As space missions increase in duration from months to years and extend well beyond Earth's orbit, so will the attendant risks of working in these extreme and isolated environmental conditions. Hazards to astronaut health range from greater radiation exposure and loss of bone and muscle density to intensified psychological stress from living with others in a confined space. Going beyond the body of biomedical research, the report examines existing space medicine clinical and behavioral research and health care data and the policies attendant to them. It describes why not enough is known today about the dangers of prolonged travel to enable humans to venture into deep space in a safe and sane manner. The report makes a number of recommendations concerning NASA's structure for clinical and behavioral research, on the need for a comprehensive astronaut health care system and on an approach to communicating health and safety risks to astronauts, their families, and the public.

In Psychology and Human Performance in Space Programs: Extreme Application, operations experts from multiple space agencies, with support from spaceflight researchers, outline existing and proposed operations for selecting, training, and supporting space crews who currently live and work on the International Space Station, and who are preparing for future missions to the moon and Mars. Highlighting applied psychology in spaceflight whilst acknowledging real-world complexities that occur when integrating across an international, multi-agency collective, this volume provides both historical and current perspectives toward spaceflight operations, with expert contributions from NASA and international partners such as the Japanese Space Agency, Russian space researchers, and the Canadian Space Agency. Helpfully outlining the progress that has been made so far, this book includes topics such as the selection and hiring of astronauts, the process of training a crew for a mission to Mars, and workload and mission planning. Discussing operational psychology in space and on the ground, this book looks to the future of research and operational needs for future missions to Mars, with an essay from astronaut Dr. Don Pettit on his experiences in space and how the Mars mission will challenge us in new ways. This second of two volumes will be of interest to professionals in the field of human factors and psychology in extreme environments.

The first edition of this book was voted Winner of the 2004 International Academy of Astronautics Life Sciences Award. The second edition deals with psychological, psychiatric, and psychosocial issues that affect people who live and work in space. Unlike other books that focus on anecdotal reports and ground-based simulation studies, this book emphasizes the findings from psychological research conducted during actual space missions. Both authors have been active in such research.