Viewpoint

, Volume: 11( 3) DOI: 10.37532/2319-9822.2022.11(3).206

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The Science of the US Space Program and an Astronaut Physician's Journey from Model Rockets to Spacewalks

*Correspondence:

Kevin Zheng Associate Managing Editor, United Kingdom; E-mail:zheng.k31@gamil.com

Abstract

Introduction

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was a pioneer in the development of telemedicine research and applications. To monitor astronaut health on Earth concerning the demanding environment of a spacecraft, telemetry has been necessary throughout the Agency's existence. Since the beginning of the suborbital flight, the complexity of space operations has changed telemedicine. As a result, modern telemedicine capabilities go far beyond simply monitoring healthcare. To address human health, spacecraft system functioning, and environmental conditions, doctors now work alongside engineers and technicians in an integrated system. The task can only be effectively completed when all three components are performing at their highest potential.

NASA's terrestrial testbeds have made it possible to quickly analyze the health effects of natural and man-made disasters, deliver healthcare to far-flung areas, and conduct studies into how the human body functions in harsh conditions.For telemedicine innovations for space travel beyond earth orbit, the International Space Station (ISS) will serve as a testbed. Real-time contact with Earth becomes difficult on longer trips, therefore the crews will need interactive and autonomous medical equipment.

When people first started leaving footprints on the moon, I was seven years old and I watched in wonder with the rest of the world. I grew up with the desire to travel to space one day since my father was an aerospace engineer who assisted in launching the Apollo 11 astronauts to their incredible destination. The ability to help others and the fact that medicine offers a variety of challenges and possibilities attracted me to the discipline in a similar way. Other interests came and went as I worked toward my degree, but the need to learn new things and participate in scientific research persisted.

Astrophysicists, chemical engineers, computer scientists, aeronautical engineers, material scientists, physiologists, and doctors were among the scientists and engineers who were required to join the ranks of astronauts with the introduction of the Space Shuttle program, which made its first flight in 1981. My eventual selection to the Astronaut Corps in 1992 was a result of the natural symbiosis between medicine, the physiologic research I was involved with, and spaceflight. My roles and responsibilities throughout four spaceflights included providing medical care and biomedical research, but they also went much beyond that to encompass a wide range of other scientific disciplines and operational tasks. These encounters provide light on the scope and significance of the present and upcoming space activities undertaken by our country. At first, NASA had to make do with certain restrictions on its capacity to provide a wide variety of medical treatments in-flight, depending on the fact that astronauts were carefully chosen from a population of fit and seasoned military pilots. However, as missions grew longer and more complicated, NASA resorted to new telemedicine technology to develop new procedures that would anticipate danger, safeguard health, and offer medical treatment as necessary to guarantee mission completion and/or survivability. NASA medical professionals and engineers employ this technology in three ways to guarantee the security, effectiveness, and success of a space mission: crew health, system performance, and environmental factors. illustrates this strategy and the unique elements that have an impact in each region. The astronauts, for instance, are carefully chosen, prepared, and safeguarded. I've always been fascinated with human physiology at its most extremities, whether they be high altitudes, temperature extremes, ocean depths, or the unknowns of space flight. With these interests, going to medical school and becoming a doctor was an obvious decision, but getting the chance to attend one that was close to the NASA Ames Research Center, a significant NASA field center, was pure luck. I started researching the changes in the microvascular fluid that take place in weightlessness in space, and I also started developing exercise equipment to counteract the negative effects of 0-G inactivity on the "antigravity" musculoskeletal system, which was greatly aided by wonderful mentors in experimental physiology. The connection between medical research and space travel became immediately clear to me, and it undoubtedly revived my boyhood dream of becoming an astronaut. The exploration of space involves many branches of science and engineering, looking back toward earth to monitor environmental change on a global scale and create new technologies to improve life on earth, as well as exploring far beyond earth's orbit for discovery. NASA will lead expeditions to the moon, Mars, and locations far beyond in the next years, which should be thrilling, revelatory, and uplifting. The International Space Station (ISS) is a collaborative international laboratory administered by the space affairs of the United Us, Russia, Europe, Canada, and Japan. International crews were present on all of the aforementioned Space Shuttle trips. It seems to reason that in order to realise the President's Vision for Space Exploration, international collaboration will be required as long as this objective of scientific discovery is pursued. The benefits of our collaborative exploration go far beyond just splitting the costs of the project.