Document Detail


History of space medicine: the formative years at NASA.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19378903     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Almost nothing was known about the effects of spaceflight on human physiology when, in May of 1961, President John F. Kennedy committed the United States to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth within the decade. There were more questions than answers regarding the effects of acceleration, vibration, cabin pressure, CO2 concentration, and microgravity. There were known external threats to life, such as solar and ultraviolet radiation, meteorites, and extreme temperatures as well as issues for which the physicians and scientists could not even formulate the questions. And there was no time for controlled experiments with the required numbers of animal or human subjects. Of necessity, risks were evaluated and mitigated or accepted based on minimal data. This article summarizes presentations originally given as a panel at the 79th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association in Boston in 2008. In it, five pioneers in space medicine at NASA looked back on the development of their field. The authors related personal anecdotes, discussed the roles of various people and presented examples of contributions to emerging U.S. initiatives for human spaceflight. Topics included the development of quarantine facilities for returning Apollo astronauts, the struggles between operational medicine and research personnel, and observations from the first U.S. medical officer to experience weightlessness on orbit. Brief biographies of the authors are appended to document their participation in these historic events.
Authors:
Charles A Berry; G Wyckliffe Hoffler; Clarence A Jernigan; Joseph P Kerwin; Stanley R Mohler
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Historical Article; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Aviation, space, and environmental medicine     Volume:  80     ISSN:  0095-6562     ISO Abbreviation:  Aviat Space Environ Med     Publication Date:  2009 Apr 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-04-21     Completed Date:  2009-06-02     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7501714     Medline TA:  Aviat Space Environ Med     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  345-52     Citation Subset:  IM; S    
Affiliation:
Aerospace Medicine, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Aerospace Medicine / history*
History, 20th Century
History, 21st Century
Humans
Space Flight / history*
United States
United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration / history

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