Editing Astronaut (section)

==Health risks of space travel==
{{See also|Effect of spaceflight on the human body|Space medicine}}
[[File:Padalka Fincke ISS ultrasound.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gennady Padalka]] performing ultrasound on [[Michael Fincke]] during ISS [[Expedition 9]]]]
Astronauts are susceptible to a variety of health risks including [[decompression sickness]], [[barotrauma]], [[immunodeficiencies]], loss of [[bone]] and [[muscle]], loss of [[eyesight]], [[orthostatic intolerance]], [[sleep disturbances]], and [[radiation]] injury.<ref name="NYT-20140127">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Beings Not Made for Space |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/science/bodies-not-made-for-space.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/science/bodies-not-made-for-space.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited |date=27 January 2014 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=27 January 2014 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Wired-20120723">{{cite magazine |last=Mann |first=Adam |title=Blindness, Bone Loss, and Space Farts: Astronaut Medical Oddities |url=https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/medicine-psychology-space/ |date=23 July 2012 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |access-date=23 July 2012 |archive-date=25 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725135246/http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/medicine-psychology-space/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Mader-2011">{{cite journal |author=Mader, T. H. |title=Optic Disc Edema, Globe Flattening, Choroidal Folds, and Hyperopic Shifts Observed in Astronauts after Long-duration Space Flight |url=http://www.ophsource.org/periodicals/ophtha/article/S0161-6420(11)00564-1/abstract |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130113070701/http://www.ophsource.org/periodicals/ophtha/article/S0161-6420(11)00564-1/abstract |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 January 2013 |year=2011 |journal=[[Ophthalmology (journal)|Ophthalmology]] |volume=118 |issue=10 |pages=2058–2069 |doi=10.1016/j.ophtha.2011.06.021 |pmid=21849212 |s2cid=13965518 |display-authors=etal }}</ref><ref name="Puiu-20111109">{{cite web |last=Puiu |first=Tibi |title=Astronauts' vision severely affected during long space missions |url=http://www.zmescience.com/medicine/astronaut-eyesight-damage-weightlessness-3214143/ |date=9 November 2011 |publisher=zmescience.com |access-date=9 February 2012 |archive-date=13 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213062133/http://www.zmescience.com/medicine/astronaut-eyesight-damage-weightlessness-3214143/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CNN-20120109">{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2012/02/09/pkg-zarrella-astronaut-vision.cnn |title=Male Astronauts Return With Eye Problems (video) |date=9 February 2012 |publisher=CNN News |access-date=25 April 2012 |archive-date=30 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230111923/http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2012/02/09/pkg-zarrella-astronaut-vision.cnn |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Space-20120313">{{cite web|author=Space Staff|title=Spaceflight Bad for Astronauts' Vision, Study Suggests|url=http://www.space.com/14876-astronaut-spaceflight-vision-problems.html|date=13 March 2012|publisher=[[Space.com]]|access-date=14 March 2012|archive-date=6 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106180914/https://www.space.com/14876-astronaut-spaceflight-vision-problems.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Radiology-20120313">{{cite journal |author=Kramer, Larry A. |title=Orbital and Intracranial Effects of Microgravity: Findings at 3-T MR Imaging |url=http://radiology.rsna.org/content/early/2012/03/07/radiol.12111986.abstract?sid=8682af1e-b07f-4ad9-8453-ee319bad639e |journal=[[Radiology (journal)|Radiology]] |doi=10.1148/radiol.12111986 |date=13 March 2012 |access-date=14 March 2012 |volume=263 |issue=3 |pages=819–827 |display-authors=etal |doi-access=free |pmid=22416248 |archive-date=13 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213030150/http://radiology.rsna.org/content/early/2012/03/07/radiol.12111986.abstract?sid=8682af1e-b07f-4ad9-8453-ee319bad639e |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/17-12-2008/106841-soviet_cosmonaut-0/ |title=Soviet cosmonauts burnt their eyes in space for USSR's glory |date=17 December 2008 |publisher=Pravda.Ru |access-date=25 April 2012 |archive-date=28 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028063252/http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/17-12-2008/106841-soviet_cosmonaut-0/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="WIRED-20140212">{{cite magazine |last=Fong |first=Kevin |title=The Strange, Deadly Effects Mars Would Have on Your Body |url=https://www.wired.com/opinion/2014/02/happens-body-mars/ |date=12 February 2014 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |access-date=12 February 2014 |archive-date=25 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325002634/http://www.wired.com/opinion/2014/02/happens-body-mars/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SKR-20171103">{{cite news |last=Howell |first=Elizabeth |title=Brain Changes in Space Could Be Linked to Vision Problems in Astronauts |url=https://www.seeker.com/space/brain-changes-in-space-could-be-linked-to-vision-problems-in-astronauts |date=3 November 2017 |work=[[Seeker (media company)|Seeker]] |access-date=3 November 2017 |archive-date=26 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226052634/https://www.seeker.com/space/brain-changes-in-space-could-be-linked-to-vision-problems-in-astronauts |url-status=live }}</ref> A variety of large scale medical studies are being conducted in space via the [[National Space Biomedical Research Institute]] (NSBRI) to address these issues. Prominent among these is the [[Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity]] Study in which astronauts (including former ISS commanders [[Leroy Chiao]] and [[Gennady Padalka]]) perform [[ultrasound]] scans under the guidance of remote experts to diagnose and potentially treat hundreds of medical conditions in space. This study's techniques are now being applied to cover professional and Olympic [[sports injuries]] as well as ultrasound performed by non-expert operators in medical and high school students. It is anticipated that remote guided ultrasound will have application on Earth in emergency and [[rural health|rural care]] situations, where access to a trained physician is often rare.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/ADUM.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029061057/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/ADUM.html|url-status=dead|title=NASA – Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity<!-- Bot generated title -->|archive-date=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Rao | first1 = S. | last2 = van Holsbeeck | first2 = L. | last3 = Musial | first3 = J. L. | last4 = Parker | first4 = A. | last5 = Bouffard | first5 = J. A. | last6 = Bridge | first6 = P. | last7 = Jackson | first7 = M. | last8 = Dulchavsky | first8 = S. A. | year = 2008 | title = A Pilot Study of Comprehensive Ultrasound Education at the Wayne State University School of Medicine | journal = Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine | volume = 27 | issue = 5 | pages = 745–749 | doi = 10.7863/jum.2008.27.5.745 | pmid = 18424650 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>Evaluation of Shoulder Integrity in Space: First Report of Musculoskeletal US on the International Space Station: http://radiology.rsna.org/content/234/2/319.abstract {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820224222/http://radiology.rsna.org/content/234/2/319.abstract |date=20 August 2013 }}</ref>

A 2006 Space Shuttle experiment found that ''[[Salmonella typhimurium]]'', a bacterium that can cause [[food poisoning]], became more virulent when cultivated in space.<ref name="ASU-20070923">{{cite web |last=Caspermeyer |first=Joe |title=Space flight shown to alter ability of bacteria to cause disease |url=https://biodesign.asu.edu/news/space-flight-shown-alter-ability-bacteria-cause-disease |date=23 September 2007 |work=[[Arizona State University]] |access-date=14 September 2017 |archive-date=14 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914172718/https://biodesign.asu.edu/news/space-flight-shown-alter-ability-bacteria-cause-disease |url-status=dead }}</ref> More recently, in 2017, bacteria were found to be more resistant to [[antibiotic]]s and to thrive in the near-weightlessness of space.<ref name="GZM-20170913">{{cite web |last=Dvorsky |first=George |title=Alarming Study Indicates Why Certain Bacteria Are More Resistant to Drugs in Space |url=https://gizmodo.com/alarming-study-indicates-why-certain-bacteria-are-more-1805666249 |date=13 September 2017 |work=[[Gizmodo]] |access-date=14 September 2017 |archive-date=14 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914011750/http://gizmodo.com/alarming-study-indicates-why-certain-bacteria-are-more-1805666249 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Microorganism]]s have been observed to survive the [[vacuum]] of outer space.<ref name=Dose>{{cite journal | title=ERA-experiment "space biochemistry" | journal=Advances in Space Research | volume=16 | issue=8 | year=1995 | pages=119–129 | doi=10.1016/0273-1177(95)00280-R | pmid=11542696 | last1=Dose | first1=K. | last2=Bieger-Dose | first2=A. | last3=Dillmann | first3=R. | last4=Gill | first4=M. | last5=Kerz | first5=O. | last6=Klein | first6=A. | last7=Meinert | first7=H. | last8=Nawroth | first8=T. | last9=Risi | first9=S. | last10=Stridde | first10=C. | bibcode=1995AdSpR..16h.119D | url=http://publications.ub.uni-mainz.de/opus/volltexte/2008/11364/pdf/11364.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://publications.ub.uni-mainz.de/opus/volltexte/2008/11364/pdf/11364.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live }}{{Dead link|date=October 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name='Horneck'>{{cite journal | title=Biological responses to space: results of the experiment "Exobiological Unit" of ERA on EURECA I | journal=Adv. Space Res. | year=1995 | author1=Horneck G. |author2=Eschweiler, U. |author3=Reitz, G. |author4=Wehner, J. |author5=Willimek, R. |author6=Strauch, K. | volume=16 | issue=8 | pages=105–18| pmid=11542695 | bibcode=1995AdSpR..16h.105H |doi=10.1016/0273-1177(95)00279-N}}</ref>

On 31 December 2012, a [[NASA]]-supported study reported that [[human spaceflight]] may harm the brain and accelerate the onset of [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref name="PLOS-20121231">{{cite journal |last1=Cherry |first1=Jonathan D. |last2=Frost |first2=Jeffrey L. |last3=Lemere |first3=Cynthia A. |last4=Williams |first4=Jacqueline P. |last5=Olschowka |first5=John A. |last6=O'Banion |first6=M. Kerry |last7=Liu |first7=Bin |title=Galactic Cosmic Radiation Leads to Cognitive Impairment and Increased Aβ Plaque Accumulation in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0053275 |volume=7 |page=e53275 |journal=[[PLoS ONE]] |issue=12 |year=2012 |editor1-last=Feinstein |editor1-first=Douglas L |pmid=23300905 |pmc=3534034|bibcode = 2012PLoSO...753275C |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="spaceref">{{cite web |author=Staff |title=Study Shows that Space Travel is Harmful to the Brain and Could Accelerate Onset of Alzheimer's |url=http://spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=39650 |date=1 January 2013 |publisher=SpaceRef |access-date=7 January 2013 |archive-date=21 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521052054/http://spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=39650/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="NasaWatch-20130103">{{cite web |last=Cowing |first=Keith |author-link=Keith Cowing |title=Important Research Results NASA Is Not Talking About (Update) |url=http://nasawatch.com/archives/2013/01/important-resea.html |date=3 January 2013 |publisher=NASA Watch |access-date=7 January 2013 |archive-date=21 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521052054/http://nasawatch.com/archives/2013/01/important-resea.html/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 2015, the [[NASA Office of Inspector General]] issued a [[Effect of spaceflight on the human body|health hazards report]] related to [[human space exploration|space exploration]], including a [[human mission to Mars]].<ref name="AP-20151029">{{cite news |last=Dunn |first=Marcia |title=Report: NASA needs better handle on health hazards for Mars |url=http://apnews.excite.com/article/20151029/us-sci-space-travel-health-6dfd5b2c76.html |date=29 October 2015 |work=[[AP News]] |access-date=30 October 2015 |archive-date=30 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130041700/http://apnews.excite.com/article/20151029/us-sci-space-travel-health-6dfd5b2c76.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NASA-20151029oig">{{cite web |author=Staff |title=NASA's Efforts to Manage Health and Human Performance Risks for Space Exploration (IG-16-003) |url=https://oig.nasa.gov/audits/reports/FY16/IG-16-003.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://oig.nasa.gov/audits/reports/FY16/IG-16-003.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |date=29 October 2015 |work=[[NASA]] |access-date=29 October 2015 }}</ref>

Over the last decade, flight surgeons and scientists at NASA have seen a pattern of vision problems in astronauts on long-duration space missions. The syndrome, known as [[Visual impairment due to intracranial pressure|visual impairment intracranial pressure (VIIP)]], has been reported in nearly two-thirds of space explorers after long periods spent aboard the International Space Station (ISS).<ref>{{cite web |title=Astronaut Vision Changes Offer Opportunity for More Research |website=NASA |date=9 February 2012 |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/Astronaut_Vision.html |access-date=5 September 2020 |archive-date=20 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820023031/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/Astronaut_Vision.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 2 November 2017, scientists reported that significant changes in the position and structure of the brain have been found in astronauts who have taken [[Human spaceflight|trips in space]], based on [[Magnetic resonance imaging|MRI studies]]. Astronauts who took longer space trips were associated with greater brain changes.<ref name="NEJM-20171102">{{cite journal |author=Roberts, Donna R.|display-authors=et al |title=Effects of Spaceflight on Astronaut Brain Structure as Indicated on MRI |date=2 November 2017 |journal=[[New England Journal of Medicine]] |volume=377 |issue=18 |pages=1746–1753 |doi=10.1056/NEJMoa1705129 |pmid=29091569  |s2cid=205102116 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="QTZ-20171103">{{cite web |last=Foley |first=Katherine Ellen |title=Astronauts who take long trips to space return with brains that have floated to the top of their skulls |url=https://qz.com/1119668/space-travel-changes-astronauts-brains/ |date=3 November 2017 |work=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]] |access-date=3 November 2017 |archive-date=28 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228193239/https://qz.com/1119668/space-travel-changes-astronauts-brains/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Being in space can be physiologically deconditioning on the body. It can affect the [[otolith]] organs and adaptive capabilities of the [[central nervous system]]. [[Zero gravity]] and [[cosmic rays]] can cause many implications for astronauts.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=YOUNG|first=LAURENCE R.|date=1 May 1999|title=Artificial Gravity Considerations for a Mars Exploration Mission|journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences|volume=871|issue=1 OTOLITH FUNCT|pages=367–378|doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.1999.tb09198.x|pmid=10372085|issn=1749-6632|bibcode=1999NYASA.871..367Y|s2cid=32639019}}</ref>

In October 2018, [[NASA]]-funded researchers found that lengthy journeys into [[outer space]], including travel to the [[Mars|planet Mars]], may substantially damage the [[Gastrointestinal tract|gastrointestinal tissues]] of astronauts. The studies support earlier work that found such journeys could significantly damage the brains of astronauts, and [[ageing|age]] them prematurely.<ref name="TI-20181002">{{cite news |last=Griffin |first=Andrew |title=Travelling to Mars and deep into space could kill astronauts by destroying their guts, finds Nasa-funded study – Previous work has shown that astronauts could age prematurely and have damaged brain tissue after long journeys |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/nasa-mars-deep-space-journey-guts-gi-digestive-animal-study-gastrointestinal-health-a8563926.html |date=2 October 2018 |work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=2 October 2018 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/nasa-mars-deep-space-journey-guts-gi-digestive-animal-study-gastrointestinal-health-a8563926.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Researchers in 2018 reported, after detecting the presence on the [[International Space Station]] (ISS) of five ''[[Enterobacter|Enterobacter bugandensis]]'' bacterial strains, none [[pathogen]]ic to humans, that [[microorganism]]s on ISS should be carefully monitored to continue assuring a medically healthy environment for astronauts.<ref name="EA-20181122">{{cite web |author=BioMed Central |title=ISS microbes should be monitored to avoid threat to astronaut health |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/bc-ims112018.php |date=22 November 2018 |work=[[EurekAlert!]] |access-date=25 November 2018 |archive-date=26 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126005739/https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/bc-ims112018.php |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="BMC-20181123">{{cite journal |author=Singh, Nitin K.|display-authors=et al |title=Multi-drug resistant Enterobacter bugandensis species isolated from the International Space Station and comparative genomic analyses with human pathogenic strains |date=23 November 2018 |journal=[[BMC Microbiology]] |volume=18 |issue=1 |page=175 |doi=10.1186/s12866-018-1325-2 |pmc=6251167 |pmid=30466389 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018BMCMb..18..175S }}</ref>

A study by Russian scientists published in April 2019 stated that astronauts facing space [[radiation]] could face temporary hindrance of their [[memory]] centers. While this does not affect their intellectual capabilities, it temporarily hinders formation of new cells in brain's memory centers. The study conducted by Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) concluded this after they observed that mice exposed to neutron and gamma radiation did not impact the rodents' intellectual capabilities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/health/article/radiation-can-impact-astronauts-memory-temporarily-heres-all-you-need-to-know/397216|title=Radiation can impact astronauts' memory temporarily: Here's all you need to know {{!}} Health Tips and News|website=www.timesnownews.com|date=9 April 2019 |access-date=10 April 2019}}</ref>

A 2020 [[clinical trial|study]] conducted on the brains of eight male Russian cosmonauts after they returned from long stays aboard the [[International Space Station]] showed that long-duration [[human spaceflight|spaceflight]] causes many [[physiological]] adaptions, including macro- and [[microstructure|microstructural]] changes. While scientists still know little about the effects of [[spaceflight]] on brain structure, this study showed that space travel can lead to new [[fine motor skill|motor skills (dexterity)]], but also slightly weaker [[visual perception|vision]], both of which could possibly be long lasting. It was the first study to provide clear evidence of [[neuroplasticity|sensorimotor neuroplasticity]], which is the brain's ability to change through growth and reorganization.<ref>{{cite web |title=Space travel can lead to new motor skills but impaired vision, according to a new study of cosmonaut brains |author=Aria Bendix |date=4 September 2020 |website=Business Insider |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/space-travel-can-lead-to-new-motor-skills-but-impaired-vision-according-to-a-new-study-of-cosmonaut-brains/ar-BB18Iu69? |access-date=5 September 2020 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204063503/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/space-travel-can-lead-to-new-motor-skills-but-impaired-vision-according-to-a-new-study-of-cosmonaut-brains/ar-BB18Iu69 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Macro- and microstructural changes in cosmonauts' brains after long-duration spaceflight |date=4 September 2020 |journal=Science Advances |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aaz9488 |last1=Jillings |first1=Steven |last2=Van Ombergen |first2=Angelique |last3=Tomilovskaya |first3=Elena |last4=Rumshiskaya |first4=Alena |last5=Litvinova |first5=Liudmila |last6=Nosikova |first6=Inna |last7=Pechenkova |first7=Ekaterina |last8=Rukavishnikov |first8=Ilya |last9=Kozlovskaya |first9=Inessa B. |last10=Manko |first10=Olga |last11=Danilichev |first11=Sergey |last12=Sunaert |first12=Stefan |last13=Parizel |first13=Paul M. |last14=Sinitsyn |first14=Valentin |last15=Petrovichev |first15=Victor |last16=Laureys |first16=Steven |last17=Zu Eulenburg |first17=Peter |last18=Sijbers |first18=Jan |last19=Wuyts |first19=Floris L. |last20=Jeurissen |first20=Ben |volume=6 |issue=36 |pages=eaaz9488 |pmid=32917625 |pmc=7473746 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.9488J }}</ref>