A history of urolithiasis risk in space.

INTRODUCTION: The development of renal stones in space would not only impact the health of an astronaut but could critically affect the success of the mission. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the medical literature, texts and multimedia sources regarding the careers of Dr. Abraham Cockett and Dr. Peggy Whitson and their contributions to the study of urolithiasis in space, as well as the studies in between both of their careers that helped to further characterize the risks of stone formation in space. RESULTS: Dr. Abraham T. K. Cockett (1928-2011) was Professor and Chair of the Department of Urology at the University of Rochester and served as AUA President (1994-1995). In 1962, Dr. Cockett was one of the first to raise a concern regarding astronauts potentially forming renal stones in space and suggested multiple prophylactic measures to prevent stone formation. Many of the early studies in this field used immobilized patients as a surrogate to a micro-gravity environment to mimic the bone demineralization that could occur in space in order to measure changes in urinary parameters. Dr. Peggy A. Whitson (1960-), is a biochemistry researcher and former NASA astronaut. She carried out multiple studies examining renal stone risk during short term space shuttle flights and later during long-duration Shuttle-Mir missions. CONCLUSION: From the early vision of Dr. Cockett to the astronaut studies of Dr. Whitson, we have a better understanding of the risks of urolithiasis in space, resulting in preventive measures for urolithiasis in future long duration space exploration.

Detection of Organic Matter and Biosignatures in Space Missions.

Carbon-based compounds are widespread throughout the Universe, including abiotic molecules that are the components of the life as we know it. This article reviews the space missions that have aimed to detect organic matter and biosignatures in planetary bodies of our solar system. While to date there was only one life-detection space mission, i.e., the Viking mission to Mars, several past and present space missions have searched for organic matter, paving the way for the future detection of signatures of extra-terrestrial life. This review also reports on the in-situ analysis of organic matter and sample-return missions from primitive bodies, i.e. comets and asteroids, providing crucial information on the conditions of the early solar system as well as on the building blocks of life delivered to the primitive Earth.

The Life of Don Shields: from Atmospheric Nuclear Tests to the Lunar Module.

INTRODUCTION: In this article, we recount some aspects of the tremendous life of Don Shields. As a young Air Force pilot, Don Shields flew the B57 aircraft through the actual nuclear cloud during nuclear weapons blast explosions in Operation Dominic. The data he collected was of vital importance to our country's nuclear weapons program. Don Shields knew of the tremendous risk of radiation but served our country at the call of duty. After his military service, Don Shields served as the subject matter expert for the Apollo lunar module and worked directly with Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin in training them on the module. During the Apollo 11 mission, Don Shields was being interviewed by Walter Cronkite on the epic Moon landing coverage. Unfortunately, later in life Don Shields suffered from cataracts and leukemia, both of which are known to be related to high radiation exposures. During his old age, Don Shields volunteered at the NASA Ames Museum and inspired generations of young individuals towards the space mission.Douglas DB, Cagle Y. The life of Don Shields: from atmospheric nuclear tests to the lunar module. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(1):56-58.

An Anesthesiologist in the Space Race: The Life and Career of Dr. Cloid D. Green.

The space race began in the summer of 1955 when the United States and the Soviet Union pledged to launch artificial satellites. The race culminated in 1969 when the United States landed the first humans on the moon. After completing his training in anesthesiology, Dr. Cloid Green forged his career as one of the physician-scientists who played an integral role by evaluating the effects of space flight on human physiology. Family members of Dr. Green were interviewed and university and society archives, literature and periodicals were reviewed. Dr. Cloid Green received his medical training at the University of Minnesota. He earned his MD in 1946 before moving to South Dakota and working as a general practitioner. A combination of professional curiosity and the military's request for further service led Dr. Green to complete an anesthesia residency at the University of Iowa. After training, he was assigned as the physician in charge of a bomber wing at a base near Austin, Texas, in 1957. Due to his research on the effects of high altitude on pilots, he was recruited to the Brooks Air Force Base. Dr. Green was the ranking medical official overseeing early space flights involving monkeys. After leaving the USAF, Dr. Green practiced anesthesiology at the University of Virginia before moving to Newfoundland, Canada. He became the first chair of Anesthesiology at the Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1969. Dr. Cloid Green's career grew alongside the specialty of anesthesiology in the 1950s. His training in anesthesiology proved to be a versatile and profoundly useful skill set as the specialty became fully recognized. Dr. Green's long and fruitful career is the perfect example of the diverse opportunities afforded by anesthesiology training.

Health challenges including behavioral problems in long-duration spaceflight.

Over the past 60 years, our ability to live and work in space has evolved. From short sojourns in small spacecraft to landing on the moon and residing in an orbiting international space station, we have learned to adapt to an extreme environment and safely return home. Human missions to the Moon, Mars, and exploration of deep space are different. This paper summarizes the challenges of providing medical care, specifically mental health care during long-duration flights. Considerable information about challenges that crews bound for Mars will face is available. Literature regarding this issue is summarized. This manuscript provides a short historical summary of long-duration spaceflight to date; the challenges including limited communication with mission controllers on Earth; and, a summary of the behavioral impacts space flight has had on humans. A look at how the future autonomous systems might support physical and mental health when definitive care is millions of miles away, is also provided. Human spaceflight to Mars or other distant sites will require new approaches to mission preparedness and inflight medical support systems. Exploration class missions will be more autonomous than anything deployed until now. The concepts of telemedicine that have aptly supported crews from the 1960s to the present will no longer be in real-time. While communication between Earth and Mars is possible, it will be characterized by significant time delays. Mars-based crews will need to have systems onboard and on Mars to support all health and performance issues.

Developing Future Deep-Space Telecommunication Architectures: A Historical Look at the Benefits of Analog Research on the Development of Solar System Internetworking for Future Human Spaceflight.

Exploration analog field tests, missions, and deployments enable the integration and validation of new and experimental concepts and/or technologies through strategic experimental design. The results of these operations often create new capabilities for exploration and increase confidence in, and credibility of, emerging technologies, usually at very low cost and risk to the test subjects involved. While these experiments resemble missions 10-30 years into the future, insights obtained are often of immediate value. Knowledge gained in the field translates into strategic planning data to assist long-range exploration planners, and planners influence the experimental design of field deployments, creating a synergistic relationship. The Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains (BASALT) communication architecture is a high-fidelity analog program that emulates conditions impacting future explorers on the martian surface. This article provides (1) a brief historical review of past analog operations that deliberately used elements of a flight-like telecommunication infrastructure to add fidelity to the test, (2) samples of the accomplishments made through analog operations, and (3) potentially significant deep-space telecommunication insights gained from the BASALT program in support of future extravehicular activity exploration of Mars. This article is paired with and complements Miller et al. in this issue which focuses on the telecommunication infrastructure utilized by the BASALT team during the field deployment.

Astronaut Michael Collins, Apollo 8, and the anterior cervical fusion that changed the history of human spaceflight.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy declared that the United States would send a man to the moon and safely bring him home before the end of the decade. Astronaut Michael Collins was one of those men. He flew to the moon on the historic flight of Apollo 11 while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on its surface. However, this was not supposed to be the case.Astronaut Collins was scheduled to fly on Apollo 8. While training, in 1968, he started developing symptoms of cervical myelopathy. He underwent evaluation at Wilford Hall Air Force Hospital in San Antonio and was noted to have a C5-6 disc herniation and posterior osteophyte on myelography. Air Force Lieutenant General (Dr.) Paul W. Myers performed an anterior cervical discectomy with placement of iliac bone graft. As a result, Astronaut James Lovell took his place on Apollo 8 flying the uncertain and daring first mission to the moon. This had a cascading effect on the rotation of astronauts, placing Michael Collins on the Apollo 11 flight that first landed men on the moon. It also placed Astronaut James Lovell in a rotation that exposed him to be the Commander of the fateful Apollo 13 flight.Here, the authors chronicle the history of Astronaut Collins' anterior cervical surgery and the impact of his procedure on the rotation of astronaut flight selection, and they review the pivotal historic nature of the Apollo 8 spaceflight. The authors further discuss the ongoing issue of cervical disc herniation among astronauts.