Preparing Civilians to Travel, Live, and Work in Space: A Human Research Agenda

Abstract

The prospect of thousands—perhaps even millions—of civilians traveling, living, and working in space in the coming decades requires a collaborative human research program (HRP) to ensure their health and safety. After a substantial review of the literature on the health of civilians in space, it was found that little is known about the impact of the space environment on health and safety of civilians, many with underlying health conditions and disabilities. To address this gap, the author and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) decided to conduct a workshop on developing an HRP to study the impact of the space environment on the health and safety of average civilians in the commercialization of space. With the cooperation of experts in health research in space, a Workshop Planning Committee was created. The committee included experts from CSF, the space industry, government, and academia to develop the first ever HRP for civilians in the commercialization of space. The CSF/MITRE workshop was conducted on May 11–12, 2021, with ∼100 participants. Recommendations were made to conduct specific research projects to understand and prevent/mitigate any adverse impact of the space environment on average civilians in suborbital space and in space travel and habitation in low Earth orbit and beyond. The summary report of the workshop's recommendations was written, vetted, and completed for public dissemination in November 2021. The summary concludes with recommendations for implementation of the HRP for civilians in commercial space.