Space and Entry Motion Sickness

Abstract

One of the most significant clinical and operational challenges experienced by spaceflight crews during the first few days in weightlessness is space motion sickness (SMS). SMS was among the first adverse medical conditions encountered by humans as they ventured into weightlessness. SMS is arguably the main risk of decreased human performance during the critical first days of space flight. Activities typically performed early that may be disrupted include payload activation, satellite deployment, rendezvous, and docking. SMS symptoms—particularly malaise, loss of initiative, and nausea—can range from being mildly distracting to physically debilitating.