Space medicine is an emerging field that blends emergency care, physiology, psychology and toxicology to help astronauts manage the health challenges of space flight. Once focused mainly on military and aerospace contexts, it is now gaining wider relevance as human missions venture further from Earth.<\/p>\n
A key focus is understanding how the body responds in the absence of gravity. On Earth, gravity helps regulate everything from circulation to muscle tone and bone density. <\/p>\n
In space, astronauts live in microgravity, a state of near weightlessness caused by continuous free fall while orbiting the planet. Although gravity is still present, its effects are greatly diminished. Fluids move upward, muscles weaken and bones lose mass. These changes can disrupt normal body function in ways that are still being studied.<\/p>\n
\u201cMicrogravity is not an environment we evolved for,\u201d McNamee says. \u201cIt acts like a stress test on the body, and that tells us things about human physiology that we\u2019d never discover in a lab.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/FXVUCB3IANCM5MHEJKU263XVRQ.JPG\")
Dr Lisa McNamee, medical officer with the Defence Forces and co-founder of Space Medicine Ireland. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni<\/p>\n
\u201cPreventative medicine is everything in space flight,\u201d she adds. \u201cYou can\u2019t rely on a full medical team. Even medicines can degrade faster in microgravity, so you need to stop problems before they start.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other risks include radiation, pressure changes, disrupted sleep cycles, lunar dust and g-forces. These forces, caused by changes in acceleration, can place added strain on the body. As missions extend beyond low Earth orbit, the ability to manage health autonomously becomes critical.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf something goes wrong on the International Space Station, you can still get someone home in hours,\u201d McNamee says. \u201cBut on missions to the moon or Mars, evacuation isn\u2019t an option. You have to treat everything on the spot, sometimes for months. That changes everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
The field has its roots in aviation medicine, which advanced during the second World War to keep pilots fit for high-risk flights. The same goal of protecting human performance in extreme conditions now applies to space flight. But in space, even minor issues can quickly escalate. \u201cYou\u2019re constantly trying to de-risk,\u201d McNamee adds. \u201cNot just for the individual, but for the whole mission.\u201d<\/p>\n
Astronauts often experience bone loss, muscle wasting, disrupted immune responses and altered vision during even relatively short missions. But some changes are less expected. <\/p>\n
In Nasa\u2019s well-known twin study, where astronaut Scott Kelly spent nearly a year in space while his identical twin, Mark, stayed on Earth, researchers observed something strange: Scott\u2019s telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes, lengthened in space. \u201cThat was the opposite of what everyone predicted,\u201d McNamee says. \u201cWe thought they\u2019d shorten, as they do with ageing and stress. It completely inverted our understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n
These physiological puzzles are more than academic curiosities. They are increasingly being translated into breakthroughs for Earth-based medicine. Take the gut microbiome, a rapidly evolving area of research in cancer care. <\/p>\n
An ESA-supported study, Radiobiome, led by Dr Nicholas Brereton at UCD, is exploring how radiation exposure in space affects gut bacteria. \u201cSome patients tolerate radiotherapy very poorly,\u201d explains McNamee, who is not directly involved in the project but follows it closely. \u201cThis research could help us understand why, and potentially tailor treatment or even develop microbial transplants to improve outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n
McNamee also advises on a biotech project with Irish firm Aquila Biosciences, developing a \u201cbiological Velcro\u201d pad to remove pathogens from skin and surfaces. The idea emerged from concerns about how space flight weakens the immune system and alters how microbes behave. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s non-corrosive and nature-inspired,\u201d she says. \u201cESA is interested in using it as a decontamination solution for astronauts. But it could also be used in hospitals or disaster zones on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
If this sounds more like science fiction than healthcare, that\u2019s not far from how McNamee first approached the field. \u201cI loved stargazing and sci-fi as a kid,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I never imagined I\u2019d end up working in anything remotely like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her commitment deepened during a training programme run by ESA during the pandemic. \u201cWe had lectures from ESA flight surgeons and astronauts. I learned about space sickness, the impact of radiation, the psychological pressure of being monitored 24\/7. It was fascinating. It gave me an entirely new lens on medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the most pressing questions in space medicine is how to keep astronauts safe as missions move beyond low Earth orbit. The moon\u2019s surface, for example, introduces its own dangers. \u201cLunar dust is incredibly sharp, clingy and toxic,\u201d McNamee explains. \u201cApollo astronauts reported hay fever-like symptoms after exposure, even inside their suits. If we\u2019re planning to live and work on the moon long term, we need to develop serious mitigation strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The risks multiply on missions to Mars, where communication delays and total isolation demand even more self-reliant medical care. \u201cWhen you\u2019re that far out, there\u2019s no evacuation,\u201d says Mark Hannaford, founder of World Extreme Medicine (WEM), a training and research organisation that brings together medics from warzones, polar outposts, disaster areas and, increasingly, space flight. <\/p>\n
![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/5BIJNADIWJDOZIVBYIVR6FWFFA.jpg\")
Mark Hannaford: \u201cYou\u2019re in a pressurised [Mars] capsule, thousands of kilometres from help. That\u2019s the same mindset needed when you\u2019re overwintering in Antarctica.\u201d Photograph: Mark Hannaford <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re in a pressurised capsule, thousands of kilometres from help. That\u2019s the same mindset needed when you\u2019re overwintering in Antarctica or deep in the field in Ukraine,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
For Hannaford, the crossover between space and extreme medicine is natural. \u201cIt\u2019s all austere environments,\u201d he says. \u201cThe medicine stays the same. But the setting changes everything, how you improvise, how you lead, how you deal with trauma and uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nasa has sent representatives to WEM\u2019s conferences for more than a decade, not just to share but to learn. \u201cThey told us they get a lot out of hearing how medics in low-resource settings innovate,\u201d Hannaford says. \u201cWhen you can\u2019t rely on hospital infrastructure, you have to return to core diagnostic skills, listening, touching, observing. And that\u2019s as true on the ISS as it is in a jungle clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
This feedback loop, where space medicine informs Earth-based practice and vice versa, is only growing stronger. <\/p>\n
In Ireland, McNamee has helped introduce space medicine as a challenge topic at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland\u2019s (RCSI) medical innovation programme. Students were recently asked to design solutions under microgravity constraints. \u201cThey blew us away,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to see how quickly the field is expanding.\u201d<\/p>\n
That expansion is also changing the face of the profession. Women, historically underrepresented in both medicine and space, are now entering these areas in greater numbers. \u201cWe still know less about how female bodies respond to space flight than we do men\u2019s,\u201d says Hannaford. \u201cThat\u2019s changing. And it\u2019s vital, because if we\u2019re serious about long-term human exploration, we need data that reflects the whole population.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Nina](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ZKZJDX4TRNF7ZCVNF3NDGJDTFE.JPEG\")
Nina Purvis, a doctor, works at the Concordia Research Station in Antarctica. Photograph: Nina Purvis <\/p>\n
McNamee points to figures like Dr Nina Purvis, the UK medical doctor selected by ESA to work on Concordia Station in Antarctica, where she is performing biomedical research to help shape medical considerations for future Mars missions. \u201cShe\u2019s phenomenal,\u201d McNamee says. \u201cShe\u2019s running hyperbaric experiments and doing medical training in incredibly isolated conditions. These environments teach you not only clinical skills, but also how to manage uncertainty, how to work in a team and how to keep functioning in high-stress situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
That, in the end, may be the greatest gift of space medicine. It\u2019s not just about helping us survive future missions, but about making our healthcare systems here on Earth more adaptable, more inventive and more human.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat space teaches you, over and over,\u201d McNamee says, \u201cis how little we actually know about the body. But it also shows you how much we\u2019re capable of learning if we\u2019re willing to look in the right places.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It began with a conversation at a party. Dr Lisa McNamee, now one of Ireland\u2019s most active contributors…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[9217,18,28434,19,17,1024,13276,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-56583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-defence-forces","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-european-space-agency","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-nasa","14":"tag-royal-college-of-surgeons-in-ireland","15":"tag-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}