Space biology and medicine, like astronautics in general, could only appear when the scientific and economic potential of the country reached the world's peaks.
One of the leading experts in space biology and medicine is Academician Oleg Georgievich Gazenko. In 1956, he was included in a group of scientists tasked with providing medical support for future space flights. Since 1969, Oleg Georgievich has headed the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems of the USSR Ministry of Health.
O. Gazenko talks about the development of space biology and space medicine, about the problems that its specialists solve.
Space medicine
Sometimes they ask: where did space biology and space medicine begin? And in response you can sometimes hear and read that it began with fears, with questions like: will a person be able to breathe, eat, sleep, etc. in zero gravity?
Of course, these questions arose. But still, things were different than, say, during the era of great geographical discoveries, when sailors and travelers set off on their journey without the slightest idea of what awaited them. We basically knew what awaited man in space, and this knowledge was quite well founded.
Space biology and space medicine did not start out of nowhere. They grew out of general biology and absorbed the experience of ecology, climatology and other disciplines, including technical ones. The theoretical analysis that preceded Yuri Gagarin's flight was based on data from aviation, marine, and underwater medicine. There were also experimental data.
Back in 1934, first here and a little later in the USA, attempts were made to study the influence of the upper layers of the atmosphere on living organisms, in particular, on the mechanism of heredity of fruit flies. The first flights of animals - mice, rabbits, dogs - on geophysical rockets date back to 1949. In these experiments, the influence on a living organism was studied not only of the conditions of the upper atmosphere, but also of the rocket flight itself.
Birth of Science
It is always difficult to determine the date of birth of any science: yesterday, they say, it did not yet exist, but today it appeared. But at the same time, in the history of any branch of knowledge there is an event that marks its formation.
And just as, say, the work of Galileo can be considered the beginning of experimental physics, so the orbital flights of animals marked the birth of space biology - everyone probably remembers the dog Laika, sent into space on the second Soviet artificial Earth satellite in 1957.
Then another series of biological tests was organized on satellite ships, which made it possible to study the reaction of animals to space flight conditions, observe them after the flight, and study long-term genetic consequences.
So, by the spring of 1961, we knew that a person would be able to make a space flight - a preliminary analysis showed that everything should be fine. And, nevertheless, since we were talking about a person, everyone wanted to have certain guarantees in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Therefore, the first flights were prepared with safety nets and even, if you like, with reinsurance. And here it is simply impossible not to remember Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. One can imagine how much work and worry the Chief Designer had as he prepared the first manned flight into space.
And, nevertheless, he delved into all the details of the medical and biological flight service, taking care of its maximum reliability. Thus, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, whose flight was supposed to last an hour and a half and who could generally do without food and water, was given food and other necessary supplies for several days. And they did the right thing.
The reason here is that we simply did not have enough information then. They knew, for example, that in zero gravity disorders of the vestibular apparatus could occur, but it was unclear whether they would be as we imagine them.
Another example is cosmic radiation. They knew that it existed, but how dangerous it was was difficult to determine at first. In that initial period, the study of outer space itself and its exploration by man proceeded in parallel: not all the properties of space had yet been studied, but flights had already begun.
Therefore, the radiation protection on ships was more powerful than real conditions required. Here I would like to emphasize that scientific work in space biology from the very beginning was placed on a solid, academic basis; the approach to the development of these seemingly applied problems was very fundamental.
Development of space biology
Academician V.A. Engelhardt, being at that time the academician-secretary of the Department of General Biology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, devoted a lot of effort and attention to giving space biology and space medicine a good start.
Academician N. M. Sissakyan helped a lot in expanding research and creating new teams and laboratories: on his initiative, already in the early 60s, 14 laboratories of various academic institutes were working in the field of space biology and space medicine, and strong scientific personnel were concentrated in them.
Academician V. N. Chernigovsky made a great contribution to the development of space biology and space medicine. As vice-president of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, he involved many scientists from his academy in the development of these problems.
The immediate leaders of the first experiments in space biology were Academician V.V. Parin, who specifically studied the problems of space physiology, and Professor V.I. Yazdovsky. It is necessary to remember the first director of the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems, Professor A.V. Lebedinsky.
From the very beginning, the work was led by prominent scientists, and this ensured a good organization of research and, as a consequence, the depth and accuracy of theoretical foresight, which was perfectly confirmed by the practice of space flights.
Three of them deserve special mention.
— This is a biological experiment on the second artificial satellite, which showed that a living creature in a spacecraft can be in outer space without harm to itself.
— This is the flight of Yuri Gagarin, which showed that space does not have a negative impact on the emotional and mental sphere of a person (and there were such concerns), that a person, like on Earth, can think and work in space flight.
“And, finally, this is Alexei Leonov’s spacewalk: a man in a special spacesuit was and worked outside the ship and - the main thing that interested scientists - was confidently oriented in space.
The landing of American astronauts on the surface of the Moon should also be included in this category. The Apollo program also confirmed some of the concepts theoretically developed on Earth.
For example, the nature of human movements on the Moon, where the force of gravity is much less than on Earth, was confirmed. Practice has also confirmed the theoretical conclusion that rapid flight through the radiation belts surrounding the Earth is not dangerous for humans.
By “practice” I don’t just mean flying people. They were preceded by flights of our automatic stations such as “Luna” and “Zond” and the American “Surveyers”, which thoroughly reconnoitered the situation both on the route and on the Moon itself.
By the way, living beings flew around the Moon on the Probes and returned safely to Earth. So the flight of people to our night star was prepared very fundamentally.
As can be seen from the examples given, the most characteristic feature of the first period of space biology was the search for answers to fundamental questions. Today, when these answers, and quite detailed ones at that, have mostly been received, the search has gone deeper.
Cost of space flight
The modern stage is characterized by a more thorough and subtle study of the deep, fundamental biological, biophysical, biochemical processes occurring in a living organism under space flight conditions. And not just studying, but also trying to manage these processes.
How can we explain this?
A person's flight into space on a rocket is not indifferent to the state of the body. Of course, its adaptive capabilities are unusually great and flexible, but not unlimited.
Moreover, you always have to pay something for any device. Let's say your health will stabilize during the flight, but your work efficiency will decrease.
You will adapt to “extraordinary lightness” in weightlessness, but you will lose muscle strength and bone strength... These examples are on the surface. But, obviously, deep life processes also obey this law (and there is evidence of this). Their adaptation is not so noticeable; in short-term flights it may not appear at all, but flights are becoming longer and longer.
What is the fee for such a device? Can I agree with it or is it undesirable? It is known, for example, that the number of erythrocytes - red blood cells that carry oxygen - decreases in the blood of astronauts during a flight. The decrease is insignificant, not dangerous, but this is a short flight. How will this process go on a long flight?
All this needs to be known in order to build a preventive protective system and thereby expand a person’s ability to live and work in space. And not only for astronauts - specially selected and trained people, but also for scientists, engineers, workers, and perhaps artists.
The very concept of “space medicine and biology” is being deepened. According to the plan, this is an applied science that, based on general biology data, develops its own recommendations, methods and techniques for human behavior in space. At first it was like that. But now it has become clear that space biology and space medicine are not a derivative of general biology, but all biology as a whole, only studying organisms in special conditions of existence.
Mutual interests of science
After all, everything that a person does on Earth, he begins to do in space: he eats, sleeps, works, rests, on very distant flights people will be born and die - in a word, a person begins to live in space in the full biological sense. And therefore, now we will probably not find a single section of biological and medical knowledge that would be indifferent to us.
As a result, the scale of research has increased: if literally a dozen scientists took part in the first steps of space biology and space medicine, now hundreds of institutions and thousands of specialists of the most varied and sometimes unexpected, at first glance, profiles have entered its orbit.
Here is an example: the Institute of Organ and Tissue Transplantation, which is headed by the famous surgeon Professor V.I. Shumakov. It would seem, what could be in common between the study of a healthy organism under the special conditions of space flight and such an extreme measure of saving hopeless patients as organ transplantation? But there is something in common.
The area of mutual interests relates to the problems of immunity - the body’s natural defense against the effects of bacteria, microbes and other foreign bodies. It has been established that during space flight the body’s immunological defense weakens. There are a number of reasons for this, one of them is as follows.
In ordinary life, we always and everywhere encounter microbes. In the confined space of a spaceship, the atmosphere is almost sterile, and the microflora is much poorer. The immune system becomes practically “unemployed” and “loses its shape,” just as an athlete loses it if he does not train for a long time.
But even during organ transplantation, so that the body does not reject them, it is necessary to artificially reduce the level of immunity. This is where our general questions arise: how does the body behave under these conditions, how to protect it from infectious diseases?..
There is another area of mutual interests. We believe that over time, people will fly and live in space for a very long time. This means they can get sick. Therefore, there is a need, firstly, to imagine what kind of diseases these could be, and secondly, to provide people in flight with diagnostic equipment and, of course, treatment.
This could be medicine, but it could also be an artificial kidney - we cannot exclude the possibility that such funds will be needed on long-distance expeditions. So we are thinking, together with specialists from the Institute of Organ and Tissue Transplantation, about how to supply participants of future space expeditions with “spare parts” and what the “repair technology” should be.
However, an operation in space is, of course, an extreme case. The main role will be played by prevention and prevention of diseases. And here nutrition can play an important role as a means of managing metabolism and its changes if they arise, as well as a means of reducing neuro-emotional stress.
A diet prepared in a certain way with the inclusion of appropriate drugs in food will do its job unnoticed by the person; the procedure will not have the nature of taking a medicine. We have been conducting relevant research for a number of years with the Institute of Nutrition of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences under the leadership of Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences A. A. Pokrovsky.
Another example: the Central Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics named after N. N. Priorov (CITO), which is headed by Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences M. V. Volkov. The institute's area of interest is the human skeletal system. Moreover, not only methods of treating fractures and bruises, methods of prosthetics, but also all kinds of changes in bone tissue are being studied.
The latter also interests us, because certain changes in bone tissue also occur in space. The methods of influencing these processes, used both in space and in the clinic, are basically very similar.
Hypokinesia, which is common in our time - low mobility - is even more pronounced in space. The condition of a person who gets out of bed after a two-month illness is comparable to the condition of an astronaut returning from a flight: both need to learn to walk on the ground again.
The fact is that in zero gravity, part of the blood moves from the lower part of the body to the upper part, flowing to the head. In addition, the muscles, not receiving the usual load, weaken. About the same thing happens when you lie in bed for a long time. When a person returns to Earth (or gets up after a long illness), the opposite process occurs - blood quickly flows from top to bottom, which is accompanied by dizziness and can even cause fainting.
To avoid such phenomena, during flight, astronauts load their muscles on a special simulator and use a so-called vacuum system, which helps move part of the blood to the lower half of the body. Having returned from the flight, they wear post-flight prophylactic suits for some time, which, on the contrary, prevent the rapid outflow of blood from the upper half of the body.
Now similar products are used in medical institutions. At CITO, space-type simulators allow patients to “walk” without getting out of bed. And the post-flight suits were successfully tested at the A.V. Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery - with their help, patients literally get back on their feet faster.
The redistribution of blood in the body is not just a mechanical process, it also affects physiological functions and is therefore of considerable interest both for space biology and medicine, and for clinical cardiology. Moreover, the issues of regulation of blood circulation when changing the spatial position of the body have not yet been sufficiently studied in healthy people.
And in joint research with the A.L. Myasnikov Institute of Cardiology and the Institute of Organ and Tissue Transplantation, we obtained the first interesting data on, for example, how pressure changes in various vessels and cavities of the heart when the position of the body in space changes. About how and at what pace the biochemical composition of the blood flowing from the brain, or from the liver, or from the muscles changes during physical activity, that is, separately from each organ.
This makes it possible to more deeply judge his work and condition. The research in question unusually enriches our knowledge of human physiology and biochemistry; this is an example of a fundamental study of the biological essence of man. And this is not the only example.
I have already mentioned that in space a person’s number of red blood cells decreases and that it is important to understand the reasons for this phenomenon. Special studies, in particular on the Cosmos-782 satellite, have shown that in space the stability (resistance) of these cells decreases, and therefore they are destroyed more often than in normal earthly conditions, their average life expectancy is reduced.
Now, naturally, we will have to figure out how to maintain the stability of red blood cells. This is important for space, but may also be useful for combating anemia and other blood diseases.
The fact that space biology is involved in fundamental research of the human body in a very definite way characterizes the current stage of its development. Fundamental research lays the foundation for the further development of practical activities. In our case, the foundations are laid for the further advancement of man into space.
Who will fly into space
Already, the needs of space exploration are forcing scientists to think about expanding the number of specialists flying into space.
In the coming years, we can expect the appearance in orbit of scientists - space explorers, engineers - organizers of extraterrestrial production of various materials that cannot be obtained on Earth, workers for assembling space objects and servicing production facilities, etc.
For these specialists, it will apparently be necessary to expand the currently rather narrow “gate” of medical selection, that is, reduce the formal requirements for health status and reduce the amount of preparatory training.
At the same time, of course, complete safety and, I would say, harmlessness of the flight for these people must be guaranteed.
In an orbital flight, this is relatively simple to do: not only can constant monitoring of the crew’s condition be established, but, in extreme cases, it is always possible to return a person to Earth in a few hours. Interplanetary flights are another matter; they will be much more autonomous.
An expedition to, say, Mars will take 2.5-3 years. This means that the approach to organizing such expeditions should be different than during flights in orbit. Here, obviously, one cannot reduce the health requirements when selecting candidates.
Moreover, it seems to me that candidates should have not only excellent health, but also some specific properties - say, the ability to easily adapt to changing environmental conditions or a certain nature of reaction to extreme influences.
The body's ability to adapt to changes in biological rhythms is very important. The fact is that the rhythms characteristic of us are of purely earthly origin. For example, the most important of them - diurnal - is directly related to the change of day and night. But the earthly day exists only on Earth; on other planets, the day is naturally different, and you will have to adapt to them.
What to do during the flight
Issues related to the moral climate that will be established on board are becoming very important. And the point here is not only in the personal qualities of people, but also in the organization of their work, everyday life - life in general, taking into account the needs, including aesthetic ones, of each crew member. This range of issues is perhaps the most complex.
For example, the problem of free time. It is believed that during the flight to Mars, the workload for each crew member will be no more than 4 hours a day. Let's set aside 8 hours for sleep, 12 will remain. What to do with them? In the limited space of a spacecraft, with a constant crew composition, this is not so easy to do. Books? Music? Movies? Yes, but not any. Music, even favorite music, can cause excessive emotional arousal and increase the feeling of separation from home.
Books and films of a dramatic or tragic nature are also capable of causing negative reactions, but the genre of adventure, fantasy, books by travelers, polar explorers, speleologists, in which there is material for comparison and empathy, will undoubtedly be received well. You can solve crosswords and puzzles, but playing chess or checkers is hardly recommended, because in such games there is an element of competition that is undesirable in such a situation.
All these considerations arose from research already underway. They, in my opinion, greatly stimulate a close study of human psychology, and I think that over time, when the named problems are sufficiently developed, they will bring great benefit to earthly practice - in organizing people’s work and leisure.
Life support for expeditions
A special place in the development of interplanetary flights is occupied by the life support of expeditions. Now astronauts simply take everything they need during a flight from the Earth (the atmosphere is only partially regenerated; in some flights, experimental water regeneration was carried out).
But you can’t take three years’ worth of supplies with you. On the interplanetary ship it is necessary to create a closed ecological system, similar to the earthly one, but in miniature, which will supply the crew with food, water, fresh air and dispose of waste.
The task is incredibly difficult! Essentially, we are talking about competition with nature: what nature has been creating for many millions of years on the entire planet, people are trying to reproduce in the laboratory, and then transfer it to a spaceship.
Such work has been carried out for many years at our institute, at the Krasnoyarsk Institute of Physics named after L.V. Kirensky. Some things have already been done, but we still cannot talk about great successes here. Many experts generally believe that real practical success may be achieved only in 15-20 years. Perhaps, of course, earlier, but not by much.
Genetics
Finally, the problems of genetics and reproduction. Our institute, together with Moscow State University and the Institute of Developmental Biology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, is conducting research to determine the effect of weightlessness on embryogenesis and morphogenesis.
Experiments, in particular on the Cosmos-782 satellite, showed that weightlessness does not prevent insects (fruit flies) from producing normal offspring, and in more complex organisms - fish, frogs - in a number of cases, violations and deviations from the norm were found. This suggests that for normal development in the very first stages of the embryo’s life, they need the force of gravity, and, therefore, this force should be created artificially.
Problems of long-term space flights
So, the problem of long-term space flights is the most significant in our work today. And here the question is legitimate: how long can a person’s stay in space be? It’s impossible to answer for sure right now. A number of processes occur in the body during a flight that cannot yet be controlled. They have not been fully studied; after all, a person has not yet flown for more than three months, and we do not know how these processes will go during longer flight periods.
An objective, experimental verification is necessary, and the question of the possibility of, say, a three-year stay of a person in space must be resolved in low-Earth orbit. Only then will we have a guarantee that such an expedition will go safely.
But I think that a person will not encounter insurmountable obstacles on this path. This conclusion can be drawn on the basis of current knowledge. After all, the space age of humanity has just begun, and, figuratively speaking, we are now just getting ready for the long journey that lies ahead of humanity in space.
SPACE MEDICINE- a field of medicine that studies the vital functions of the human body under the influence of factors of space flight and outer space in order to develop means and methods for preserving the health and performance of crew members of spaceships and stations. The main problems of M. to. are: study of the influence of space flight factors on the human body (see), development of appropriate preventive measures and methods of protection from the harmful effects of such factors; physiol, and gig. substantiation of requirements for life support systems (see), control and equipment of spacecraft (see Cockpits of aircraft), as well as means of rescuing crews in the event of any emergency situations; development of wedge, and psychophysiol, methods and criteria for the selection and preparation of astronauts for flight; development of methods and means of honey. monitoring of crews in flight, research into the prevention and treatment of diseases in flight. In this regard, M. k. is a single complex of various sections of theoretical and wedge medicine, such as space physiology and psychophysiology, space hygiene, space radiobiology, medical examination.
The development of spacecraft is closely related to the achievements of theoretical and practical astronautics both in our country (K. E. Tsiolkovsky, F. A. Tsander, S. P. Korolev, etc.) and abroad [Obert (N. Oberth ), Goddard (R. Goddard), Eno-Pelterie (R. Esnault-Pelterie), etc.]. Thus, the creation of rocket and spacecraft made it possible to conduct a number of important studies on animals under space flight conditions (see Space biology). The results of these studies, together with the results of ground-based research in the field of spacecraft, made it possible to substantiate the possibility of safe human flight into outer space. The first flight, which in turn had a great influence on the development of spacecraft, was the flight of Yu. A. Gagarin on the Vostok spacecraft on April 12, 1961. Important stages in space exploration, which also represented the practical achievements of spacecraft, were: the first human spacewalk (A. A. Leonov, flight on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft on March 18-19, 1965); landing of American astronauts on the surface of the Moon [N. Armstrong, E. Aldrin, flight on the Apollo II spacecraft July 20-24, 1969]; space flights with long stays at orbital stations [V. A. Lyakhov, V.V. Ryumin, Salyut-6 orbital station, February 25 - August 19, 1979; L. I. Popov and V. V. Ryumin, Soyuz-35 and the Salyut-6 orbital station, April 9, 1980 - October 11, 1980; Yu. V. Romanenko, G. M. Grechko, Salyut-6 orbital station, December 10, 1977 - March 16, 1978; V.V. Kovalenok, A.S. Ivanchenkov, Salyut-6 orbital station, June 15, 1978 - November 2, 1978; W. Pogue, E. Gibson, J. Carr, Skylab, November 16, 1973 - February 8, 1974].
During space flight, the human body can be influenced by three main groups of factors. The first group of such factors characterizes outer space as a habitat: this is a high degree of rarefaction of the gaseous environment (see Altitude), ionizing cosmic radiation (see), features of thermal conductivity, the presence of meteoric matter, etc.
The second group combines factors associated with the flight dynamics of aircraft: acceleration (see), vibration (see), noise (see), weightlessness (see), etc. Finally, the third group consists of factors associated with being in a hermetic environment. a small room with an artificial habitat: a peculiar gas composition and temperature regime in the room, hypokinesia (see), isolation, emotional stress (see Stress), changes in biological rhythms (see), etc. The listed factors have a complex effect on the human body, and therefore of undoubted theoretical and practical interest is the study of the modifying influence of each of these factors on the tolerance of other factors of space flight.
Among all the factors of space flight, weightlessness is unique and practically impossible to reproduce in laboratory experiments. The importance of the problem of weightlessness has increased due to the increase in flight duration. Experimental studies in modeling some physiol, the effects of weightlessness in terrestrial conditions (hypokinesia, water immersion), the experience of long-term space flights made it possible to develop general biol. ideas about the genesis of changes in the body caused by the influence of weightlessness, and ways to overcome them. Thus, it has been proven that a person can exist and actively function in conditions of weightlessness. However, as a result of a long stay in conditions of weightlessness, a person develops a certain detraining of the cardiovascular system. The phase changes in pulse rate, decrease in stroke volume, and changes in the ECG that were established are of a functional, adaptive nature. Prolonged weightlessness causes a certain loss by the body of calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen, sodium, potassium and magnesium salts. These losses are attributed to a decrease in the mass of some tissues due to their atrophy from inactivity and partial dehydration of the body. Biophysical and biochemical changes in the body caused by weightlessness (changes in hemodynamics, water-salt metabolism, musculoskeletal system, etc.), including changes at the molecular level, are aimed at adapting the body to new environmental conditions. Honey. the consequences of such shifts have not yet been sufficiently studied. Therefore, research aimed at elucidating the correlations between the observed shifts, on the one hand, and the health and performance of astronauts, on the other, is of great importance. In particular, it is important to establish the relationship between the nature and degree of functional restructuring of the body in weightlessness, the direction and severity of readaptation processes after returning to Earth.
To prevent adverse reactions of the human body during the period of weightlessness and readaptation, a wide range of preventive measures and means are used (vacuum tank, bicycle ergometer, treadmill, training-load suits, etc.). The effectiveness of their use was convincingly demonstrated, in particular, by the 140-day flight of cosmonauts V.V. Kovalenko and A.S. Ivanchenkov at the Salyut-6 orbital station, and the 175-day flight of cosmonauts V.A. Lyakhov and V.V. Ryumin , as well as the longest manned orbital flight in the history of astronautics (185 days) by cosmonauts L. I. Popov and V. V. Ryumin.
For the development of effective means and methods for preventing the consequences of the adverse effects of weightlessness and their implementation in the practice of astronautics, a group of specialists in the field of spacecraft was awarded the USSR State Prize.
The high biol activity of various types of cosmic radiation determines the danger of their damaging effects. Taking this into account, research is being carried out to determine permissible doses of radiation exposure, and means and methods are being developed for the prevention and protection of astronauts from cosmic radiation (see Radiation protection).
It is also important to determine the radiosensitivity of the body during a long stay in space flight conditions (see Critical organ), and to assess the reaction of the irradiated body to the action of other factors of space flight. The prospect of using nuclear energy sources on spacecraft and orbital stations determines the need to create reliable human protection through the creation of radiation shelters, means of electromagnetic and electrostatic protection, shielding of the most sensitive organs and systems of the body, etc. The subject of special research is the determination of biol, the effect of exposure to radio emissions , magnetic and electric fields arising in the habitat as a result of the functioning of on-board equipment. Ensuring radiation safety becomes especially important as the range and duration of flights increases. It is obvious that during long flights it is impossible to ensure the safety of the crew using only passive protection of the habitable compartments of the ship. Therefore, the search for biol, methods for protecting humans from penetrating radiation is an important area of research in this area. Research related to the development of an artificial gas atmosphere in relation to manned aircraft cabins is aimed at studying physiology. the effects of a long stay in an atmosphere with a different gas composition, both equivalent to the earth’s atmosphere, and when replacing nitrogen with helium or under conditions of a mono-gas artificial atmosphere (see Artificial Atmosphere).
M.K. also studies the influence of factors such as changes in barometric pressure (see Altitude sickness, Decompression sickness) and changes in the partial pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere (see Hyperoxia, Hypoxia). Of interest are studies aimed at using an artificial gas atmosphere as a means of stimulating the formation of adaptive reactions of the body to various unfavorable flight conditions. This atmosphere is called active.
The formation of the gas environment in aircraft cabins during flight is directly related to the problem of its pollution. Sources of pollution can be construction materials, technol. processes, as well as products of human activity. In this regard, the study of biol. the effects of atmospheric pollution in a spacecraft represents an important problem in the general complex of physiol.-gig. research. The practical implementation of this work is the establishment of maximum permissible concentrations of a wide range of pollutants (toxic) substances, the development of technical solutions for cleaning the atmosphere of an aircraft from them.
The solution to the issues of supporting manned flights is based on the results of preliminary research in ground conditions (bench and model studies on animals, experiments with human participation in mock-ups of space objects). Research directly on spacecraft is of decisive importance. Ensuring human life on manned spacecraft and orbital stations is created by a complex of equipment and on-board supplies intended to maintain a constant composition of the gaseous environment, supplying humans with drinking water, food, sanitation, and means. Thus, the air regeneration and air conditioning system on Soyuz-type ships is carried out by creating on board reserves of chemically bound oxygen in the form of alkali metal superoxides and sorbents that absorb water vapor and carbon dioxide.
To ensure the vital functions of the crew in the event of an emergency landing of the descent vehicle in a deserted area, the portable emergency reserve (PES) includes a food ration that has maximum energy and biol value with minimum weight and volume.
Increasing the duration of manned space flights requires finding new reliable ways to ensure sanitation. conditions in the spacecraft cabin, personal hygiene of the astronaut and careful monitoring of the condition of the skin, its microflora, contamination, as well as improving methods and means of complete and local treatment of the body. Particular attention is paid to astronaut clothing (flight suit, underwear, heat-protective suit, headdress, shoes). Of particular importance are the issues of collection, storage and disposal of waste generated during human activity (excrement, food debris, packaging containers), as well as during the operation of on-board equipment and equipment.
A special place is occupied by research aimed at elucidating the conditions and nature of the exchange of microbes between crew members, the routes of possible autoinfections and infections, which is especially important in the conditions of hermetic cabins of limited volume in combination with a decrease in immunoresistance as a result of exposure to space flight factors.
The medical and technical experiment that was carried out in the Soviet Union in 1967-1968 was important for the development of promising life support systems. with the participation of three testers. It addressed the possibility of long-term (up to 1 year) maintenance of normal human performance under conditions of isolation in a sealed chamber of limited volume using water and oxygen recovered from waste and almost completely dehydrated food products. The peculiarities of interaction between man and the environment in these conditions, medical methods were studied. control, technology, design modes of individual units and other issues. During the experiment, the testers lived in a pressurized cabin, consisting of an interconnected living compartment and an experimental greenhouse. Testing of a promising life support system in this experiment showed the possibility of long-term existence and work of the crew in systems with closed cycles necessary to maintain human life.
To ensure the ability to perform work outside the ship in outer space or on the surface of planets, as well as to preserve life in the event of depressurization of the spacecraft cabin, space suits (see), which are individual means of supporting the life of astronauts, are designed.
The activities of an astronaut during preparation and execution of a flight are accompanied by pronounced neuro-emotional stress. It is believed that space flights will almost always contain elements of risk and the likelihood of unforeseen situations. In this regard, the implementation of dynamic control over the human condition, the development of measures to prevent and eliminate adverse effects are the subject of research in space psychophysiology. Research in this area includes studying the nature of the influence of space flight factors on the neuro-emotional sphere of astronauts, elucidating psychophysiology, mechanisms of emotional stress and its impact on professional activity, studying issues of psychological compatibility of crew members, especially in long-term space flights.
The increase in flight duration is associated with a time shift and its influence on biol, rhythms. Along with the study of adaptation processes to this adverse impact, scientifically based development of work and rest regimes in space flights is being carried out. At the same time, they proceed from the idea that changes in daily regimens can lead to desynchronization of physiological processes.
Special question honey. ensuring human flights into space is the selection and training of astronauts. The experience of space flights indicates that the cosmonaut selection system, based on the practice of medical examination of flight personnel, is fully justified (see Examination, medical flight). The highest demands on physical condition and health are imposed on candidates selected for long-term space flights, which is due to the long duration of action of flight factors on the body, the expansion of the duties of crew members and the need for interchangeability in flight. During the development of the cosmonaut selection system, there was a certain reduction in the requirements for the health of cosmonaut researchers. Wider involvement of specialists of various professions (geophysicists, astronomers, doctors, biologists, etc.) in space flights requires the development of new medical sciences. and psychol, selection criteria. Selection of crew members in accordance with medical results. control continues during training and preparation for flight. When forming special training programs, the goals and objectives of space experiments are taken into account, as well as the initial condition of the crew members.
The purpose of medical-biol, training of astronauts is to familiarize them with the factors of space flight and increase their body’s resistance to them. In addition, cosmonauts are trained in methods of conducting medical-biological studies, in-flight research and providing pre-medical care.
In the USSR, coordination of work in the field of medical science is carried out by the USSR Academy of Sciences and the USSR Ministry of Health. As a member of the All-Union Society of Physiologists named after. I. P. Pavlov at the USSR Academy of Sciences there is a section of aviation and space medicine. All-Union conferences on space biology and medicine, annual readings dedicated to the development of the scientific heritage and the development of the ideas of K. E. Tsiolkovsky, as well as readings dedicated to World Cosmonautics Day (Gagarin Readings) are held. Scientific institutions of the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR take a wide part in the development of questions of medical science. The leading position in the study of space medicine problems is occupied by the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems M3 of the USSR. International integration plays an increasingly important role in the organization of cooperation between the USSR and other countries in space research - Intercosmos.
In the United States, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) coordinates work on space medicine issues. The leading institutions on these problems are the Space Center. L. Johnson (Houston) and the Ames Research Center (Moffitt Field).
Bibliography: Gazenko O.G. Space biology and medicine, in the book: Advances of the USSR in research. space space, ed. A. A. Blagonravova et al., p. 321, M., 1968; Kovalev E. E. Radiation risk on Earth and in space, M., 1976; Space flights on Soyuz spacecraft, Biomedical Research, ed. O. G. Gazenko et al., M., 1976; Lavnikov A. A. Fundamentals of aviation and space medicine, M., 1975; Fundamentals of space biology and medicine, ed. O. G. Gazenko and M. Calvin, vol. 1 - 3, M., 1975; 60 years of Soviet healthcare, main. ed. B.V. Petrovsky, p. 279, M., 1977; Bioastronautics data book, ed. by J. F. Parker, Washington, 1973.
Let's say you're flying to Mars. Half the way has already been completed, three more months - and you are at your goal. Your ship is well shielded from solar radiation, and the crew members feel fine. All except one of your colleagues, Alex, who has been suffering from stomach pain for several weeks. You can't examine him as well as doctors on Earth would, but you can at least give him an ultrasound, and you don't like what you see on the screen. It looks like he has a rectal tumor, and it looks like it has already started to metastasize.
You understand that earthly doctors would probably have saved Alex - not to mention the fact that on Earth this young moose would not have gotten sick in principle. And you also understand that even if you could turn the ship around and destroy the mission that the United States, Russia, Europe and Canada have been preparing for the last 15 years, it would hardly have saved Alex - the ionizing radiation apparently led to the appearance of a tumor, which is developing very quickly. Alex also understands all this perfectly well and makes dark jokes about how exactly you will have to get rid of his corpse.
When talking about the factors influencing the state of human health on board a spacecraft, we sometimes forget that people come in two different genders, and men and women have significant psychophysiological differences. Many of these differences appear in normal conditions on Earth, while others become apparent after being in orbit. The diagram describes some of them.
Exhale. It's 2016, not 2035. No one is flying anywhere yet. More precisely, on the contrary, everyone flies to the ISS, and many biological and medical experiments are carried out there. Even more experiments are taking place on Earth - with the expectation that their results will be useful for long-distance space flights. For example, it was on Earth that Kamal Dutta and his colleagues exposed mice to ionizing radiation to then study the molecular breakdowns that were found to increase the likelihood of colorectal cancer in the first place.
Why is it dangerous to leave Earth?
There are two key problems: radiation and weightlessness. At the same time, on the ISS, which flies within the influence of the Earth’s magnetic field, astronauts are exposed to less radiation than if they flew to the Moon or Mars, but they live in microgravity conditions for months. On long flights, artificial gravity may be used, but radiation will have a much stronger impact on astronauts.
We evolved under the conditions of gravity, and its disappearance immediately affects a person’s well-being - this is called space adaptation syndrome. The functioning of the vestibular apparatus is disrupted. The person may experience nausea. Visual disturbances or even hallucinations occur. Blood rushes to the upper part of the body, which is noticeable even in photographs - the astronauts’ faces become swollen. In the long term, the lack of gravity causes physiological changes that will subsequently prevent you from feeling good on Earth. First of all, muscle atrophy occurs. Work by physiologists at Ball University in Indiana, which included biopsies of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of nine ISS astronauts followed by microscopic examination of the fibrils, showed that, despite intense exercise during flight, muscle fiber thickness was reduced by an average of 20%, and contraction strength was reduced by up to 55%.
This problem begins to look especially threatening when we remember that the heart is also a muscle, and it also requires less effort to pump blood in zero gravity. In fact, both animal experiments and human observations show that the absence of gravity leads to a decrease in heart rate, a decrease in diastolic pressure, and arrhythmia. In addition, prolonged exposure to weightlessness reduces bone density, which means that along with the need to relearn how to control movements! - increases the risk of fractures after returning to Earth.
The robotic surgical system, designed for brain surgery, is a direct descendant of the robotic arm originally developed by the Canadian Space Agency to move cargo in space.
Staying in space affects the body at the cellular level. For example, experiments on animals have revealed that the processes of cell migration during wound healing are disrupted. It has also been established that the number of T-lymphocytes in the immune system decreases - however, this is most likely the result not of the lack of gravity, but of the effects of cosmic radiation.
NASA estimates that over six months on the ISS, an astronaut receives a radiation dose equivalent to 160 millisieverts—66 times more than the average Earthling receives in a year. During a three-year flight to Mars and back, the astronaut will receive at least 1,200 millisieverts - despite all measures to shield the ship and only if the crew promptly learns about bursts of solar activity and sits out in a specially protected shelter.
The photo shows two astronauts - Scott Kelly and Michael Kelly. And they are also twin brothers. Last year, Scott went on a long-term expedition to the ISS, while his brother remained on Earth. The point of the experiment, which ended with Scott's return after 12 months in orbit, was to carefully track all the changes that occurred in Scott's body during the flight, comparing them with the processes occurring at the same time in his brother's genetically identical body.
Radiologist Francis Cuquinotta wrote in the journal Lancet Oncology in 2006 that during a flight to Mars, protons, electrons and high-energy ions of heavy elements will bombard the ship with such intensity that the nucleus of each cell in the astronaut’s body will collide with a proton or electron several times. days, and with an ion of a heavy element - at least once a month. These events lead to DNA damage and greatly increase the risk of malignant cell transformation. Leukemia, breast, thyroid, lung and colon cancers will be so common on spacecraft that the author estimates that the risk of dying from cancer on a mission to Mars will be on the order of 5%.
56,000,000 kilometers to the nearest hospital
Five years ago, humanity vigorously celebrated the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight. Canadian space medicine specialists David Williams and Matthew Turnock also did not stand aside. They published a review article with the ambitious title “Human Space Exploration in the Next 50 Years,” which addressed precisely the question of the extent to which we can hope to fly into space ourselves, rather than just sending robots there, despite our fragile and unreliable biological nature.
From space with love
Research on Earth helps develop medicine in space, but the opposite is also true: research in space helps develop medicine and healthcare on Earth.
In space, every gram and every volt matters, which is why, over decades of spaceflight, engineers have developed many highly efficient water purification systems on board stations. Some of their principles, such as disinfection using iodine-containing resins, are now being actively implemented in the arid regions of Africa.
To monitor the health of astronauts, a compact device was developed that allows one to assess the content of nitric oxide in exhaled air (its increase can signal an early stage of airway inflammation). Such measurements are also important on Earth - for monitoring the condition of the lungs in patients with asthma.
In people who have had chickenpox, in conditions of decreased immunity, a new outbreak of virus activity is possible - this time in the form of shingles. The disease first causes severe pain along the affected nerve, and only after a few days does it manifest itself in the form of characteristic skin rashes. It was for astronauts that a simple test was developed that allows one to determine the activation of the virus by its presence in saliva, which means that an earlier diagnosis can be made, treatment can begin, and the duration of the disease and the likelihood of complications can be seriously reduced.
Until recently, the researchers write, the most important goal in space medicine was preventing dire situations. Only absolutely healthy people are sent to the ISS, and if any serious problems arise, they can be evacuated from there. However, as the size of the ISS crew increases, the likelihood that one of the astronauts will get sick in orbit also increases proportionally. It becomes even higher thanks to the appearance of space tourists - although they also undergo medical examinations, there are still not many people in the world who are both willing to pay $20 million for their vacation and at the same time be impeccably healthy. But the most important thing is that the possibility of sending a sick person to Earth exists while we are talking about orbital flights, and completely disappears as soon as we talk about an expedition to Mars.
What can be done if an astronaut requires major surgery? The researchers place their main hopes on telemedicine, including remote control of robotic surgeon manipulators. This approach has already proven itself positively at polar stations and potentially allows any operation to be carried out. Unfortunately, it is not a fact that Alex will survive it safely - simply because of insurmountable communication problems. At maximum approach between Earth and Mars, the distance between them is 56 million kilometers. An electromagnetic wave can cover this distance in about three minutes, and it will take the same amount of time to return. Not bad for getting advice from colleagues, but too long for real-time operation.
It turns out that the team must have an incredibly highly skilled surgeon, capable of manipulating the robot's instruments on the spot, without significant assistance from Earth, regardless of what kind of operation will have to be performed - on the spine, on the liver, or on the brain. And yes, it is desirable that it is not Alex himself. In addition, we can hope that over the next twenty years the possibilities of pharmacological treatment will fundamentally expand, and most diseases that require surgical intervention today will be easy to stop with the help of medications, including those created specifically for Alex right in the ship’s laboratory. In any case, the fictional history of his illness shows that the conquest of space requires researchers of various specialties, and monuments for the conquest of Mars will be erected not only to physicists and astronauts, but also - perhaps above all - to pharmacologists and doctors, whose work will make further exploration of the world is possible in principle.
Space medicine is a field of medicine that studies the influence of space flight factors on human health and performance. In addition, space medicine substantiates the medical requirements for life support and control systems of spacecraft; develops methods for selection, training of cosmonauts and measures for the prevention and treatment of diseases caused by flight, as well as means of rescuing cosmonauts.
Space medicine is closely related to space biology (see), aviation medicine, physiology, psychology, cybernetics and other disciplines.
Research in the field of space medicine is carried out on the ground, during flights of aircraft and spacecraft. The most important contribution to space medicine is the biomedical data obtained during the implementation of space research programs in the Soviet Union and the USA. The special importance of the first orbital flight (Yu. A. Gagarin), the flight of a female cosmonaut (V. V. Tereshkova), the first spacewalk (A. A. Leonov) and on the lunar surface (N. Armstrong, E. Aldrin) should be emphasized ), flight of the Salyut orbital station (G. T. Dobrovolsky, V. N. Volkov, V. I. Patsaev).
An astronaut is affected by a number of factors during a space flight: cosmic radiation, acceleration, weightlessness, noise, vibration, artificial atmosphere, nutrition and water supply, isolation, physical inactivity, psycho-emotional factors, etc.
Currently, data have been obtained on the degree of their influence on the human body and practical recommendations have been developed for the prevention of negative consequences. The creation of a hermetic cabin protected the astronaut from the influence of environmental factors. There is an active fight against noise and vibration. With the help of an optimal daily routine, a system of physical training and improved nutrition, success has been achieved in reducing the adverse effects of certain factors associated with a person’s long stay in the confined space of a spacecraft. There have also been certain achievements in preventing the harmful effects of accelerations that are observed during the launch of a spacecraft into orbit and its descent. A number of preventive and protective measures have been developed (rational posture, modeling the back of the chair, anti-overload suits, the use of certain pharmacological drugs, training). However, further research is needed, especially on the issue of readaptation of the astronaut’s body to earthly conditions after a long stay in weightlessness - the most important factor of space flight, during which the mechanical tension of the tissues of the human body decreases (partial weightlessness) or completely disappears.
Studies involving exposure to weightlessness for up to 24 days have shown that people tolerate it satisfactorily. Some experience sensory, motor and autonomic disturbances that are reversible (illusory sensations of flying in an inverted position, decreased precision of finely coordinated movements and muscle strength, fluctuations in heart rate, decreased blood pressure, etc.). In a number of cases, the development of a cosmic form was noted, with a clinical picture similar to the usual one. In addition, it has been proven that in conditions of weightlessness, salts are washed out of the bone apparatus, especially, as well as general dehydration of the body.
A certain place in space medicine is given to the problem of radiation effects that occur during flight (cosmic rays, the Sun, radiation belts, etc.). To ensure radiation safety of space flights, taking into account the radiation situation on the flight route, including solar activity, pharmacological and other means of protection are used.
Prevention of the adverse effects of a complex of factors operating in space flight, and primarily weightlessness, is carried out in four areas: improvement of spacecraft; careful selection and training of crew members; organization of diet, work and rest; use of medications.