How Space Operations Drive Innovation In Human Healthcare

Abstract

Appropriate healthcare during human spaceflight necessitates adequate capabilities throughout the mission. This paper aims to raise awareness about how operations impact healthcare innovation. Future missions beyond low-Earth orbit will fundamentally alter healthcare, and advancements in space medicine will drive innovation in the field. Space agencies rely on evidence-based approaches to maximise the impact of innovation and make it safe for use in space. However, a lack of human readiness levels delays the inclusion of humans in the technology development process and can prevent the identification of human health hazards. This creates difficulties for the commercial space sector when attempting to apply the government's evidence-based approaches. As a result, medical capabilities for spaceflight could be developed independently of operations and vehicle/system design. Creating a safety framework necessitates alignment between these domains and may promote improved technology transfer of spaceflight medical capability to terrestrial medical needs.

Keywords

• Human spaceflight
• innovation
• operations
• regulations