Space medicine: Future interplanetary travel will depend on it

When William Shatner found himself 65.8 miles above a Texas desert in a hydrogen-fueled rocket last year, he didn ’t have to worry about blinding flattening in the back of his eyes, fluid shifting from his abdomen to his face or the chance that his heart might change shape.However, had his stint in weightlessness been seven months long, like future missions to Mars would be, instead of just three or four minutes, he may have wanted a UCLA ’s Dr. Haig Aintablian next to him. Aintablian isn't just a doctor, he is UCLA’s inaugural fellow in space medicine. “When this opportunity came up to build a fellowship with our partners in the space industry, I felt like my life just became complete,” said Aintablian, who has been a space fanatic since seeing Saturn’s rings through a telescope with his dad when he was 7. With the uncrewed Artemis moon mission scheduled for liftoff in November and hopes for a mission to Mars to follow in 10 to 20 years, the fellowship couldn ’t have come at a more pressing time, Aintablian said.“We've done a lot already here on Earth. In fact, we might have done too much,” he said. “The next step is to become interplanetary.” As a fellow, Aintablian will work with both the public and private space industry, learning additional skills such as engineering, bioastronautics and space physiology.  Ultimately, Aintablian hopes that one day  he’ll be suiting up on a trip to Mars and caring for the astronauts during the roughly 140-mil...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news