Jay P. Sanford, M.D. 



Chairperson 



Carolyn L. Huntoon, Ph.D. 

 Ivan L. Bennett, M.D. 



Barry J. Linder, M.D. 



Staff Associate 



Operational Medicine 



Operational space medicine focuses on the care of astronauts. Despite limited 

 experience in this area at the beginning of the manned space program, astronaut 

 health care has been successful both during flight and on the ground. As 

 Operational Medicine evolved within NASA's Life Sciences Division, 

 responsibilities increased to include flight and ground health care of astronauts 

 and their families, a longitudinal study of the astronauts' health, a study of space- 

 flight effects upon the astronauts, as well as development of possible 

 countermeasures to these effects, and identification of the medical aspects of 

 selection and retention criteria for astronauts. 



Both the Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) and the Office of 

 Space Flight (OSF) at NASA Headquarters have responsibilities for Operational 

 Medicine. Johnson Space Center (JSC) has been delegated the prime responsibility 

 for medical operations, while certain field centers, such as Kennedy Space Center 

 (KSC) and Dryden Flight Research Facility (DFRF), are key support participants 

 within NASA. The Department of Defense as well as several hospitals also are 

 part of the overall support system. In addition, intergovernmental and interagency 

 agreements with the Departments of Commerce and Transportation, the Federal 

 Aviation Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, and other 

 institutions support Operational Medicine. Four NASA Management Issuances and 

 two implementation plans also contribute to program definition. Several advisory 

 committees and boards have a voice as well in defining the structure and policy 

 decisions of Operational Medicine; these bodies include the Life Sciences Advisory 

 Committee, the Committee on Space Biology and Medicine of the National 

 Academy of Sciences (NAS) Space Science Board, the Medicine Policy Board at 

 NASA Headquarters, and the Medicine Board at JSC. 



Operational Medicine has worked well in the environment of single missions, 

 most of which have been of relatively short duration, the longest lasting 84 days. 

 An understanding of short-term physiological adaptations to space flight is 

 developing, and appropriate countermeasures are being pursued. However, serious 

 issues concerning the consequences of long-term space flight remain to be 

 answered before Operational Medicine can confidently support humans in space 

 for long-duration missions (over 180 days). 



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