Year: 2015
Type: editorial
Abstract: Several landmark events have occurred in the past few years that have enabled tremendous advances in spaceflight research. First, the International Space Station has been completed, providing an unprecedented internationally available laboratory (a portion of which has been designated as a US National Laboratory), which is currently being outfitted with an array of sophisticated equipment to accomplish long- and short-duration research in a variety of scientific fields, including life sciences, astronomy, physics, material sciences, observational sciences, astrobiology, and biochemistry. Second, the rapidly growing commercial spaceflight sector is beginning to expand both with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-associated and independent missions. These companies are seeking robust avenues to promote their current and develop new research capabilities. Finally, several countries, including China, Israel, and India, have begun developing their own spaceflight programs and investing heavily in spaceflight research. Collectively, these events are dramatically increasing the quantity and quality of both spaceflight scientific experiments and spaceflight analogue studies on Earth.
Source: npj Microgravity
Author: Cheryl A Nickerson
Institution: Arizona State University
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,690
OpenAlex ID: W2594035907