Perspective: skeletal complications of space flight

Excerpt

In October 1957, the Russians launched Sputnik 1, the satellite that marked the beginning of space flight. Only 12 years later, on July 20, 1969, the Americans were able to land two astronauts on the moon. During that period, many cosmonauts and astronauts orbited the earth in a variety of spacecrafts. Significant were the ten Gemini missions between 1965 and 1966. These missions put two astronauts in space for as long as 2 weeks. Following these missions, it was immediately apparent that the astronauts had severe vestibular problems, and it became clear that space travel, with exposure to prolonged weightlessness and cosmic radiation, as well as life in very tight environments presented a specific set of medical problems. The specialty of Space Medicine was born. …