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Mission phasePostflight Recovery
4 articles tagged
Behavioral Health & Performance in Isolation and Confinement
Psychological, sleep and team-dynamics effects of long periods in small, isolated and confined crews.
Isolation & ConfinementDistance from EarthBehavioral Health & Sleep
SMF-T-0011 · draftOrthostatic Intolerance on Landing
Difficulty maintaining blood pressure when upright after return to gravity, causing lightheadedness or presyncope.
Gravity FieldsCardiovascular
SMF-T-0009 · draftSpaceflight Bone Loss
Unloading in microgravity drives loss of bone mineral, particularly at weight-bearing sites, with incomplete recovery after return.
Gravity FieldsMusculoskeletalRenal & GU
SMF-T-0006 · draftSpaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS)
Optic disc edema, globe flattening, choroidal folds and hyperopic shifts observed in long-duration astronauts.
Gravity FieldsHostile/Closed EnvironmentNeuro-ophthalmicNeurological & Cognitive
Clinical articles (11)
Medical standards overview
What NASA's crew health standard actually requires, how astronauts are medically selected and recertified, and what that means for a clinician who sees space travelers.
◆◆◆◆ High · E F
SMF-C-0012 · protocol · draftBehavioral health monitoring
What psychological problems have occurred in spaceflight, how agencies select, train, monitor and support crews, what isolation analogs teach us, and how to help with reintegration after return.
◆◆◇◇ Low · F A E
SMF-C-0005 · countermeasure · draftBone loss countermeasures
How much bone astronauts lose, what prevents it (resistance exercise, nutrition, and in research, bisphosphonates), how NASA monitors BMD with DXA, T-scores and FRAX, and what a primary care clinician should do after a long flight.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F A E
SMF-C-0006 · countermeasure · draftExercise countermeasures
What spaceflight does to aerobic capacity and muscle, NASA's fitness standards in plain numbers, how in-flight exercise works, and how to prescribe reconditioning after return.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F A E
SMF-C-0013 · topic · draftKidney stones
Why spaceflight raises stone-forming risk (bone calcium loss, low urine volume), what prevents it, how a stone would be recognized in flight, and what to watch for in the year after return.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F C E
SMF-C-0008 · protocol · draftOrthostatic intolerance on landing
Why returning space travelers get lightheaded or faint when they stand, how agencies prevent it (fluid/salt loading, compression garments, recumbent seating), and how to assess and treat it in the ED or clinic.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F A E
SMF-C-0011 · topic · draftPOCUS in space
How ultrasound became the main imaging tool in space — remote-guided FAST, echo, eye and kidney scans, and routine screening of the jugular veins for thrombosis — and what that means for clinicians on the ground.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F E
SMF-C-0015 · guide · draftPostflight recovery & surveillance
A timeline of what to expect after landing — day 0 to day 45 and beyond — what NASA measures and when, which problems can persist for months or years, and how lifelong occupational surveillance works.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F E
SMF-C-0000 · guide · draftClinician quick-start
A one-page orientation for GPs, emergency physicians, nurses and flight/aviation doctors: what to ask, what to check, the red flags, and where to find the details — before and after spaceflight.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · E F
SMF-C-0004 · protocol · draftSANS management
How space agencies screen for and manage optic disc edema, globe flattening, choroidal folds and hyperopic shift in long-duration flyers — and how to evaluate a returning astronaut's eyes.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F A E
SMF-C-0007 · protocol · draftSpace motion sickness
Who gets space motion sickness, how it is graded, why promethazine is NASA's treatment of choice, what else is used, and how to manage the same symptoms after landing.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F E