Open Questions in Space Medicine
RadiationIsolation & ConfinementDistance from EarthGravity FieldsHostile/Closed EnvironmentPublicStudentClinicianResearcher
- Every question below maps to one or more NASA knowledge gaps that were open in the Human Research Roadmap on 2026-10-14. ◆◆◆◆ High · E
- Selecting and wording the questions is SMF's editorial summary, not NASA's priority ranking. ◆◆◆◆ High · E
Proposed certainty (◆ High → ◇ Very low) and evidence-type tags: F flight · A analog · M model/animal · C computational · E expert/operational/standards. AI-proposed, pending reviewer confirmation. How to read the grades.
Each question links to NASA’s gap records on the Human Research Roadmap and to the SMF atlas page that explains the risk [1]. NASA prioritizes gaps through its risk management process, which grades the level of evidence and the LxC rating for each risk [2].
1. What causes SANS, and can we prevent it on a Mars-length mission?
NASA gaps: SANS-101 · SANS-102 · SANS-304 · SANS-403 · SANS-501 · Atlas: SANS (eye & brain changes)
2. How much does space radiation really raise cancer risk, and how do radiation type and dose rate change it?
NASA gaps: Cancer-103 · Cancer-104 · Cancer-202 · Cancer-203 · Atlas: Radiation & cancer
3. Do radiation and weightlessness together harm the heart and blood vessels over a lifetime?
NASA gaps: CV-102 · CV-103 · Atlas: Cardiovascular adaptations
4. What exercise, on smaller exploration hardware, will keep crews fit enough for surface work?
NASA gaps: MA-201 · MA-301 · Bone-401 · Bone-402 · Atlas: Muscle & aerobic fitness
5. Can crews safely land, get out and walk on the Moon or Mars right after months of weightlessness?
NASA gaps: SM-101 · SM-103 · EVA-101 · DL-401 · Atlas: Sensorimotor & balance
6. How do we keep crews mentally healthy and working as a team when Earth is minutes away by radio?
NASA gaps: BMed-101 · Team-105 · EIHSO-301 · Atlas: Behavioral health & cognition
7. What medical care can a crew deliver when evacuation is impossible?
NASA gaps: Medical-101 · Medical-501 · Medical-701 · Atlas: Medical conditions in flight
8. Will medicines and food last three to five years without resupply?
NASA gaps: Pharm-101 · FN-102 · Atlas: Medications
9. How do immunity and the microbiome change on long missions, and how do we protect them?
NASA gaps: IM-106 · IM-501 · Micro-101 · Atlas: Immune changes
10. Is dust from the Moon or Mars more toxic than we assume?
NASA gaps: Dust-101 · Atlas: Lunar & Mars dust
11. How do multiple hazards combine? Is the whole worse than the parts?
NASA gaps: Sleep-101 · EIHSO-801 · DL-401 · Team-106 · Atlas: Earth-independent operations
Gap statuses were all “Open” when checked on 2026-10-14. Gap IDs and wording are NASA’s. The plain-language questions are SMF’s.
Evidence profile
- Overall certainty
- ◆◆◆◆ High (proposed)
- Evidence types
- E · Expert / operational / standards
- Literature through
- 2026-10-14
Requirements referenced 0
No NASA-STD-3001 requirement maps directly to this page. See the standards quick reference.
References 2
- NASA Human Research Program. Human Research Roadmap: risks list. humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/risks/ NASA E
- Antonsen EL, et al. Updates to the NASA human system risk management process for space exploration. NPJ Microgravity. 2023;9:72. doi:10.1038/s41526-023-00305-z PMID:37679359 Peer-reviewed E
Machine-checked on 2026-10-14: each URL resolved, each DOI's title/journal/year matched via Crossref, and claims were checked against the source text (abstract or full NASA page). Human verification against full text is still required before review. NASA documents are U.S. Government works (public domain) and are summarized with attribution; journal articles are summarized, not reproduced.
Article info
- Authors
- Pending (AI-assisted draft)
- Reviewer
- Pending review
- Last reviewed
- Pending review
- Literature through
- 2026-10-14
- AI-assisted
- Yes (disclosed)
- COI
- Pending
- License
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Use
- Educational only · Disclaimer
- Cite this version
- Pending first edition