Could spaceflight-associated immune system weakening preclude the expansion of human presence beyond Earth's orbit?
This year, we celebrate the 40th birthday of the first landing of humans on the moon. By 2020, astronauts should return to the lunar surface and establish an outpost there that will provide a technical basis for future manned missions to Mars. This paper summarizes major constraints associated with a trip to Mars, presents immunological hazards associated with this type of mission, and shows that our current understanding of the immunosuppressive effects of spaceflight is limited. Weakening of the immune system associated with spaceflight is therefore an area that should be considered more thoroughly before we undertake prolonged space voyages.
Guéguinou
Nathan
N
Development and Immunogenetics Team, Nancy-University, Faculté de Médecine, 5400 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, JE 2537, France.
Huin-Schohn
Cécile
C
Bascove
Matthieu
M
Bueb
Jean-Luc
JL
Tschirhart
Eric
E
Legrand-Frossi
Christine
C
Frippiat
Jean-Pol
JP
D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000276:immunology*; D007154:Immune System Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007239:Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D018535:Mars; D051379:Mice; D023421:Models, Animal; D016081:Moon; D013026:Space Flight / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014774:Virulence