NASA Should Focus on Disease Prevention for Space Travel, Experts Say

Health experts are urging NASA to put infectious disease prevention at the center of its plans for long-distance space travel. Astronauts on missions to Mars and beyond face serious health risks because space weakens their immune systems.

NASA's Human Health and Performance Directorate already runs an Immunology and Virology Laboratory that studies how space affects the human body. The research shows that astronauts are more likely to get sick during extended missions away from Earth.

The space agency is working on the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and eventually send them to Mars. These missions could last months or years, making disease prevention crucial for crew safety.

Space medicine research often creates new treatments that help people on Earth too. Medical innovations developed for astronauts have led to better tools for fighting diseases and understanding how the immune system works.

NASA continues studying immune system changes in astronauts on the International Space Station to develop ways to keep crews healthy during deep space exploration.