Aerospace, Health Maintenance Wellness

In aerospace medicine, the focus is on prevention of disease when physically healthy individuals, pilots, and astronauts often screened to the point of extraordinary health, are then placed in a hostile environment.To help mitigate the effects of oxygen, pressure and temperature fluctuations as well as other environmental considerations such as microgravity, all of which have a significant impact on wellness, the cornerstones of health maintenance in the aerospace environment are eating and exercise habits.In a relatively short duration in an aeronautic environment, the rewards of terrestrial diligence pay off particularly in high G environments such as military aircraft, where deconditioning and dehydration place the pilot at increased risk for loss of consciousness (LOC). Another example is in protracted air travel such as international flights where deconditioning, dehydration, and immobility increase the risk of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in a traveler.Health maintenance and wellness pose a much greater challenge in space.In space, all food must be carried and stored on the ship. An important consideration is that nutrition and conditioning will need to be maintained for the duration of any mission; an exploration of Mars, for example, will take approximately 2.5 years.Space travel is not yet as common as commercial air travel, where there may be no screening for pre-existing health conditions and any age considerations will be self-imposed.