Maulesh Gadani*, Kedar Ahire and Viral Shukla
After decades of relatively quiet periods since the Apollo missions, human space travel has once again come to the forefront with many private and few government agencies vying for space tourism and space travel. India and China are planning long duration human space missions. America is planning a manned lunar mission followed by a Mars mission. Billionaires like Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have already flown to space and experienced microgravity while Elon Musk has gone public with his Mars plans. We are also searching for another earth like planet for our second home. Interplanetary missions and space tourism are likely to become common in the coming few decades. This will raise the important question of maintaining the health of space travelers while in the hazardous environment of space namely radiation, microgravity, the confined environment inside spacecraft, isolation, etc. Studying the health of the several hundreds of those, who traveled to the international space station and stayed there, has revealed numerous health risks for both short-term and long term space travel. Some of the health hazards include bone loss, muscle atrophy, decreased immunity, change in gut microflora, psychological disturbances, etc. A better understanding of the effects of microgravity on human health is essential for safe space travel and return to Earth. This review aims to discuss the effects of microgravity on the gut beneficial bacteria.
Published Date: 2024-01-03; Received Date: 2023-06-07
