An integrated system of medical support for space exploration by humans

An increased human presence in space and future missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) will require a clear concept of continuous medical support. The prevention and treatment of medical emergencies are among the highest priorities of operational space medicine, but real experience of critical care treatment onboard a spacecraft is extremely limited. Exploratory missions will require the fault-tolerant design of medical systems with a significant degree of onboard autonomy, in-built decision-making capability, and the possibility of remote intervention. The technical limits of the equipment must be defined and new algorithms and treatment procedures developed. The ante grated system should be used for routine health care management; however, the emphasis will be on situations associated with the provision of critical care treatment in a changed gravity environment. The paper summarises the essential requirements and gives recommendations for further development.