Advancing space medicine: a global perspective on in-orbit research and future directions
Military Medical Research volume 12, Article number: 1 (2025 ) Cite this article
As humanity ventures deeper into space, our challenges become increasingly complex. Space medicine, once confined to ensuring the health and safety of astronauts on low-Earth orbit missions, is now tasked with ensuring the health and safety of astronauts embarking on extended missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The advancement of space medicine and the conduct of in-orbit medical experiments not only determine the boundaries of human exploration of the cosmos but also provide new insights that can benefit human health on Earth.
Recent study aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has provided invaluable data on various aspects of astronaut health, including bone density loss, muscle atrophy, and cardiovascular changes [1]. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Twins Study, which compared the health of the astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent nearly one year in space, with that of his identical twin brother Mark Kelly, who remained on Earth, highlighted the significant changes that occur in the human body during extended spaceflight [2]. Research findings on the telomere length, gene expression, and immune response have improved our understanding of how spaceflight impacts the human body at the molecular level [2].
On the basis of these insights, the recent publication of “The Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) and international astronaut biobank” in Nature represents a significant milestone in space medicine [1]. SOMA integrates data from the NASA Twins Study and other international research, offering the most comprehensive mapping of the molecular and physiological effects of space travel to date. The collaboration of over 100 institutions across more than 25 countries aims to advance our understanding of the effects of spaceflight on human health. A battery of cutting-edge technologies, such as single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics and cell-free RNA profiling, was utilized to analyze the biospecimen samples collected from Inspiration4 crew members and generated a more than tenfold increase in human space omics data. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms have also been integrated to analyze these data and predict health trends or potential issues. Another key contribution of SOMA is the establishment of an international astronaut biobank, which stores viable frozen samples for future analyses, ensuring the sustainability and expandability of this scientific endeavor [3]. Moreover, the accessibility of SOMA data and samples in the astronaut biobank fully reflects the collaborative spirit of scientific research, ensuring that a wider range of experts can contribute to the field, promote innovation, and accelerate the pace of discovery. Overall, the successful implementation of the SOMA plan demonstrates the effectiveness of organized scientific research in advancing our knowledge and capabilities in space medicine, and highlights the importance of international cooperation in addressing complex scientific challenges.
