Aerospace doctor discusses the future of civilian spaceflight

The first astronauts to land on the moon and the many others who flew into space were selected in part because of their excellent health and physical condition. Now, the emergence of private space flight will mean civilians going into space who might not meet the rigorous health standards required of astronauts and may even have pre-existing conditions. In addition, there is currently no medical criteria for those who go on private space flights. Dr. Jan Stepanek, who practices aerospace medicine at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, talks about medical criteria for civilians in space and is a co-author of a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine called “Space Medicine in the Era of Civilian Spaceflight.”